blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Soul Sisters – Lesley Lokko*

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Since childhood, Jen and Kemi have lived like sisters in the McFadden family home in Edinburgh, brought together by a shared family history which stretches back generations. Kemi was educated in Britain alongside Jen and the girls could not be closer; nor could they be more different in the paths they take in life. But the ties that bind them are strong and complicated, and a dark family secret exists in their joint history. Solam Matsunyane is from South Africa’s black political elite. Handsome, charismatic, charming, and a successful young banker, he meets both Kemi and Jen on a trip to London and sweeps them off their feet. Partly influenced by her interest in Solam, and partly on a journey of self-discovery, Kemi, now 31, decides to return to the country of her birth for the first time. Jen, seeking an escape from her father’s overbearing presence, decides to go with her. In Johannesburg, it becomes clear that Solam is looking for the perfect wife to facilitate his soaring political ambitions. But who will he choose? All the while, the real story behind the two families’ connection threatens to reveal itself – with devastating consequences . . .

Lesley Lokko is a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic and novelist, formerly Dean of Architecture at City College of New York, who has lived and worked on four continents. Lesley’s bestselling novels include Soul Sisters, Sundowners, Rich Girl, Poor Girl and A Private Affair. Her novels have been translated into sixteen languages and are captivating stories about powerful people, exploring themes of racial and cultural identity.

My thoughts: some years ago I read and fell in love with Lesley Lokko’s Sundowners, it was the perfect book for the mood I was in at the time and I’ve re-read it a dozen times since. So I was delighted to be able to take part in this blog tour for the author’s latest book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a unique bond between two women, born in Scotland and South Africa but raised as sisters, educated in the UK, but whose paths lead them both to the new, post-apartheid South Africa and into the path of aspiring politician Solam, who is not quite as honourable as he first seems.

There are dark family secrets buried in the McFadden family’s past – but never spoken about, which link the two girls together, and are why Kemi is sent to Edinburgh in the first place.

The connection between Jen and Kemi helps them through difficult times in their lives, even as their paths diverge. Kemi becomes a world class surgeon, and Jen something of a trophy wife, rich and beautiful and terribly lonely.

Lokko’s power as a writer is to make you care about these privileged people and also to transport you to South Africa’s open skies and complex political scene. I only know what I’ve read about the history and huge social changes, but it’s all brought vividly to life – the hope in the air as apartheid ends, the way the former political prisoners take to power and hold onto it.

I really enjoyed this book, as I have the author’s previous books, I loved Kemi, and grew to care about Jen too, although at first I found her spoilt and a bit annoying, expecting her father to keep paying her way as she didn’t really get her life together. I admired Kemi’s drive and dedication to her work – I know that neurosurgeons are few and far between and have to be incredibly focused. The vital bond between them carries the story as we move through the years, as South Africa’s fortunes change and the roles they play within it.

*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 Girl in the Triangle – Joyana Peters*

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When your dreams finally seem to be coming true, it’s hard to trust them.

It’s been four years since seventeen-year-old Ruth set eyes on her fiance. After surviving near-starvation, revolution and a long trip across the stormy ocean, she can’t help but wonder: Will Abraham still love her? Or has America changed him?

Nowhere’s as full of change as 1909 New York. From moving pictures to daring clothes to the ultra-modern Triangle Shirtwaist Factory where she gets a job, everything exhilarates Ruth. When the New World even seems to rejuvenate her bond with Abraham, she is filled with hope for their prospects and the future of their war-torn families.

But when she makes friends and joins the labor movement—fighting for rights of the mostly female workers against the powerful factory owners—something happens she never expected. She realizes she might be the one America is changing. And she just might be leaving Abraham behind.

The Girl in the Triangle is an immigration story that will appeal to fans of Brooklyn by Colm Toibin and The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani. It questions what it means to be an American, and what is the true meaning of strength.

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Excerpt

He stood outside the dressing room with his arms crossed. "I was starting to fear I'd need to send in a search party."
"I'm sorry," Ruth said. "I met the sister of one of your friends."
"Chayele," Abraham chuckled. "That explains it. That girl could talk the hind legs off a donkey."

He steered her to the line for the stairs and gestured for her to open her bag to be examined. "They fear people stealing scraps for sewing at home."

Ruth held her bag open wide as the guard poked through. Eventually he nodded, and they exited through the door to the stairs.
"Chayele seemed really nice. She introduced me to her friends as well. She said you were good friends with her brother?"

