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Blog Tour: Sally’s Magic River – H. Frank Gaetner

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Welcome to the book tour for Sally’s Magic River by H. Frank Gaetner. Read on for more info!

Sally's Magic River

Sally’s Magic River

Publication Date: July 26th, 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Sally and the Magic River is a magical story of a young girl’s triumph over extreme adversity. Its various scenes are meant to evoke powerful, mental images with parallels to movies such as “The Wizard of Oz”, “Peter Pan”, “The River Wild” and “Gravity”.

It’s fascinating how one’s tragedy can turn into a defining moment. A single misfortune can fuel your desire to be better and ignites your vision. This is what Sally experienced. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE.

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Excerpt

The Hyundai Elantra looked like it had been in a demolition derby. Its jacked-up, deranged occupants had just robbed a Canejo Valley liquor store. The store’s burglar alarm brought cops to the scene in time to see the getaway vehicle disappear into a nearby residential area. A cacophony of bullhorns, racing engines and squealing tires pursued the menace through a crosshatched neighborhood of caromed parked cars, flattened hedges and trenched yards. The police were about to trap the intruder when it bolted onto Lynn Road and headed west toward the Ventura-Freeway and an off-ramp crowded with biotechnologists on their workday morning commute from Agoura Hills and Westlake Village. And it’s here, at this exit, where fate decided to have its way. Determined to escape, the disaster on wheels took the only way out, the wrong way.

Meanwhile, a mother and her ten-year-old daughter were traveling north from their home in Beverly Hills. The girl sat straining forward in the front seat of her family’s classic Fleetwood-Brougham Cadillac anxiously anticipating a visit with her grandfather, a citrus rancher

in the Santa Clara River Valley. Dad was away on business, so the two “women of the house” were on their own. The ten-year old was very fond of her grandfather, and enjoyed helping him in his workshop where he now spent most of his day making beautiful mahogany and ash C1 racing canoes. Such special moments with her grandfather and the solitude of the groves were the main things, but there was also one other thing, the enchanting and unpredictable Santa Clara River with its flood-plain sanctuary of rabbits, squirrels, coyotes, crows, and geese.

The mother knew her precocious daughter was more than ready to arrive at their intended destination. The child’s upturned nose, imp-like smile, and bright green eyes made her look like a pixie imitating a race horse waiting for its starting gate to open. Earlier that morning she had wasted no time. She inhaled her breakfast, set her auburn hair in pigtails, and threw on a red checkered shirt, overalls, and hiking boots to certify that she was ready to “work” on the ranch as soon as they arrived. So, as fate would have it, the two travelers were buckled into the family’s mega Cadillac by 7:30 am, and by 8:10 were entering that portion of the Ventura Freeway that passes through the city of Thousand Oaks.

Already scarred and now re-scarred by numerous glancing blows from its previous neighborhood chase and its reckless game of chicken up the off-ramp, the erratically driven wreck shot onto the freeway directly into the path of oncoming commuter traffic. Gaining speed to over ninety miles per hour, the motorists’ worst nightmare crossed four lanes of traffic and, since miracles do happen, managed to reach the emergency shoulder adjoining the center divider. Seconds later, threading its way between oncoming traffic and the center divider, it successfully arrived at the freeway’s next exit, the Moorpark Road underpass. But with its luck running out, “success” was to be short lived. As the Elantra crossed the underpass, a Toyota Celica, which had been attempting to avoid a rear end collision with the car ahead of it, spun out of control, only to be rear-ended itself by an eighteen- wheel Freightliner. The Toyota, partially airborne from the impact, continued its amazing thrill ride up and over the freeway guard-rail to the street below, where, in a Gallagher fantasy of gigantic proportions, it landed upright on a flatbed truck of watermelons where it began to head east, its new, unscheduled, direction. From Lynn Road to Moorpark Road, motorists, many in cars totaled from multiple collisions, sat unharmed. One would think every one of these fortunate, uninjured travelers would be giving thanks, simply grateful to be alive, but a few were way too busy fumbling with their dash-board mounted GoPro™ cameras to be so distracted.

