Category: reviews

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Silent Little Angels – Jennifer Chase

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The water ripples as the girl’s body escapes the reeds and floats silently upwards. Her beautiful face—blue eyes frozen open, skin as white as snow—breaks the surface. But it’s too late, this innocent soul has taken her final breath…

When camp counselor Carolyn Sable’s body is found floating in a lake beside Eagle Ridge Summer Camp, Detective Katie Scott must dig deep to stay focused. As a child, Katie spent many happy weeks at that camp toasting marshmallows on the fire with her best friend Jenny… until the day Jenny disappeared. The loss will always haunt Katie, but Carolyn’s inconsolable family need answers.

Searching the area, the devastating discovery of two more bodies sends the case into a tailspin. Suddenly on the hunt for a serial killer, Katie’s blood turns to ice when she finds newspaper clippings about her own past cases planted near one of the bodies. Was this twisted killer banking on Katie taking the lead? And why?

Carolyn was adored by children and staff at the camp, so Katie thinks her sudden resignation is key to cracking the case. Uncovering a tragic accident involving a group of children the weeks before Carolyn left, Katie knows she’s getting close.

But when the carefully laid trap Katie sets to catch Carolyn’s killer backfires, Katie finds herself in unthinkable danger and unable to even trust her own team. Can she stay alive long enough to crack the toughest case of her career, and how many more innocent lives will be lost before she does?

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Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and best-selling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells.

In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists, and member of the International Thriller Writers.

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My thoughts: this was really good, as with the rest of the series, it’s action packed and the case is really compelling. Bodies found mutilated on an old campground, related to a terrible accident twenty years before.

Katie and McGaven are on the case, but in danger as the killer seems to be happy to set off explosives and start fires to stop them from finding him. Katie’s K9 Cisco is the real hero in the book though, with an action scene perfect for Hollywood. What a good boy.

There’s several suspicious characters and the trail seems cold when they find out their chief suspect is dead, but could someone be carrying out these horrific crimes on their behalf? And Katie keeps seeing the ghost of her childhood friend Jenny, abducted from the same campsite when they were children. Is her PTSD going to stop her from solving this one?

As always the writing and research is meticulous and hooks you instantly into the story, though I’m glad we don’t have summer camps in the UK, nothing good seems to happen at them. The detectives risk their lives a fair amount and the sheriff, who’s also Katie’s uncle, must have a lot of grey hair from all the worrying he does.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Forever House – Rachel Dove

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Escape with a feel-good romance that will warm your heart this summer!

Emily Hendrickson is tired of being the wedding guest and never the bride. Working at her local paper as a wedding columnist, she can’t wait to write her own happy-ever-after.

When she bumps into her childhood sweetheart Calvin Albright, her world is knocked off balance. Calvin has returned to the quiet town of Hebblestone desperate for a fresh start. After his wife tragically died two years ago, he wants nothing more than to find a new home and settle down with his son, Isaac.

Isaac can see how lonely his dad is – he’s determined to help him find love again and complete their family…

Uploading a video to his blog in search of a new girlfriend for his dad, he convinces Emily to use the local paper to make the video viral and sift through the potential candidates.

But as the letters to Calvin begin to flood in, could the promise of love be closer to home than they think?

My thoughts: this is a sweet story about love and friendship. Isaac wants to find his dad someone to love after his mother’s death, and now they’re back in Calvin’s home town, where his childhood best friend Emily lives.

After Isaac convinces Emily to run the story about his hunt for a girlfriend for his dad, and some wires get crossed and then untangled, love prevails. And Emily doesn’t have to cover any more weddings for the local paper either, which sounds like a depressing job. The characters are all rather nice people and deserve love and happiness. A pleasure to read.

*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 Intra-Earth Chronicles Book One: The Two Sisters – Kara Jacobson

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In the year 2444, two noble sisters, Sasha (15) and Adrianne (11), have survived a nuclear fallout, only to be torn apart.

The ground splits open and Adrianne is thrown from her horse, plummeting into the ravine. Spurned on by the hope that Adrianne lives, Sasha embarks on a journey through the desert to face the ravine that claimed her only sister. Meanwhile, deep within the earth, Adrianne is running for her life. She took something that did not belong to her.

In The Intra-Earth Chronicles; Book I: The Two Sisters by Kara Jacobson we experience a fast-paced fantasy adventure woven within the earth, and the unshakeable bond between two sisters.