"Yankel," Abraham nodded. "He's good folk. He took me under his wing when I got here. Makes me get out and have some fun from time to time."
Ruth pondered that for a moment and considered Chayele's painted face. "She's not a—what do you call it? Floopsy, is she?"
Abraham laughed. "No, Chayele’s not a floozy, though she might be the center of any party. She's just been here awhile and has embraced America."
"America encourages painted faces?"

Abraham tilted his head and thought before answering. "America encourages fun, at least in your free time. Not like in Russia where you just go to work and come home."
"How do you spend your free time?"
Abraham turned to face her with a twinkle in his eye. "All kinds of ways. Seeing performers singing in shows, going to the circus, heading out to Luna Park."
"What's Luna Park?"
"An amusement park in West Brighton Beach. You can ride a roller coaster and see recreations of villages from all over the world—it's amazing. I'll take you one weekend."

Ruth mulled over this new word, weekend. She had no clue what a roller coaster was, but it sounded exciting. Everything Abraham mentioned was foreign and strange. They'd sung as a family around the piano or even in the street with neighbors on holidays. But shows? Performers? These were novel ideas.

Abraham glanced over at her with a mischievous smile. "Still love running?"
Ruth smiled.
"Race you home!" he shouted and took off ahead.
"You gonif! You still cheat!" she shouted and took off after him.

His laughter floated back to her as she ran. The cityscape flew by as she weaved in and out of people on the sidewalk, some shouting insults in response. They rolled right off Ruth. Her exhaustion evaporated, the caress of cool air on her face sweeping away her lethargy. She dug deep to run faster, her competitive instincts kicking in. She'd never felt so happy and free.

Growing up in New York, she always loved exploring the city, particularly the Lower East Side. This led to her discovery of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the stories it holds.

She currently lives in Northern Virginia where she takes in the sights of DC with her two kids and husband.

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My thoughts: being British I was only vaguely aware of the infamous Triangle factory fire, and this novel, based on historical facts, filled in the gaps. We have our own share of horrific factory tragedies here, and sadly it’s not all in the past.

Ruth and her family are Russian Jews, who moved to America to escape poverty and prejudice like so many did in the early 1900s. Torn between tradition and all that America has to offer, Ruth goes to work at the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on the production line. She wants to help pay for her fiance Abraham’s family to join them in New York.

Ruth is swept up in unionisation, the women’s suffrage movement and starts to become more American, dressing in the new fashions and styling her hair like a Gibson girl. Her younger sister Ester wants to keep their old traditions and preserve the Yiddish they speak at home.

The book was a fascinating look at the struggles immigrants still face, torn between tradition and the ways of their new home, and also the horrific treatment of workers in the factories that helped build America.

Reading this made me think of the scandals of last year, when, during a pandemic, garment workers here in the UK were still suffering in similar ways to those of Ruth and her friends. Inadequate ventilation, poor management, lack of PPE, abuse of power and other injustices. Things that should be confined to the past, long since stopped through the work of men and women like Ruth, pushing governments to introduce laws to protect workers. It’s a sad and strange fact that sometimes it feels like nothing has changed, Ruth would be outraged.

*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: Lord Seeks Wife – Heather Barnett*

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Take 1,000 women, add one earl and whip into a media frenzy.

Reclusive academic Lord Noblet de Beeble doesn’t want to get married but his overbearing mother, Lady Caroline, is insisting he must. When he places an advert for a wife in the Situations Vacant section of his local newspaper, the national press pick up the story. A desperate Noblet calls on his handsome younger brother, Henry, to help him navigate the subsequent media frenzy.

Among the hordes of hopeful candidates to descend on the village of Gently Rising is the beautiful and mysterious Mia Wild, who befriends local primary school teacher, Alice Brand. Alice has been looking for something to spice up her life, but getting embroiled in a very public wife-hunt wasn’t what she had in mind.

In a summer packed with suspicious exes, snobbery, social climbers and sausage rolls, Gently Rising will bear witness to a public courtship like no other. But who will come out on top?
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Heather Barnett has been making things up and writing them down ever since she could hold a pen. She studied English and French at the University of Leeds and has written at every opportunity since, from copywriting to stand-up comedy and sketches. Her influences span Jane Austen and Douglas Adams at one end of the alphabet through to PG Wodehouse at the other. Her debut novel, Acts of Kindness, was kick-started with the help of sessions at the Faber Academy and Arvon Foundation, and then regularly impeded by her two attention-seeking cats. She is head of marketing at an agency in Oxfordshire.
Heather’s debut novel, Acts of Kindness was published in March 2021. Lord Seeks Wife is a hilarious romantic comedy and is her follow-up book.
Please visit Heather’s website to read more. Follow Heather on Twitter  & Instagram 

My thoughts: this was hilarious, do not read while eating or you’ll choke. I was really glad I was reading it alone as I’m pretty sure I was laughing so hard I snorted. Honestly I was having so much fun reading this.

