blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Trauma Effect – Zetta Thomelin

The Trauma Effect reveals a family secret, a trauma, a tragedy that felled a family, the book exposes uncomfortable truths and follows the journey of recovery.

Families have secrets, hidden traumas, the skeleton in the closet. We can inherit the effects of these events without even realising it, absorbing it unconsciously, like a sponge absorbs water.

My family has such a secret. I tell you my story in this book, my story as I thought it, and then the truth of my story to help you to heal yours.

I explore how such events can affect us, both psychologically and physically and take you on the journey of recovery, how to bring a full stop to that inheritance of shame, blame and guilt, so the next generation does not have to carry the burden of it too.

We need to do something about it, shine a light on it, take the skeleton out of the closet, dust it down and bury it once and for all.

Zetta Thomelin is a therapist in private practice, involved in the governance of complementary medicine as Chair of BAThH, as Vice-Chair of UKCHO and as a Trustee of Research Council for Complementary Medicine

Prior to her career in therapy, she worked in the media at News International and Chronos Group Publishing and later in the Third Sector as CEO of Children with AIDS Charity and Vice Chair of Mama Biashara.

She is the author of two other books, The Healing Metaphor and Self-Help? Self-Hypnosis!

For further information go to http://www.zettathomelin.com email info@zettathomelin.com

My thoughts: this was a really interesting and informative read, using her own family as a case study, therapist Zetta explores how trauma can echo through the generations in a family and have an impact even if you don’t experience it firsthand.

Her grandparents and father were the ones directly affected by her aunt’s terrible death, but she was impacted by it too, through them. She looks at the different psychological theories and treatments that can be used to help someone experiencing generational trauma and what she has used in her own practice.

My own family has some experience of generational trauma and so I was interested to understand the effects of this and how it might manifest. A thoroughly intelligent and well written exploration of this condition and its impact.

*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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Book Release Blitz: Zero Kill – M.K. Hill


A TIMES BEST NEW THRILLER PICK

‘Runs at breakneck speed through a dark and dangerous universe populated with characters who are never what they seem’ KATHLEEN KENT, author of Black Wolf

‘A perfect thriller – page-turning excitement, expert plotting, a good dose of wit, and above all a fierce heroine you can’t get enough of.’ ASIA MACKAY, author of Killing It

Meet Elsa Zero: Bad neighbour. Single mother. Ex-deep cover agent.
And right now, the most dangerous person on Earth.
When Elsa’s dull but dedicated boyfriend proposes in a packed restaurant, she doesn’t think her evening can get any worse. But as the clock strikes midnight, her world is turned upside down.
Suddenly Elsa is running for her life, trying to keep her children safe, and desperate to discover what the hell is going on.
Every intelligence agency in the world wants her dead because she’s in possession of a deadly secret
– she just has to stay alive long enough to figure out what it is.
But this is Elsa Zero we’re talking about. And it’s a very bad idea to get on her wrong side.

Bursting with tension, twists and humour, this is a brilliantly unique action-thriller perfect for fans of Killing Eve, Lee Child and people who loved watching Nobody and Hunted.


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M.K. Hill worked as a journalist and an award-winning music radio producer before becoming a full-time writer. He’s written the Sasha Dawson series, Ray Drake series and the highly-acclaimed psychological thriller One Bad Thing. He lives in London. Visit him at http://www.mkhill.uk or find him on Twitter
@markhillwriter

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blog tour, books

Blog Tour: The Cupcake Standard – Maren Jenner

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Welcome to the book tour for Maren Jenner’s Sweet Nothing’s romance, The Cupcake Standard!

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The Cupcake Standard (Sweet Nothings Series #1)

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

Genre: Romance/ NA Billionaire Romance/ Fake Dating

Avery doesn’ t believe in true love, so fake dating the man of her dreams should be a piece of cake.

Avery Milbourne will do anything to get out of dinner with her famous, overbearing mother. Even kiss a stranger. It doesn’ t hurt that he’ s tall, dark, handsome, and wearing a very grabbable tie.

Gearing up to finish college, along with everything else happening in her life, Avery has no time for a relationship. But when the stranger turns out to be wealthy billionaire Derek Elgin, she thinks twice. Accepting Derek’ s offer to enter into a fake relationship and move in with him seems to solve all her problems. She doesn’ t expect to fall for him, but within Derek’ s quiet steadiness, Avery finds a retreat she is loath to give up.

But true love is a myth, and Avery’ s relationship with Derek isn’ t real, so where does that leave her?

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Maren Jenner lives in Michigan with her supportive husband and spunky daughter. She loves writing, and, when she’s not working on her next book, she’s got her nose in a different one. Her summers are spent on any lake she can visit, but the beaches of Lake Michigan are her favorite.
The Cupcake Standard is her debut novel, though she’s been writing for as long as she can remember. It’s always been a dream to become a full-time author. Her dreams wouldn’t be possible without the love and support of her family and friends.