At the same time the impacted big-rig, twisting violently, suddenly jackknifed across two lanes of traffic in a cloud of burning rubber and smoking brakes. With effective reaction times reduced to fractional seconds, a new group of hapless drivers began to form a chain of smashed fenders, damaged egos, and whiplash-injury lawsuits as Mercedes after BMW, after Jaguar found its mark on the luxury car of the wealthy biotechnology employee ahead of it.

The Elantra, having navigated four lanes of oncoming and a mile of narrow, center-divider emergency-lane, suddenly came into the Cadillac’s view. And then, just as suddenly, it reacted to the out-of-control semi by hard- glancing the concrete retaining wall to meet head-on the Cadillac and its ranch-bound human cargo. The heavyweight car propelled itself forward, merging the Elantra’s engine with front and rear seats and redirecting the motion of the compacted mass in the opposite, but now right, direction down the freeway. The collision launched both mother and daughter forward as if the two had been shot from guns. But, before their seat belts could carry the full burden of forward motion, the vintage Cadillac’s newly retrofitted airbags exploded from their housings directly into the path of the would-be human projectiles. Traffic in both directions came to a complete stop as flying pieces of metal and glass made their way back to earth.

A surreal silence followed the mayhem. For some, the silence was interrupted by an appropriate heart-pounding, adrenaline-inflicted, involuntary, flight-response. For one, the silence momentarily intensified into a darkness more complete than any found in the deepest cavern.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Frank Gaertner

I am a retired molecular genetics scientist who has authored and co-authored well over 50 patents and academic publications. Sally’s Magic River is my only work of fiction. I wrote the story over twenty years ago and first published it as Sally and the Magic River in 2014. I am republishing the story in this new format with its new cover and title, Sally’s Magic River. Why? Because I think Sally’s story may turn out to be the most important thing I’ve written.

H. Frank Gaertner

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Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

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Misty’s Book Space (Spotlight) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com

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Book Blitz: Trial of the Lovebird Butcher – Lumen Reese

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You are going to want to check out this book and find out what readers are saying about it! Read on for more info about Trial of the Lovebird Butcher by Lumen Reese!

Trial of the Lovebird Butcher Cover Final (1)

Trial of the Lovebird Butcher

Publication Date: May 13th, 2021

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Crime Thriller

An antiquities dealer and amateur children’s magician named Edward Fox is charged with three murders dating back to the 1980’s, when he should have been only a child. But evidence suggests he has been around and interfering with the lives of humans for a very long time: back to 1920’s Chicago, through decades with a traveling circus, and during the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama, 1965

In New Haven, Connecticut, a decades-old cold case resurfaces. As charges are brought, the details grow stranger and stranger…

An antiquities dealer and amateur children’s magician named Edward Fox is charged with three murders, dating back to the 1980’s, when he should have been only a child. Fox is a wanderer and a fall-down drunk. The case’s unnatural timeline combined with one alleged victim’s status as a teen beauty queen set the stage for the State of Connecticut v. Fox to become the trial of the century.

Maggie Stowe -insomniac, Private Investigator, dream thief- has been following Fox for months. She is a crusader for women and girls and can still hear them screaming in Fox’s dreams every night. But reality has begun to blur for the exhausted Maggie. Soon she is unsure of anything except for the fact that she’s a pawn in a perilous game.

Defender Ben Cartwright -the son of a murdered civil rights activist- knows to never take justice for granted. To him, the case reeks of prosecutorial overreach. All three counts are alleged murders without cadavers, linked to his client by circumstantial evidence rooted out by an obsessive PI with a direct line to her girlfriend at the State’s Attorney’s Office. Edward insists that Ben is the man to defend him. Never mind that he’s young, or only just passed the Bar, or that he speaks a bit slowly because his mind works differently than most people’s.