Poor Nobby, not only saddled with a horrible name, he also has an overbearing mother who won’t let the fact he doesn’t actually want to get married stop her from encouraging him to find a wife. He goes about it in a very practical manner – placing a job vacancy in the paper and then chaos ensues.

If you need a light hearted, very silly book, with a splash of romance (I was thrilled for lovely Derek especially), then read this book.

*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: No Names to be Given – Julia Brewer Daily

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NoNamestobeGivenCongratulations to author Julia Brewer Daily on the release of her debut novel, No Names to Be Given!

Read on for more info and a chance to win a $100 Amazon e-gift card!!!!

No Names cover_00001No Names to Be Given

Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Women’s Fiction

Today’s young women will not understand how our families made us feel shame so intensely; we surrendered our first-born children to strangers. Faith Reynolds, No Names to Be Given 

The widely anticipated debut novel by Julia Brewer Daily is a glimpse into the lives of women forced by society to gift their newborns to strangers. Although this novel is a fictional account, it mirrors many of the adoption stories of its era. 

When three young unwed women meet at a maternity home hospital in New Orleans in 1965, they are expected to relinquish their babies and return home as if nothing transpired. Twenty-five years later, they are brought back together by blackmail and their secrets threatened with exposure—all the way to the White House.

Told from the three women’s perspectives in alternating chapters, we are mesmerized by the societal pressures on women in the 1960s who found themselves pregnant without marriage.

How that inconceivable act changed them forever is the story of No Names To Be Given, a novel with southern voices, love exploited, heartbreak and blackmail.  

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Excerpt

M A G N O L I A  H O M E  H O S P I T A L

N E W  O R L E A N S , 1 9 6 6

Men loved Sandy’s body. She didn’t have the option of leading with her wit or intellect. Her looks arrived first. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Now, Sandy placed her hand on her formerly taut stomach. It felt bloated and mushy. How long would it be before she was back in her sparkly dance costumes and performing for audiences? The provocative bustiers and garter belts would not fit her now. She slid up in her hospital bed and peered through a crack in the curtain. They were all in the same recovery room, separated by thin blue fabric. She heard the other two moaning as they awakened. A nurse worked among the three of them and whispered, as if the others were out of earshot, “What a coincidence ya’ll went into labor on the same day. We were inducing you next week.”

An acidic smell of disinfectant and the rusty odor of blood invaded Sandy’s nostrils. She swallowed and found her throat parched and lips chapped. Her head throbbed with a dull drumbeat, and she tasted a metallic tang. What have I done? Why did I think this was the better choice?

Sandy’s thoughts jumbled, like a bad movie looping in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered how her heart once pounded whenever she heard Glen’s voice. The curtains separating the roommates’ beds reminded Sandy of those in her home in Illinois, and her mind projected Glen’s image into the hospital room.

“You see what happens to trashy girls?”

She imagined him sitting at the end of the bed, sneering at her. Sandy’s teeth chattered, and her body quaked in small jerks. Her chest rose and fell so rapidly; she became faint. Sandy imagined dying in the hospital. Women died from childbirth all the time. Would her mother ever find out? Probably not. Sandy covered her tracks pretty well. Glen would think she got what she deserved.

“Becca?”

Sandy leaned forward and yanked back the cloth separating them. Becca twisted from side to side. Sandy hated seeing her roommate in such distress. Becca might have been a princess-like creature in her former life, but Sandy admired her rebellious streak. How many other white girls had the guts to fall in love with a Negro? Becca broke the silence. “I cannot believe our babies are in the nursery down the hall, and they won’t let us see them,” she whispered. “Maybe we can sneak down there.”

“Don’t. It may make things worse.” Sandy wanted to avoid all maternal feelings and didn’t want to see a child who might look like her or Carlos.

“I can barely walk to the bathroom.” Faith’s voice trembled. Her pixie haircut, unwashed and dishwater blond, was in spikes and her eyes seemed too large for their sockets.

“Hey, Nurse Carter. If you let me go to the nursery, I won’t bother you anymore.”

“You know that’s not allowed.” The nurse frowned at Becca.

“I promise to stand behind the window. I just want to see my baby. One time. I promise.” The nurse’s response was to leave the room.

Becca whispered to Sandy. “I just want to see the skin color. I want to see if the adoptive parents will know it’s a mixed-race baby.”