Publisher: Atmosphere Press Available on Amazon

Kara Jacobson resides in the beautiful, rolling hills of Red Wing, MN with her husband and young son, Logan. She and her husband both work at the local hospital, where they first met. Born with an insatiable appetite for science fiction, Kara has always been intrigued with the notion of entire civilizations existing within the earth. She was a New Media Film Festival (2021) nominee for The Intra-Earth Chronicles, Book I: The Two Sisters.

Kara Jacobson

Giveaway: 5 signed copies of The Intra-Earth Chronicles; Book I: The Two Sisters to give away, and two $25 Visa Gift Cards!

My thoughts: this is a fun adventure for 8-12 year old readers, featuring two sisters fighting against the odds to find one another in a post-apocalyptic future.

Adrienne has fallen into a world beneath the Earth’s crust and is held prisoner, things are very different where she’s ended up and she struggles to escape their hold.

Her sister Sasha is racing towards her, confronted with dangers at every turn but determined to save the only person she has left. Sparky and brave, these sisters share a strong bond. Both will learn a lot about themselves in their adventures.

*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: Quicksand of Memory – Michael J Malone

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Jenna is trying to rebuild her life after a series of disastrous relationships. Luke is struggling to provide a safe, loving home for his deceased partner’s young son, following a devastating tragedy. When Jenna and Luke meet and fall in love, they are certain they can achieve the stability and happiness they both desperately need. And yet, someone is watching. Someone who has been scarred by past events. Someone who will stop at nothing to get revenge… Dark, unsettling and immensely moving, Quicksand of Memory is a chilling reminder that we are not only punished for our sins, but by them, and that memories left to blacken and sharpen over time are the perfect breeding ground for obsession, and murder…

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died, In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr.

My thoughts: this was a brilliantly clever tale of the past, how we interpret our memories, those we choose to preserve, and redemption. Both Luke and Jenna are trying to build new lives, falling in love could be part of it, but there share a connection in the past and someone is determined to drag it all into the light and seek revenge.

It’s so subtly done – you feel sorry for the characters but then a new piece of information might change that, even Jamie, who isn’t a good person in this book, my opinion of him changed a few times, although not his sister, pulling his strings, she was a bit less multi-faceted. She refused to face up to reality, cherry picking her memories and believing everyone else to be lying. Her idol couldn’t slip from his pedestal, her warped view of the past caused a lot of harm.

Luke and Jenna were complicated people, Luke in particular had a pretty dark past and some things he wasn’t proud of, but in training as a therapist and in raising Nathan, he was trying to be a better man – to be someone his son could be proud of. Being dragged back into the messy history of his life before could destroy that. When he and Jenna realise what’s going on, they don’t seek to take revenge and cause more harm, because some things need to stay safely in the past.

Really interesting and compelling, I was rooting for them and for Nathan to have a happier time of it, losing his mum so young must have been awful. Thankfully it ends on a positive swing for him, and some of the other characters. After the repercussions of past events, you need the knowledge that things can change.

*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: A Village Secret – Julie Houston

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When Jennifer goes up to Cambridge University with her head full of the Romantic Poets, she never dreams that she will find her very own Byron. But then she meets gorgeous actor Laurie Lewis, and finds herself living a real-life love poem.

Fifteen years and two children later, Jennifer and Laurie’s relationship is starting to feel more like an epic tragedy. After a series of revelations turn her world upside down, Jennifer will do anything to keep her family together – even if it means moving hundreds of miles away to Laurie’s childhood home in Westenbury, Yorkshire.

As she reluctantly enters into village life – complete with interfering in-laws, new friends and a surprise delivery of alpacas – Jennifer is amazed to find herself feeling happy for the first time in years. But the village holds one last, devastating secret.

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Julie Houston lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where her novels are set, and her only claims to fame are that she teaches part-time at ‘Bridget Jones’ author Helen Fielding’s old junior school and her neighbour is ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris. Julie is married, with two adult children and a ridiculous Cockerpoo called Lincoln. She runs and swims because she’s been told it’s good for her, but would really prefer a glass of wine, a sun lounger and a jolly good book – preferably with Dev Patel in attendance.

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My thoughts: I love this series, it’s a lot of fun and although the characters from the other books are only briefly in this one, it’s still really enjoyable. Westenbury gets new residents and one old one – in the form of not particularly successful actor and total cad Laurie Lewis and his family, after he spends all of their money and loses a court case.

His wife Jenny is amazing but I don’t know why she puts up with his crap -she thinks she’s doing it for her kids but even they would rather have a happy divorced mother and not be trapped between two unhappy parents. Their daughter doesn’t even want to live with them.