The trial becomes a battle of wills. A jury and a nation are asked to consider -as the evidence strongly suggests- that Fox has been around and interfering with the lives of humans for a very long time; back to the Depression-era streets of Chicago, through decades with a traveling circus, and during the Selma to Montgomery marches that took place in Alabama, 1965…

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Available on Smashwords

About the Author

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Lumen Reese is an author of diverse fantasy, sci-fi, historical and speculative fiction from Michigan.
Trial of the Lovebird Butcher is now available Smashwords!

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Double Cover Reveal: The Prodigal Mother/What Lies Beneath – Stephen Edger

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Five years ago, Abbie’s son Josh died during delivery. It’s taken this long for her and husband Mark to even think about trying to restart their family. Now eight months pregnant, Abbie won’t dare dream of a happy ending in case it is snatched away again.

When a stranger tells Abbie that Josh was switched at the hospital and is living under a new identity, Abbie desperately wants to believe it’s a second chance, but Mark isn’t as easily convinced, especially when the stranger’s mental health issues come to light. 

Abbie can’t find Josh without the stranger’s help, but she can’t risk the life of the child she is carrying. And she doesn’t know how far Josh’s new family will go to keep their secret buried.

Told at a breakneck pace, and with twists on every page THE PRODIGAL MOTHER is a gripping psychological suspense, perfect for fans of CL Taylor, Louise Jensen, and CJ Tudor.

Amazon UK Amazon US Published – 5th September

Grieving father Joe Irons wants nothing but justice following daughter Lydia’s abduction and murder. But when police release prime suspect David Calderwood due to a lack of evidence, Joe feels compelled to act. In the dead of night he weighs up the moral implications of whether doing a bad thing for a good reason is justifiable. With Calderwood abducted and imprisoned in a cell beneath the stairs, Joe intends to obtain a confession no matter the cost.

When Joe learns that another child has been taken, he’s certain David is involved, and is in a race against time to break his prisoner, but wanting to hurt someone isn’t the same as physically doing it.

Invading David’s home, Joe begins to piece together how his captive thinks, picking up the investigation the police have left open. With a child’s life hanging in the balance, will Joe have what it takes to find the truth?

WHAT LIES BENEATH is an adrenaline-fuelled, high concept thriller that will appeal to fans of Adrian McKinty’s The Chain, and CJ Tudor’s The Other People.

Amazon UK Amazon US Published 6th June

Stephen Edger is the Amazon bestselling author of psychological and crime thrillers, including Snatched, and the Kate Matthews series. Born in the north-east of England, he now lives in Southampton where most of his stories are set, allowing him to use his insider knowledge to deliver realistic and unsettling suspense on every page.

Away from writing, Stephen loves to read anything that will keep him awake at night. He’s also a passionate advocate for contemporary cinema and binge-watching the latest offerings from streaming services. He is married with a son and a daughter, and two dogs.

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Blog Tour: The Secret Voices – M J White

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They said they’d keep me safe.
They said, ‘It’s okay, Hannah. You know you can trust me.’
They lied.
When eight-year-old Hannah Perry goes missing in the small Suffolk village of St Just, the community is rocked. Heading up the investigation is Acting DS Rob Minshull, but he’s out of his depth in a case
that seems to mirror the disappearance of a young boy, seven years ago. That search ended in unimaginable tragedy…and Minshull is praying that history won’t be repeated.
But with an investigation full of dead ends, and a kidnapper taunting the police with sinister deliveries of Hannah’s belongings and cryptic notes, the young girl’s life hangs perilously in danger.
Until Dr Cora Lael enters the picture. A psychologist with a unique ability, Cora’s rare gift allows her to sense emotions attached to discarded objects. When she is shown the first of Hannah’s belongings,
she hears the child’s piercing scream.
With few leads on the case, could Cora prove Hannah’s only hope? And as time runs out, can they find Hannah before history repeats itself…?
A twisty, original and utterly gripping detective thriller that fans of James Oswald and LJ Ross will love.
Don’t miss the crime thriller debut from the bestselling women’s fiction author, Miranda Dickinson.