Maren Jenner

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Cover Reveal: One Grand Summer – Ewald Arenz

One Grand Summer – Ewald Arenz, translated by Rachel Ward out 4th July Link

Sixteen-year-old Frieder’s plans for the summer are shattered when he fails two subjects. To be able to move up to the next year in the Autumn, he needs to resit his exams. So instead of going on holiday with his family, he now faces the daunting and boring prospect of staying at his grandparents’ house, studying with his strict and formal step-grandfather.

 On the bright side, he’ll spend time with his grandmother Nana, his sister Alma and his best friend Johann. And he meets Beate, the girl in the beautiful green swimsuit…

 The next few weeks will bring friendship, fear and first love – one grand summer that will change and shape his entire life.

 A number-one bestseller in Germany and winner of the German Booksellers Prize, One Grand Summer is a moving, beautiful and profound novel about relationships and respect that captures those exquisite and painful moments that make us who we are…

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: A Scandalous Match – Jane Dunn


‘Angelica had always known her lack of high birth, fortune or influence debarred her from being presented as an eligible young woman worthy of marriage. To cap it all, being an actress assured she
was utterly beyond the pale of respectability.’

Nightly at the Covent Garden Theatre in London, an enchanting actress is wowing the crowds with her affecting portrayal of Ophelia. Preyed on by rakes and opportunistic young bucks, feted by dukes
and earls, even the Prince Regent himself, Angelica Leigh is a sensation.
But in Regency England, beauty and talent are not enough to be considered marriage material, so when the eminently eligible Lord Charles Latimer sets his heart on Angelica, his uncle is sent to intervene.
As a highly respected, hard-working and wealthy lawmaker, The Honourable Ivor Asprey, is himself seen as desirable husband material, but widowed with an eleven-year-old daughter Elinor, he has
forsaken all thoughts of romance. Lord Latimer’s mother, the Duchess of Arlington, despairs of her son, despite being reassured by Ivor that his infatuation with the actress will pass. But there is something about Angelica Leigh that demands attention, and even the austere and upstanding Mr Asprey isn’t immune to her charms.

Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn brings the Regency period irresistibly to life. Perfect for fans of Jane Austen. Janice Hadlow, Gill Hornby, and anyone with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in
their lives.

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Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which, The Marriage Season, was published in January 2023.
She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.

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My thoughts: I really enjoyed this Regency romance with its spirited heroine and romantic storyline. Angelica is an actress, currently playing the doomed Ophelia on stage, and being wooed by a young lord. She’s fully aware that they can’t really have a future, being from such different classes and with her career. But when the lordling’s uncle warns her off, she finds herself furious.

However as the story progresses and she gets to know Ivor Asprey, she admires him and possibly more. He’s raising his daughter alone after the death of his wife, and as an MP is pushing some pretty important reforms through Parliament. Ones Angelica is supportive of, her own childhood having been one of poverty and hardship.

She becomes friends with a young heiress, finds herself in trouble and in need of Asprey’s aid more than once, and through their growing connection, and the machinations of his young daughter, a spark is ignited.

Angelica is a fantastic, charming protagonist, a modern woman living in an age of propriety where reputation is all, but she’s surrounded and supported by loving friends and family, and knows she can handle almost anything with their help.

Perfect for anyone who enjoys historical romance with a woman who knows her own mind and a man who believes in what’s right at the heart of it. Delightful.

*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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Cover Reveal: Happy is the One – Katie Allen

Happy is the One – Katie Allen out 23rd May  Link 

Imagine you knew exactly when you were going to die…

 Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life.

 Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof.

 With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.

 But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.

 Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin and he’s hiding even more from her.

 A warmly funny, poignant and exquisite novel about coming home and letting go, Happy Is the One asks what is truly important in a chaotic, unpredictable world…

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Rise of the Immortals – Anna Allen

In a world of rising magic, an unseen battle commences. The Gods of Gritheim release their instruments – for good and evil.

While many scoff at witchcraft and sorcery, Josse and Leonné have witnessed it firsthand. Thrown together by prophesy they must learn to wield their secret magic, to defend not only themselves but the kingdom of mortals. Wraiths, known as Drackarts, do the bidding of Guiscard D’Abernon and his sorceress wife, Orella, but the masters behind these puppets are the ones set on its destruction.

The Immortals of Gritheim are on the rise, seeking ultimate power and control; they care not how many thousands will be slaughtered in their path. Only the Redeemers stand in their way.

Josse and Leonné must overcome their dislike of each other, for their world is at stake.

For fans of thrilling epic fantasy that will keep you turning pages!

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Dawn Bolton writes romances and crime/romantic suspense under the name of Toni Bolton, fantasy novels under the name of Anna Allen and historical romance/ suspense novels under the name of Alexie Bolton.

Fascinated by history and law she studied both and taught law in higher education. These subjects inspire many of her books.

She lived in a boat while she studied at unviersity and now lives in a pub, she and her husband renovated near the Grand Union Canal with two fluffy Birman vandals. She loves aqua, yoga and Zumba and draws and paints in her spare time.

Her family are psychic and some of their experiences inspired some of her fantasy and paranormal novels. She’s fascinated by the occult and herbal medicine and brings these into her latest dark fantasy novels.

She loves hearing from her readers and getting feedback.

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My thoughts: two young people battle the forces of evil and learn that they have magical gifts that can aid them.