Most of all, Sandy knew she longed to hold her child. Becca still declared love for her baby’s father. Sandy was still in love with her child’s father, too, but he would be no help to her from behind prison bars.

“I’ll go on a hunger strike. Do you want me to barricade myself in the nursery?” Becca made her announcements in a loud voice.

“Hush. You’re disturbing the entire home.” Nurse Carter poked her head back in the doorway and spoke harshly.

Perspiration beaded in the hollows of Becca’s cheeks, and Sandy watched as she swiped it away with her palm. Her beauty dulled only slightly with her auburn hair in a messy knot on the top of her head and her freckles dominant on her ivory skin. Becca’s startling blue eyes were now the color of a very stormy sea—gunmetal and glinting.

“Everything’s gonna be alright,” Sandy cooed. She feared Becca would

spring from the bed and run toward the nursery. Sandy watched Faith with her hands clasped as if in prayer.

“Faith, are you okay?” She always spoke to Faith as if she were a child. They were all about the same age, eighteen, but Faith’s innocence made her seem so much younger.

“I’m miserable,” Faith said.

“Me, too. I feel like a medieval torture device stretched my limbs,” `Sandy said.

Faith chanted prayers for her baby. “Please, Lord. Please let my baby have the very best parents. I know you’ll take care of him—or her.” She hummed the lyrics of “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.”

“How are we expected to walk away and pretend nothing happened? They knocked us out before we had our babies and won’t let us see them? We don’t even know if we had a boy or a girl.” Becca blurted out.

Sandy did not turn to Becca. Instead, she watched Faith twist her hands. Faith’s frame disappeared from view under the sheet. Sandy was afraid her tiny limbs, awkward and knobby, would vanish altogether without the bed to contain her. Every time Sandy looked at Faith, she remembered Faith’s description of her assault.

Now, a living reminder of it existed. Faith had said she didn’t want this baby carrying the blame for its conception. Suddenly, Faith began gulping breaths like drinking water with a cupped hand from a bucket. Sandy tried not to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair, not dyed since entering the home, showed roots black and wide like the stripe of paint against a hot asphalt roadway, only in reverse—her platinum locks clung to the dark center. Towering above Faith, she saw how sallow her skin was and how lackluster. She needed her eyebrows plucked and her nails painted—no time to worry about all that. Sandy required all her strength for her own recovery and assisting her friends.

She tucked Faith and Becca’s blankets around them, raised their hospital bed rails, and crawled back into her bed.

Tomorrow, they had plans to make.

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About the Author

HiRes-Julia_Daily-8529-Edit

Julia Brewer Daily is a Texan with a southern accent. She holds a B.S. in English and a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi.

She has been a Communications adjunct professor at Belhaven University, Jackson, Mississippi, and Public Relations Director of the Mississippi Department of Education and Millsaps College, a liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. 

She was the founding director of the Greater Belhaven Market, a producers’ only market in a historic neighborhood in Jackson, and even shadowed Martha Stewart.

As the executive director of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi (three hundred artisans from nineteen states) which operates the Mississippi Craft Center, she wrote their stories to introduce them to the public.

Daily is an adopted child from a maternity home hospital in New Orleans. She searched and found her birth mother and through a DNA test, her birth father’s family, as well.  A lifelong southerner, she now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador Retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.

Julia Brewer Daily | Facebook | Twitter  | Instagram | Linkedin

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Blog Tour: Sophomania – Danielle Zinn*

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When Detective Inspector Nathaniel Thomas is presented with an anonymous letter and three
unexplained deaths in less than twenty-four hours, he realizes that his idyllic home village, Crottendorf, masks a turbulent reality. Summoning his trusted colleague, DS Ann Collins, Thomas begins to unravel what quickly becomes an overwhelming mountain of conflicting evidence.
So many secrets. So many lies. So many attempts to cover things up.
All is not as it first appears and it proves a lot harder to pin down the killer who prides himself on
being more than one step ahead of the DI.
A deeply rooted family tragedy, greed and vengeance are at the core of this crime novel. The twists and turns of Sophomania leave you wondering to the very end who the real murderer is—or if there may actually be more than one killer on the loose in the anything-but-sleepy village of Crottendorf.
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Danielle Zinn is a German author, born and raised in a small village in the Ore Mountains/Germany
where not only her debut crime novel Snow Light is set but also her second book, Sophomania.
She holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business and Management from New College Durham/UK and has settled down in Leipzig/Germany where she works as a Financial Controller at an IT Consultancy.
She was introduced to the world of English literature and writing from an early age on through her mother – an English teacher. Over the last years, she circumnavigated the globe and loves visiting her friends scattered all over the world.