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MJ White is the crime pen name of the internationally bestselling author Miranda
Dickinson. To date she has sold over one million books worldwide and has been translated into sixteen languages. Miranda has always been a huge fan of crime fiction and The Secret Voices marks the start of a new and exciting departure for her writing.
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My thoughts: When an 8 year old is abducted in broad daylight from a Suffolk village, the police lurch into action. They know they don’t have long – sadly this has happened before and it ended badly.

But this time they have a rather unorthodox secret weapon – Dr Cora Lael can “read” objects – a sort of emotional synaesthesia, and tell them about the emotional state of the owner and in Hannah’s case, whether they’re still alive. She is, and fighting back, all she wants is to get home to her mum and sisters. And that’s what Cora and acting DS Rob Minshull want too.

Clever and with a surprise twist or two thrown in, this is a confident and assured debut crime novel from a very talented author. I’ve read some of Miranda Dickinson’s rom coms and this is a very different book, although Rob and Cora definitely have a connection. I look forward to the next in this series – where hopefully the duo solve more cases and get to know one another better.

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

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Blog Tour: From the Ashes – Danielle M. Orsino

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Welcome to the 3rd exciting instalment in the Birth of the Fae series, From the Ashes by Danielle M. Orsino. Read on for more details and a chance to win a fantastic giveaway!

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From the Ashes

Genre: Fantasy/ Fae

Publication Date: January 20th, 2022

Queen Aurora and King Jarvok are finding that there is a thin line between love, hate, and Oblivion.

The war between the Court of Light and Dark has finally ended, and peace reigns. The Court of Light continued advising the human monarchs of Europe while the Court of Dark kept to themselves, intervening only to act as the humans Dark Gods and Goddesses.
The two Courts were both upholding their respective duties as written by the Treaty of Bodhicitta, until Queen Mary the first of England reneges on a Changeling contract with the Court of Light. This unfortunate act puts events in motion which led to the last Fire Drake, Bishop Awynn, making the ultimate sacrifice. Awynn loses his light while saving The Dark Fae King during a tense standoff with Queen Aurora.
Queen Aurora swears revenge upon Mary for Awynn’s death and issues the same warning she gave her Father, King Henry the Eighth, so many years ago. However, King Jarvok had his own point of view on Queen Aurora’s vengeance and pays Aurora a visit to deliver his critique of her technique, leading to a knock-down drag-out fight between the two Fae monarchs.

Both Leaders refuse to bow even if it means certain Oblivion…

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Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at the Bookshop.org

Extract

“Please . I have seen horrors that would make a Troll’s balls shrivel . I have put together war strategies which brought Lucifer to his knees . I am sure I can figure out how to aura blend,” he finally said with a nonchalant hand wave .

Zion rolled his eyes . “My liege, I will ask permission to take certain liberties now .”

Jarvok looked up through his brows at his lieutenant and gave a subtle tilt of his head .

Zion took it as permission . “You are the best of us on the battlefield . I am going to give you a lesson in aura blending, in a way both of us can be comfortable with .” Zion motioned to Jarvok to take a seat . Instead, Jarvok leaned on the wall, arms folded . By humoring Zion, Jarvok was admitting he might have a point . Zion glanced up, gathering his thoughts and fortitude .

The sapphire-eyed Fae faced Jarvok, a smile creeping across his lips . “I’ve got it . First of all, do not unsheathe your sword too quickly . “

Giveaway: Entire series-three books all personally autographed and some extra special secret bookish surprises for the winner

About the Author

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Danielle M. Orsino is a fantasy novelist whose lifelong vision to create whimsical realms that her readers can escape to. Her compelling word-weaving pays homage to a multitude of personal muses, from Chris Claremont and George Pérez (both famous comic book writers), to Anne Rice and Wonder Woman.