Luckily Westenbury works its magic and Jenny starts to believe in herself a bit more, she starts to write a Regency romance, her son blossoms at the brilliant village school and even Laurie’s terrible secrets don’t do as much harm as they could. Although I still wanted to boot him into a cowpat repeatedly!

*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: Last Seen Alive – Jane Bettany

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When Anna Matheson fails to collect her son from the babysitter after a works party, the police are swiftly called. Anna is a stickler for time and a good mother – she would never abandon her baby. Her disappearance is totally out of character and DI Isabel Blood and her team soon suspect foul play.

CCTV footage shows Anna was last seen at precisely 11.11pm, as she collected her coat to leave the party. But the cameras outside the venue have failed to pick up her exit from the car park – how could she have vanished in plain sight?

Rumour has it that Anna was set to make big changes in the workplace, and Isabel can’t help but think someone wanted her out of the way.

Everyone at the party is a suspect, and all the clues point to murder…

My thoughts: I like this series, I like Isabel and her team, especially Zoe, who came to the fore in this book, working as the FLO (Family Liaison Officer) and getting crucial information from the victim’s mother that helps steer the investigation in the right direction – towards a killer.

As the police gather information, and interview suspects, you’d think the killer would show themselves, give themselves away, but this one is stone cold.

There are some distractions for Isabel too – her son still hasn’t found a job or an idea of what to do, the family’s beloved dog disappears and her boss is breathing down her neck – wanting her in the office and not out investigating crimes.

The revelations keep coming about the victim – her baby’s father, her own father, she’s been well trained in keeping secrets by her mother, who has a fair few herself. But it’s time for them all to come out and allow the team to get some justice.

*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: Broken – Anna Legat

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What if you lost the memory of who you are?
What if you had to pick up the loose ends of life that wasn’t yours?
What if you had to fight somebody else’s battles?
What would YOU do ?

Camilla’s life will never be the same after her beloved son Christopher is sent to prison .

Father Joseph’s faith is sorely tested when a deranged psychopath uses the sanctity of the confessional to gloat about his most heinous crimes.

Both Camilla and Joseph are paralysed by doubt and inaction.

But then their lives collide…

BROKEN explores where it takes a stranger to break through one’s bindings and inhibitions in order to do the right thing.
It is a story of a mother’s love for her son and a priest’s blind adherence to the seal of confession.
It is a story about Fate’s intervention.

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Anna Legat is a Wiltshire-based author, best known for her DI Gillian Marsh murder mystery series. Murder isn’t the only thing on her mind. She dabbles in a wide variety of genres, ranging from dark humorous comedy, through magic realism to dystopian. A globe-trotter and Jack-of-all-trades, Anna has been an attorney, legal adviser, a silver-service waitress, a school teacher and a librarian. She has lived in far-flung places all over the world where she delighted in people-watching and collecting precious life experiences for her stories. Anna writes, reads, lives and breathes books and can no longer tell the difference between fact and fiction.

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My thoughts: this was very clever and went in a direction I couldn’t have guessed at. Camilla is a woman at war with herself, her son has committed a terrible crime and been imprisoned and she’s picking up the pieces by taking care of her grandson.

Meanwhile, Joseph, a Catholic priest, is making decisions about his future. He’s frightened of one of his parishioners, who uses the confessional to tell Joe all about the murders he’s committed. He seems to think he and the priest are one and the same.

After a shocking accident, things change for both Camilla and Joseph. But they don’t realise at first just how much. Both are seeking redemption.

This was a really clever premise and once it got going absolutely gripping, I wanted to see what they would do, how they would fix things, what new lives they might lead.

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

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Blog Tour: What Next? – Shari Low

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Two weeks, four friends and one big bucket list of secrets to unravel…
Val Murray and her best friend, Josie had been planning a ‘Thelma and Louise’ bucket list style holiday.
Now Josie is gone, and Val needs to make the trip before it’s too late.
But Val doesn’t want to do it alone, so she enlists the help of her nieces, Carly and Carole, and their best pal, Jess, who jump at the chance to join Val on a trip of a lifetime.
What Val doesn’t realise is that Carly, Carole and Jess are all at turning points in their own lives, nursing crushing secrets, lies and betrayals.
Somewhere between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York they all hit a crossroads and have to decide if they want to return to the lives they left behind or let Josie’s last wishes take them on a brand new adventure.
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Shari Low is the #1 bestselling author of over 25 novels, including One Day In Summer and My One Month Marriage and a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. She lives
near Glasgow.