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My thoughts: this was a really interesting and enjoyable crime thriller, set in a small German town. Murdered twins, missing nuns, family secrets and babysitting his best friend’s daughter (and her dog), DI Nathaniel Thomas has his hands full, and that’s before he has to deal with his colleague’s instant dislike of their new team member.

After receiving a mummified finger in the post, a roofer falls to her death and then someone kills his dentist. Nat is at a lost as to how and why someone is killing off members of the same family, even the matriarch could be a suspect! The case has him chasing clues all over town and much to his boss’ dismay, the bodies keep coming.

In the end, there’s several shocking twists before he finally catches the villain of the piece. His theory about it being at least one of the seven deadly sins – something we’re all guilty of sometimes, is clever and not entirely wrong.

*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 Dying Squad – Adam Simcox*

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DYING IS HELL . . . SOLVING YOUR OWN MURDER IS PURGATORY

When Detective Inspector Joe Lazarus storms a Lincolnshire farmhouse, he expects to bring down a notorious drug gang; instead, he discovers his own dead body and a spirit guide called Daisy-May.

She’s there to enlist him to the Dying Squad, a spectral police force made up of the recently deceased. Joe soon realises there are fates far worse than death. To escape being stuck in purgatory, he must solve his own murder. A task made all the more impossible when his memories start to fade.

Reluctantly partnering with Daisy-May, Joe faces dangers from both the living and the dead in the quest to find his killer – before they kill again.

My thoughts: I don’t know if you’ve seen a film called RIPD with Ryan Reynolds & Jeff Bridges, which was not great but I love Jeff Bridges, well this is a bit like that but miles better and British, so the humour is drier and pitch black.

Joe Lazarus (really, that surname, I wonder if anyone gets the Biblical reference) is dead, but not completely. His soul is recruited by the afterlife’s very own police department – as Daisy-May puts it – the Dying Squad, and first job – solve his own murder. Except well, that’s not exactly what he’s doing, but no one told him or his new partner that.

Daisy-May is a brilliant character, smart, funny, and dealing with a heck of a lot. Including Joe, who’s a bit hopeless. The dying thing really throws him and what they’re learning about his life (the dead lose their memories) isn’t exactly great. The Duchess, their boss, has her own somewhat disturbing plans, and things are going a bit sideways in purgatory.

I really hope there’s more of Simcox’s afterlife stories with these characters as I think there’s scope for so many more.

*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 Secret Life of Writers – Guillaume Musso*

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In 1999, after publishing three cult novels, celebrated author Nathan Fawles announces the end of his writing career and withdraws to Beaumont, a wild and beautiful island off the Mediterranean coast.

Autumn 2018. As Fawles’ novels continue to captivate readers, Mathilde Monney, a young Swiss journalist, arrives on the island, determined to unlock the writer’s secrets and secure his first interview in twenty years.

That same day, a woman’s body is discovered on the beach and the island is cordoned off by the authorities.

And so, begins a dangerous face off between Mathilde and Nathan, in which the line between truth and fiction becomes increasingly blurred…

My thoughts: this was a very clever and engaging thriller set on a small French island in the Mediterranean. Reclusive writer Nathan Fawles has retreated there, out of the spotlight but journalist on a quest – Mathilde Monney is determined to get some answers. But she isn’t who she claims to be and the crimes she’s investigating are long forgotten by many. Alongside this aspiring writer Raphael becomes Nathan’s ally, with deadly consequences.

I thought this was incredibly well written and really drew me in, I would have liked more about the island and its inhabitants, they felt very lightly sketched, but since most of them aren’t involved with the goings on that Mathilde and Nathan discuss, I suppose it wasn’t necessary to delve deep into them.

The shocking twists and turns that Nathan, Mathilde and Raphael dig up as they carry out their investigations and reveal their roles in the past are both outrageous and surprisingly realistic. We know terrible things happened in the Balkans during the Serbian war and are still being revealed and declassified. The characters might think the world has moved on but some evils linger.

There’s a lot of metatextuality to the book, references to other authors and novels, the inclusion of a fictitious version of the book’s author, wrapped as a metafictive device. Even the use of newspaper articles and web pages add to the differing levels of text used. It’s all very cleverly done and for a literature nerd like me, adds extra enjoyment to a solid thriller.

*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 Wilderness Between Us – Penny Haw*

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Faye Mackenzie and her friends’ anorexic daughter, Clare are thrown together when a flood separates them from their hiking group in the remote, mountainous Tsitsikamma region of South Africa. With Clare critically injured, Faye is compelled to overcome her self-doubt and fear of thewild to take care of the younger woman, who opens her heart to Faye.