The creative spark of storytelling has been with Danielle ever since she was a child, but martial arts and her nursing career took center stage into adulthood. Then, on a day like any other, it was reignited during the most unexpected of moments: while treating one of her patients. Seeing that they longed for a distraction during their arduous treatments, the floodgates of inspiration soon burst forth. So, Danielle took it upon herself to tell them a story; a fantastical narrative that would leave the confines of that IV room’s walls and land upon a page. Before she knew it, what started as an imaginative tale to pass the time, turned into book, followed by an entire series: The Birth of Fae. This awe-inspiring series includes Locked out of Heaven (Book One), Thine Eyes of Mercy (Book Two), and From The Ashes (Book Three), all of which are published by 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc. And with an unwavering passion for cosplay and comics, it was a unanimous decision to place her on the cover of each book in all her Fae cosplay glory. The Birth of Fae also features Los, an affable chameleon dragon inspired by her fun-loving Yorkie named Carlos.

When writing wasn’t at the forefront of her mind, Danielle was a successful Martial Artist. Some of her achievements include “1999 World Martial Arts Hall of Fame Inductee”, “Female Martial Artist of the Year”, “WKA World Champion Silver Medalist 2008”, and numerous more. She has also garnered hundreds of martial art tournament wins, various other national and world titles, and features on big-name channels like TLC and CBS. She even had the rare opportunity to perform for former U.S. President Bill Clinton and collaborate alongside Vincent Lyn and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. From there, she pursued her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, and she is now a Licensed Practical Nurse who focuses on Lyme disease research.

This “New Queen of the Fae’s” unmatched world-building and masterful Fae-origin retellings have led to an ever-growing queendom of “Fae-natics”. To begin embarking upon a quest in an epic world unlike any other, visit Danielle M. Orsino’s official website at http://www.BirthOfTheFae.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram (@BirthOfTheFae_Novel) and Twitter (@BirthOfTheFae).

“After summoning this world into existence through an imaginative force of will, Danielle has scoured every inch of the landscape several times over. Critics often praise a story’s world building by saying that it feels “lived in.” Well, the world of the Fae certainly seems like that because Danielle herself has happily lived there for years as she worked to put all of this together… My favorite part of this story is that it is gloriously depicted in vibrant images.”

-Clete Barrett Smith, New York Times Bestselling Author of If We Were Giants, Aliens on Vacation series, and Magic Delivery

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Blog Tour: The Serial Killer’s Girl – L.H. Stacey

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Does a killer’s blood run in the family?
Lexi Jakes thought she could run from her past.
But when her biological mother is found dead, strangled with a red silk scarf and holding a chess piece, Lexi knows that her worst nightmare has come true. Because the murder has all the hallmarks of her own serial killer father, renown strangler Peter Graves.
Now with her own precious daughter’s life in danger, Lexi will do anything to keep her child safe…she is her father’s daughter after all.
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Lynda Stacey is the bestselling psychological suspense author of over five novels. Alongside her writing she is a fulltime sales director for an office furniture company and has been a nurse, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Staff Instructor. She lives near Doncaster with her husband.

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My thoughts: I can’t imagine how awful it must be growing up knowing your dad was a murderer. I actually went to school with a girl whose dad was in prison for that, they’d changed their names and moved away to avoid scrutiny but aged 7 she sometimes forgot she wasn’t supposed to tell her friends where her dad was and why.

Lexi’s father was a killer but her mother abandoned her too, and she grew up with loving foster parents on Lindisfarne Island, off the Northumberland coast. But when her birth mother is murdered by a copycat killer, she’s terrified, and justly so. Running back to Lindisfarne with her daughter, to supposed safety, puts them both in danger as the copycat is out for revenge.

Shocking, gripping, heart in mouth stuff. When Agatha the kitten went missing I though I might have to abandon the book, for all the crime fiction I read and watch on TV, I can’t handle harm to animals or small children. Thankfully I didn’t need to, but it certainly ups the horror factor – and tension. Will Lexi and Isla be OK on an island where you can’t leave when the tide comes in? Chilling stuff.