Leonnè helps a young boy escape his bullying stepfather and years later, the now knight Fitzsimmons comes to her aid as her uncle tries to take her captive and bend her to his will.

As they get to know each other, Leonnè and Fitz can’t fight the growing attraction, but they must stop her uncle and his demon servants first. They hope the king can help them, especially after Leonnè is kidnapped and forced into marriage to her cousin.

Packed with adventure and magical animals (always good), this is a fun read and would be great for fans of sword and sorcery fantasy.

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*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: One Year After You – Shari Low


For forty years the fabulous Odette Devine has been a beloved matriarchal actress on Scotland’s longest-running TV show.
Today she is broken, betrayed, and desperate to find out if this is her payback for a lie she told forty years ago.
A year ago today, Tress Walker’s husband was killed in a car accident, on the same day she gave birth to their baby. Reeling from the discovery that he was with his mistress, Tress has to choose whether
to protect her fragile heart or open it to love again.
Noah Clark was devastated to discover his wife and his best friend were having an affair. Now the love of his life is asking for another chance to make their marriage work. But can there ever be a way back, once the trust is broken?
Noah’s sister Keli Clark has recently been ghosted by the man she loves. When a shocking message from a complete stranger reveals the reason why, Keli will have to decide whether to forgive, forget,
or to make sure he pays.
Twenty-four hours. Four shocking secrets. One tumultuous tale of love, loss and second chances.

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Shari Low is the #1 bestselling author of over 30 novels, including My One Month Marriage and One Summer Sunrise and a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. She lives near Glasgow.

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My thoughts: returning to the lives of the characters from One Day For You a year later, we find some things have changed and others are the same for Noah and Tress, as well as the delightful Nancy and Val. Plus we get some new characters to cheer for in Odette and Keli.

There’s more drama and it’s Buddy’s first birthday too, which he spends with all the people he loves. And there are a lot of them, lucky boy.

Noah and Tress are both trying to move on after finding out that their respective spouses were having an affair, and everyone keeps mentioning Shania Twain for some reason…

With Shani Low’s classic humour, delightful and entertaining stories, and those fabulous characters, it’s a joy 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 Screenwriter – Amanda Reynolds


Every screenwriter knows the best stories come from the truth…

But the truth can be terrifying

Marnie thought she’d left behind her days of writing ‘celebrity’ tell-all memoirs, but when her big break as a screenwriter turns to dust she’s forced to take another ghost writing job.
Except this time it’s for someone who is actually famous. Or rather, infamous. Blythe Hopper. A reclusive former Hollywood star who recently murdered her screenwriter husband.
And Marnie has her own reasons for wanting to meet Blythe, not least because of an email she received from Blythe’s husband, sent two days after he was shot dead.
But Marnie soon learns Blythe is not a woman to be messed with.
Dark secrets lurk at the Hoppers’ palatial London home – secrets long buried, which Marnie is determined to unearth. At any price.
Because this isn’t just about Blythe’s past.
It’s about Marnie’s too.

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Amanda Reynolds is the bestselling psychological suspense author whose debut novel, Close To Me, was adapted as a major six-part TV series for Channel 4 in 2021. Previously published by Headline,
her books have been translated into multiple languages. Amanda lives near Cheltenham.

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My thoughts: her career in a bit of a rut, Marnie accepts a job ghostwriting the memoir of a former Hollywood star, who has confessed to shooting her husband dead.

But Marnie also has an agenda, the dead man emailed her, after he died, hinting at knowledge of her own mystery. What happened to her mum?

Blythe’s house is a pit, nothing is clean, there’s just the somewhat unhinged actor, who never really eats, and her so-called business manager Ludo, who is another person with secrets.

As Marnie attempts to squeeze information out of the odd pair, and find out her own answers, she starts to feel quite frightened, Blythe is clearly unwell and her current legal issues are adding to all her other problems. Will Marnie survive her stay at The Towers?

Full of twists and surprises, this is a dark and sinister summer behind the high walls of a mysterious mansion.

*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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Cover Reveal: Shatter Creek – Rod Reynolds

Shatter Creek – Rod Reynolds out 25th April Link 

Fresh from the scandal at Hampstead County PD, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray works a complex double-homicide that points to a killer on a murderous rampage and a shattering series of discoveries that could end her career … The shocking sequel to the addictive, twisty, bestselling Black Reed Bay…

Hampstead County Police Department is embroiled in scandal after corruption at the top of the force was exposed. Cleared of involvement and returned to active duty, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray nonetheless finds herself at a crossroads when it becomes clear not everyone believes she’s innocent.

Partnered with rookie Billy Drocker, Casey works a shocking daytime double-homicide in downtown Rockport with the two victims seemingly unknown to one another. And when a third victim is gunned down on her doorstep shortly after, it appears an abusive ex-boyfriend holds the key to the killings.

With powerful figures demanding answers, Casey and Billy search for the suspect, fearing he’s on a murderous rampage. But when a key witness goes missing, and new evidence just won’t fit, the case begins to unravel. With her career in jeopardy, Casey makes a shattering discovery that threatens to expose the true darkness at the heart of the murders… with a killer still on the loose…