As their new friendship takes the women on an unexpected journey of discovery, the rest of the group wrestles with the harrowing aftermath of their own near tragedy. When the hiking party is reunited, their number is reduced by one. Juxtaposing physical and psychological intrigue, The Wilderness Between Us is a tale of two fragile women who unexpectedly find clarity, independence and renewed purpose as they fight to survive. It is a vivid, moving story about family, friendship, adventure and the healing power of nature and compassion.

Long-time journalist and columnist, and latter-day author, Penny Haw has written for many leading South African newspapers and magazines for more than three decades. Her children’s book, Nicko, The Tale of a Vervet Monkey on an African Farm was published in 2017 and is now included in school curricula. The Wilderness Between Us is her debut novel for adults, again expounding her love for animals and the outdoors.

My thoughts: this was really interesting, as Clare and Faye both wrestle with what they want from their lives while waiting for rescue in the South African forest. They start to bond over their situation, and confide in one another, sleeping in a temporary structure under the trees, surrounded by wildlife – lizards, wild pigs and leopards.

Faye is married to bully Derek, who has gaslit her all their marriage, eventually basically manipulating her into not leaving the house, their son Zach even offers to give her pocket money as a child because he doesn’t understand why she’s so isolated. Derek is obsessed with Michelle, who he’s known since childhood, Clare’s mother.

As the situation in the forest unravels for all of them, all three think about the past and what they want for the future.

Clare has been wrestling with anorexia, trying to get better and eat more, but has isolated herself from friends and family while trying to manage her illness. It’s handled very sensitively by the author, who in a foreword mentions her own experience with the condition.

A thought provoking and intriguing book.

*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 Face at the Window – Ruby Speechley*

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They’re in your house.

They want your life.

And now, they have your baby.

To the world, I’m @HappyWife. Online, people only see my picture-perfect home, my handsome husband, Nick, and my beautiful baby, Thomas.

They don’t see the real Gemma Adams. They don’t see my past, the dark secrets I’m hiding in my marriage. They don’t see the fear I live in every single day.

But I know someone is watching me. And now, they’ve taken Thomas.

I just don’t know why.

But I’m going to stop at nothing to get my baby back.

Even if it destroys everything I’ve got to find him.

A compelling thriller, packed with suspense – fans of K.L. Slater and Lisa Jewell won’t be able to put it down.

Ruby Speechley is the author of four psychological thrillers published by Hera Books. She loves writing about domestic situations with plenty of twists and secrets.

She was born in Portugal but has lived in the UK since she was three months old. She now lives in Cheshire with her husband and two of her three children and two dogs. She has an older son and grandson.

You can contact her on Twitter: @rubyspeechley

My thoughts: from the blurb this looked like it was going to be a creepy thriller but instead it’s about coercive control, abuse of power and a kidnapping that helps bring the above abuse to light.

Gemma is unhappily married to Nick, more than twice her age (although he lies about that) with a newborn son – Thomas. But Nick is leading a double life and treats Gemma appallingly. Slowly all his secrets are revealed after Thomas is kidnapped by two young women.

Domestic abuse isn’t just about the physical violence but can also be control, manipulation and gaslighting. Nick uses all of these on women – not just his wife. The way the past is slowly unpacked, through the voices of Gemma and Scarlett, and you learn just what kind of awful man Nick is, is skillfully done. It would be easy to make him an out and out villain but by making you wait to see the depth of his evil ways means you empathise with him as a father of a missing child but by the end you’re no longer remotely sorry for him.

Gemma is the clear victim here – manipulated and controlled from the moment they met – terrified of angering him. She can’t save herself and in a strange twist of fate, it’s the last person you might expect who raises the alarm.

A clever, enjoyable and thought provoking 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.

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Blog Tour: What Remains – An Anthology by Inked in Grey

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Whatremains

If you’re not into warm and fuzzy beach reads, What Remains is a great book for you this Summer! Check out this amazing anthology by several talented authors. Guaranteed to bring a chill to your hot days!

What Remains

What Remains: An Anthology by Inked in Gray

Publication Date: July 26th, 2021

Genre: Anthology/ Short Stories/ Fantasy/ Sci-Fi/ Horror

Publisher: Inked in Gray

Victory at all costs. Even at the price of our own life, the desire to survive transcends all rational thought.

What Remains brings together fifteen tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. From sacrificing loved ones or oneself, to doing what it takes to keep them alive, these stories shake the soul, rip out its insecurities and flay them on the page.