*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: The Wives of Crimson Avenue – Sadie Ryan

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Ladies. Are you a perfect wife wanting to live in suburban utopia?
Then Crimson Avenue is for you!
Come and join other like-minded women in our idyllic community.
We might even let you into our little secret…

When a striking young woman turns up to Adele Love’s antique shop acting suspiciously and gives her a cryptic message …

Tell Sam that they know…

On leaving the shop, to Adele’s horror, the woman is bundled into a white van and abducted.

Beginning a search for the missing woman, DI Vincent Sullivan and DS Josephine Jenkins conduct their house-to-house investigations, which lead them into a sinister world of diamond smuggling and drugs, all happening behind the perfect façade of Crimson Avenue.

As the pressure mounts with the severity of the crimes committed, the wives close ranks and deny all knowledge.

But just as cracks begin to appear and the women start to turn on each other, they realise there’s also the small problem of Adele’s secret, which could get them all killed…

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Sadie Ryan is the author of three books. Her latest, Guilty came out in April 2021, a psychological thriller. She loves animals and lives in leafy Cheshire in the North West of England with her daughter and rescue dog. When not writing she spends her time reading, gardening, walking her dog or watching old black and white movies.

When asked where she gets her ideas from, she says, ‘From observation, inspiration and lots of wicked thoughts.’

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My thoughts: I’m not entirely sure the four friends at the centre of this book are really friends, as things unravel around them and their stupid act lands them in shark infested waters, their resentments and petty squabbles come to light and maybe they need to all find new pals.

Adele’s in the worst fix – her diamond dealer husband is missing, a strange woman just got kidnapped right in front of her and a Russian gangster is after some diamonds her stupid husband stole from him. And now the police are asking questions.

DI Sullivan and his team know the four women, the wives of Crimson Avenue, know a lot more than they’re saying, their strange behaviour is giving them away. He’d like to get home in time for dinner with his wife but until they start telling the truth, it’s going to be a long shift. Then the bodies start turning up.

Clever, more complicated than it first appears and with smart, savvy cops hot on the heels of the gangsters and certain the women are involved more seriously than as mere witnesses, this was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

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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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Book Birthday Blitz: Style & the Solitary – Miriam Drori

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An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.
Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?
His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?
She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?
In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?
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When Miriam Drori says she loves to perform, people don’t believe her. When she says she’s not shy, they think she’s delusional. The fact is, things ain’t what they seem. A witch called social anxiety
took away her ability to be spontaneous, but it didn’t change her exhibitionist nature. You need to watch her dancing or speaking before an audience to understand that.
Fortunately, she has found an outlet for her thoughts in writing, a solitary activity with multiple recipients. She never doubted her ability to write, but only in recent years has she managed to gather her views and observations together into papier-mâché balls worth throwing far and wide.
If you ignore the witch, life has been good to Miriam, especially since she made the decision to move from the UK to Israel. She has a wonderful husband, three lovely children and a delightful house. She
loves to read, travel, hike and dance. She has worked in computer programming and technical writing, and now enjoys the freedom and versatility of creative writing. And she believes passionately in raising awareness of social anxiety.

Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, Wattpad and website/blog.
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Giveaway to Win 5 x PB copies of Cultivating a Fuji by Miriam Drori (Open INT)

My thoughts: this was an interesting take on Beauty & the Beast, set in modern day Jerusalem. My mum lived in Israel for a bit before she married my dad and would probably recognise a lot of the roads and neighbourhoods that the characters traverse as they investigate a terrible murder in their workplace.

Nathalie is a French emigrè who worries her Hebrew isn’t very good but does her best to interview people connected to the crime. She doesn’t believe the police have the right man in her quiet colleague Asaf, despite him being found with the murder weapon in hand.