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My thoughts: this series is reliably funny and full of heart, and this might be my favourite yet! I certainly laughed out loud and trying to explain Auntie Val to my husband was not easy, he just looked confused. With Carly and the gang in tow, Auntie Val has rocked up from Glasgow for the trip of a lifetime, in honour of her best pal Josie.

There are movie themed crazy moments, a pair of granny pants on display, almost getting arrested in New York, actually getting arrested in LA, rescuing a woman in Sarah’s name in Las Vegas, and all manner of craziness.

The gang have grown up and their lives are changing as their kids fly the nest (straight to Carly’s house in some cases) and they’re adjusting to getting older. But the bond between them is strong, there’s adventures to be had and love to be cherished. A really fun, lovely read perfect to enjoy while eating all that Easter chocolate!

*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: The Girls – Bella Osborne

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Four old friends. Thrown back together after forty years apart. What could possibly go wrong?
In the 1970s, The Girls were best friends sharing a house and good times: Zara the famous diva actor, Val the uptight solicitor, Jackie the wild child and Pauline the quirky introvert. Now they’re in their twilight years, and Zara suggests that they live with her to support each other through old age.
Initially, being housemates again is just as much fun as in their heyday. But then Zara reveals the real reason she asked them to move in with her, and suddenly things take a sinister turn.
As the women confront their demons they come under the spotlight of the press, the police and an angry parrot. With their lives spiralling out of control can they save their friendships and each other?

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Bella Osborne has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. In 2016, her debut novel, It Started At Sunset
Cottage, was shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year and RNA Joan Hessayon New Writers Award. Bella’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at
you. She likes to find the humour in the darker moments of life and weaves these into her stories.
Bella believes that writing your own story really is the best fun ever, closely followed by talking, eating chocolate, drinking fizz and planning holidays. She lives in the Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who thankfully, both accept her as she is (with mad morning hair and a penchant for skipping).
Follow Bella:
Twitter: @osborne_bella
Facebook: @BellaOsborneAuthor
Instagram: @bellaosborneauthor

My thoughts: this was interesting, I don’t think I’d want to be thrown together with people I hadn’t seen or spoken to in years like this. All the old scars and disagreements, the personality clashes are still there, but all of the characters are also pretty set in their ways and some find it harder than others to get along.

Zara is very manipulative, these are her oldest friends, the ones she claims she wants to spend however much time she has left with, but she’s playing a long game and has been for some time. She’s not really kind and has secrets of her own. Who makes their friends their staff.

Val doesn’t really want to be there, she went along with it for Pauline, who she can see has some pain and needs a supportive pal, rather than freewheeling Jackie who’s a little oblivious but not malicious.

There’s lots of secrets and years of their lives missing that they need to catch up on, but as the pals spend time in the French sunshine, they get distracted by other things, like Brian the cat, the obnoxious parrot, the overly chummy gardener and trying to riddle out Vera. It’s a fun book but lifelong friendships take a fair amount of work. Luckily this book is a nice gentle read and I really came to like Val and Pauline, even Jackie.

*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: With This Kiss – Carrie Hope Fletcher

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If you knew how your love story ends, would you dare to begin?

From the outside, Lorelai is an ordinary young woman with a normal life. She loves reading, she works at the local cinema and she adores living with her best friend. But she carries a painful burden, something she’s kept hidden for years; whenever she kisses someone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die.

Lorelai has never known if she’s seeing what was always meant to be, or if her kiss is the thing that decides their destiny. And so, she hasn’t kissed anyone since she was eighteen.

Then she meets Grayson. Sweet, clever, funny Grayson. And for the first time in years she yearns for a man’s kiss. But she can’t…or can she? And if she does, should she try to intervene and change what she sees?

Spellbinding, magical and utterly original, With This Kiss is one love story you will never forget.

My thoughts: Lorelai avoids falling in love – when she kisses someone she can see how they’ll die, which is a pretty traumatic super power quite frankly and I don’t blame her for being wary. But then of course she meets the one person who could be the love of her life and runs away from him. Literally. Bits of this book are really funny, as is her hilarious best friend.

It’s also a sweet love story about finding the person you love and deciding to be with them regardless of any hardships that might come your way – which is what we all do really. It’s why the traditional marriage vows include “for better, for worse”, love is a decision. A risk, and one Lorelai realises she can take even if she knows how it ends.

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