Careful who you trust. Some quandaries have no right answer when we cannot save what we love most—or when isolation, desperation, and betrayal leave you no choice.

Take the journey with us to see What Remains when civility, decency, and sanity have all but fled.

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Authors:

R.A. Busby

About the Author: An award-winning literature teacher and die-hard horror fan, R. A. Busby is also the author of “Bits” (Short Sharp Shocks #45), “Street View” (Collective Realms #2), “Not the Man I Married” (Black Petals #93), “Holes” (Graveyard Smash, Women of Horror Anthology, Vol. 2), and “Cactusland” (34 Orchard, forthcoming).

“I was always instructed to write about what I know,” she states, “and I know what scares me.” In her spare time, R.A. Busby watches cheesy Gothic movies and goes running in the desert with her dog.

She can be found on Twitter and at RABusbybooks.weebly.com

David-Christopher Harris

About the Author: David-Christopher Harris’ fantasy publications include “Olam Ha-Ba” in speculative fiction and poetry magazine Arsenika, “Last Call” in The Arcanist Magazine, “Falselight” on PageHabit, and “Children of Ozymandias” in 50WordStories, among others. He received his M.A. in Medieval Literature, which he uses exclusively to teach his cat Latin. He is currently querying.

He can be found on Twitter and at www.dcharriswriting.com

Andy Dibble

About the Author: Andy Dibble is a healthcare IT consultant who lives in Madison, Wisconsin. He has supported the electronic medical record of healthcare systems in six countries. His work appears or is forthcoming in Writers of the Future, Star*Line, Sci Phi Journal, and others. He is Articles Editor for Speculative North magazine.

He can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and andydibble.com.

LT Ward

About the Author: LT writes mostly speculative fiction shorts and novels while spending her days raising her children and satisfying her never-ending thirst for knowledge through reading, meeting people, and first-hand life experiences. She has short story publications with Dancing Lemur Press, Me First Magazine, Jazz House Press, and forthcoming with Black Hare Press and Cardigan Press. She currently volunteers with WriteHive, a nonprofit literary organization.

She can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and at ltwardwriter.com.

Ben Armstrong

About the Author: Ben is a young author who has been writing stories for over six years now. Recently he has been published in his town’s newspaper.

Maxwell I Gold

About the Author: Maxwell I. Gold is a Rhysling Award nominated prose poet, focusing on weird and cosmic fiction. He is a regular contributor to Spectral Realms, edited by Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi and his work has also appeared in Weirdbook Magazine, Space and Time Magazine, Startling Stories, Baffling Magazine, and many others.

His debut prose poetry collection, Oblivion in Flux: A Collection of Cyber Prose is forthcoming this August from Crystal Lake Publishing.

Maxwell can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and at www.thewellsoftheweird.com

Damir Salkovic

About the Author: Damir Salkovic is the author of novels Kill Zone and Always Beside You. His shorter work has been featured in the Lovecraft eZine, Dimension6 Annual Collection 2020, and in multiple horror, science and speculative fiction anthologies.

Find him on Goodreads and at his blog, Darker Realities.

Lawrence West

About the Author: Lawrence J West has been on his writing journey since he was fourteen years old and has always been drawn to fantasy, sci-fi, and horror because of the way these genres allow for the exploration of human experience in unique ways. Since becoming a husband and father he has also found that his writing has a greater degree of empathy and insight.

Lawrence can be found on Twitter.

Sharon Frame Gay

About the Author: Sharon Frame Gay is an award winning author whose work has appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Chicken Soup For The Soul, Typehouse, Fiction on the Web, Literally Stories, Lowestoft Chronicle, Thrice Fiction, Saddlebag Dispatches, Crannog, and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee.

A collection of her short stories, Song of the Highway, was released in August, 2020.

Sharon can be found on Twitter and Amazon.

Timothy Johnson

About the Author: Timothy Johnson is a writer and editor living outside of Washington, D.C. His published work includes the novels The Pillars of Dawn and Carrier as well as short fiction appearing in various professional and semi-professional markets. He is an MFA candidate in George Mason University’s creative writing program and an affiliate member of the HWA.

Find Timothy on Twitter and at timothyjohnsonfiction.com.

DL Shirey

About the Author: DL Shirey lives in Portland, Oregon, where it’s probably raining. Luckily, water is beer’s primary ingredient. His stories and non-fiction appear in 60 publications, including Confingo, Page & Spine, Zetetic and Wild Musette.

You can find more of DL Shirey on Twitter and at www.dlshirey.com.