Asaf struggles to socialise, he’s quiet and studious, good at his job but his colleagues feel like they don’t really know him. Which makes him, a loner, the perfect suspect in many ways.

Nathalie determines to help him, she knows there’s more to Asaf, and her faith in him pays off, her investigation unveils the real killer.

This is a clever and intelligent story exploring social anxiety in its different guises.

*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 Secrets of Summer House – Rachel Burton

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An emotional, atmospheric summer read about family secrets and loyalty from the author of Kindle bestseller A Bookshop Christmas.
The secrets of Summer House are about to come out at last…

Rushing out of the University Library, undergraduate Alice Kenzie bumps straight into PhD student Tristan Somers. There begins a whirlwind romance, and Alice falls pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. Then Tristan is killed in a car accident. Unable to cope, Alice takes her baby to Summer House, Tristan’s family home in Suffolk, leaves her there and disappears.

Olivia Somers has always been told that her mother died in the same accident as her father.
But when she finds a bundle of old letters in Summer House, everything she ever believed about her mother is called into question. Can she find her – and even more importantly, forgive her?

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Rachel has a degree in Classics and another in English Literature, and fell into a career in law by mistake. She has spent most of her life between Cambridge and London but now lives in Yorkshire
with her husband and their three cats. She loves yoga, ice hockey, tea, The Beatles, dresses with pockets and very tall romantic heroes. Find her on Twitter & Instagram as @RachelBWriter or follow
her blog at rachelburtonwrites.com

Twitter: @RachelBWriter
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My thoughts: families are complicated, messy beasts, often people do things that they feel are “for the best” even when that’s not necessarily the case. When Olivia’s grandmother, who raised her, dies, things once best thought hidden surface. An envelope of photos, a drunken comment from her father-in-law and Olivia is convinced the story about her parents’ deaths was a lie. Her mother is still alive, but where is she and why did she leave?

Moving back and forth from Olivia’s present and the 1970s love story of her parents, Tristan and Alice, this is a bittersweet, moving and evocative story of love, secrets and truth. The author also includes a playlist (on Spotify) to help you get into the characters story and personalities too, a lovely touch.

*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: Miss Aldridge Regrets – Louise Hare

ramblingmads

The glittering RMS Queen Mary. A nightclub singer on the run. An aristocratic family with secrets worth killing for.

London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.

She’s feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy’s increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won’t be for an audience, but for her life.

My thoughts: This Lovely City was a great debut, but Miss Aldridge Regrets is even better. Such a great book, I was hooked from the get go. With its mix of Soho grime and first class ocean bound glamour, murder, music and family secrets, this is an assured classic in the making.

Lena is a bit naive, and clearly a sucker for a story, happy to jump on a ship with a virtual stranger to a supposed starring role in a show that doesn’t even have a title or a script. She’s also on the run, even though she’s not really done anything wrong, and caught up in something she doesn’t understand, trapped in all the luxury and glamour of an ocean liner.

Lena’s also battling with concepts of race and class, light skinned enough to pass among the Abernathy family as one of their own, but meeting musician Will (who reminds her of her father) brings her back down to reality – she has to pick a side. If they realise she’s not “one of them”, then she won’t be so welcome at the table. She can’t be both, not in America.

The Abernathy/Parker family and their attendants have a lot of secrets, bitterness, feuds, lies and a serious collective alcohol problem. Lena is thrown into their world and has no idea about any of them. She’s not at home in their world, despite being able to switch up her accent from East End to Mayfair, she is an actress after all. It’s only with Will, in the “pub” the crew hang out in that she’s able to be herself. Which should tell her something.

As things go from bad to worse onboard, she doesn’t know who to trust or what to do. Maybe she should have stayed in London after all. She has secrets too, and they’re at risk of spilling out the longer she’s mixing with first class and slipping below decks at night. Will she even make it to New York?

There’s suspense, terrible crimes at sea, but there’s also jazz under the moon and a little romance too. I want a sequel – a What Miss Aldridge Did Next.

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