Dan Eveloff

About the Author: Dan Eveloff is a lawyer and sports agent living in Chicago, Illinois with his dog, Reuben. He studied accounting at the University of Kansas, and subsequently earned his law degree from Northwestern University. His short fiction “The Price of Recompense” has appeared in AHF Magazine, “Shakespearean Justice” in Aphelion Webzine, and “Prevenge” can be found in Close to the Bone Magazine.

His social media presence can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Valerie Hunter

About the Author: Valerie Hunter teaches high school English and has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her stories and poems have appeared in publications including Cicada, Storyteller, Edison Literary Review, Other Voices, Room, and Wizards in Space.

Find Valerie on Instagram.

Nicholas Barner

About the Author: Nicholas Barner has farmed, cooked, and written variously in Oakland, Chicago, Maine, and Los Angeles. He lives with his partner, Shelby, and their Dog, Nuni.

He can be found online at nicholasbarner.com.

Thomas Canfield

About the Author: Thomas Canfield lives in the mountains of North Carolina. His phobias run to politicians, lawyers and TV pitchmen. He is still trying to plumb the logic of the sales pitch; The more you buy, the more you save. It never quite seems to work out that way in the real world. Canfield occasionally reviews books on Goodreads.

Among Tall Trees Excerpt

The young boy races for the ridge, a good twenty feet ahead of Jeff. With every painful breath, the distance between them grows. If the boy wanted to, he could already be out of his sight, halfway up the mountain that rises ahead of them, a blue-gray bulk topped with first snow, deep into the thick evergreens. But the child is holding back, glancing over his shoulder every now and then without missing a beat, without interrupting the purposeful elegance of his stride.

Save yourself. Go.

Jeff shouts none of this to the boy, whose thin arms are pumping up and down, skinny legs effortlessly swallowing the punishing grade of the mountain as if unfettered by gravity. Jeff is too busy wheezing, hauling in lungfuls of frosty air, trying to hear his own frenetic thoughts over the pounding of his out-of-shape heart and the tidal roar of blood in his ears. Trying to keep his burning lungs from falling out and keep his feet, clumsy in heavy boots, trudging one in front of the other. Every misstep, every stumble and pause for breath, erodes their already thin lead on the men who hunt them.

They are slow, too, these others: some weighed down with age, like Judge Crenshaw, who is eighty if a day. Some by sloth and neglect, like Big Mike Bragg, who weighs well north of three hundred pounds. Fear herds them together, and a mob is only as fast as its slowest man. But determination drives them, a remorseless singularity of purpose.

Although Jeff can’t see them, they aren’t far behind, marching through the leafless, scattered hardwoods down by the road, fanning out in a rough semicircle to cover as much killing ground as possible. So after a too-brief break, the boy catches Jeff’s eye—he has an uncanny way of looking up at just the right time, or somehow making Jeff do so—and flicks his head.

He doesn’t speak, but Jeff understands. Up. Up the mountain, into the pines. Their mad scramble resumes. Down here there are gaps in the treeline, patches of open ground between thickets and dense scrub, and open ground spells trouble.

Not that the boy seems concerned. Or what to all intents and purposes resembles a boy: a pale, scrawny slip of a kid, eight- or nine-years-old, maybe a small ten. Scabbed knees and elbows and bright green eyes, dirty blond hair cut in an unfashionable bowl around a pinched face. He bounds up the slope in easy strides, each as long as two of Jeff’s faltering steps, looking to the rest of the world—if there was anyone up here to see him—like any one of hundreds of identical, small-town American kids indulging in a bit of horseplay before going inside for dinner.

Except Jeff has seen those arms lock around Clyde Garver. Good old Clyde who Jeff had played high school football with and who fixed cars at Dan Laurie’s garage in town. The boy had grabbed Clyde and wrenched his head clean off his shoulders like a papier-mâché piñata, with no more effort than Jeff twisting a cap off a bottle of Miller High Life.

Except it’s late November in the Great Smoky Mountains. Snow weighs over the town like a judgement, but the boy’s wearing nothing but pants and a thin T-shirt and his feet are bare, and he’s giving no sign of feeling the cold.

Except the horseplay they’re indulging in will end in death. They can cheat it for a while, draw out the inevitable, but the men behind them aren’t about to give up. Good men, or so Jeff used to think. Men he’s known all his life—fathers and husbands and brothers. Men who piled into their trucks and four-wheel-drives without hesitation to hunt Jeff and the child. Men who are not going back down without their prize.

There’s only one end Jeff can see. But he keeps running, up toward the trees under the lowering sky.

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