blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Perfect Strangers – Araminta Hall

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Previously published as Imperfect Women in hardback.

FRIENDS TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING. DON’T THEY?


Everyone wants perfection.
But there is no such thing.

Nancy has the perfect life. She is bright, beautiful and rich with an adoring husband and daughter.

At least that’s what it seems on the outside to her two best friends.

But then Nancy is murdered.

And as the lies start to unravel, they realise they never knew their perfect friend at all.

She clearly had as many secrets as they do…

My thoughts: how well do we really know our friends? That’s the question Ellie and Mary find themselves asking after Nancy is murdered and they learn she was having an affair. In the wake of her death revelations surface and the pair soon realise they knew nothing about their best friend.

This was an interesting book – I liked the way it was sectioned with different narrative viewpoints, starting with the present, then switching to Nancy in the lead up to her death, filling in the blanks as to who she was sleeping with and what was going on. I felt for her in a way, although I don’t think cheating is OK, she seemed to have some other issues that never got properly addressed and I don’t think her husband was that supportive.

But it’s Mary I rooted for in the end, her life just seemed to have gone to shit. Stuck with a miserable husband, no life really and the children all growing up and pulling away from her. Her secrets and inner life that her friends never saw as she sought to make the best of it, the fact her husband basically manipulated her into being dependent on him. Thankfully she’s smart and resourceful. The ending was pretty satisfying.

*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: Home – Penny Parkes*

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A gripping and heartfelt story about overcoming the past and finding where you belong.

Anna Wilson travels the world as a professional housesitter – stepping into other people’s lives – caring for their homes, pets and sometimes even neighbours. Living vicariously.

But all Anna has ever really wanted is a home of her own – a proper one, filled with family and love and happy memories. If only she knew where to start.

Growing up in foster care, she always envied her friends their secure and carefree lives, their certainty and confidence. And, while those same friends may have become her family of choice, Anna is still stuck in that nomadic cycle, looking for answers, trying to find the courage to put down roots and find a place to call home.

Compelling, rich and evocative, Home is Anna’s journey to discovering that it isn’t where you settle down that matters, but the people you have around you when you do. 

My thoughts: this book was lovely and sad and sweet and made me cry. I loved Anna and just want to give her a hug. Her childhood was heartbreaking and she’s had to be strong and self-reliant. But you need friends, and found family, and a home with your own bookshelves and a pet and places for all your things. I could never live like Anna does, travelling light.

I loved this book so much, it has so much heart, so much tender, bittersweet pain in it and I really think so many people are going to get such a treat when they read it. Just have the tissues on standby.

*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: Dead Man’s Grave – Neil Lancaster*

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This grave can never be opened.
The head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery.

This murder can never be forgotten.
Detectives Max Craigie and Janie Calder arrive at the scene, a small town where everyone has secrets to hide. They soon realise this murder is part of a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s. One thing’s for certain: it might be the latest killing, but it won’t be the last…

This killer can never be caught.
As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service. Now Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues – to solve a case that could cost them far more than just their lives…

My thoughts: this was a really enjoyable, clever police procedural taking in police corruption and a centuries’ old family feud – the reasons for which have been lost to time. Max Craigie is a man on a mission – to stop more innocent lives being lost and to root out the corruption and criminals at the heart of Police Scotland.

Despite being put on sick leave, he keeps working the case, convinced a supposed accident is a cover up for murder and that the Hardie family of gangsters have their fingers deep within the agency that’s supposed to be catching them in their crimes. He’ll need all the help he can get from his DC, Janie Calder and some old friends down south. Gripping, fast paced and very clever, this is the first in what looks to be an excellent new series.

*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 Empire’s Ruin – Brian Staveley*

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The Annurian Empire is disintegrating. The advantages it used for millennia have fallen to ruin. The ranks of the Kettral have been decimated from within, and the kenta gates, granting instantaneous travel across the vast lands of the empire, can no longer be used.

In order to save the empire, one of the surviving Kettral must voyage beyond the edge of the known world through a land that warps and poisons all living things to find the nesting ground of the giant war hawks. Meanwhile, a monk turned con-artist may hold the secret to the kenta gates.

But time is running out. Deep within the southern reaches of the empire and ancient god-like race has begun to stir.

What they discover will change them and the Annurian Empire forever. If they can survive.

Brian Staveley is an American fantasy writer. He has written an epic fantasy trilogy, The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne, as well as a prequel novel, Skullsworn, in addition to short fiction.

My thoughts:

This is not a small book by any means and it is epic in scale. Taking several disparate characters and slowly bringing their plots together, from priests turned pit fighters, a monk who used to be a thief, and a hero who just wants to be left alone to wallow in her guilt. There’s an army coming for the crumbling Annur empire, for the city state of Dombang, for everyone, only no one is entirely sure what this army looks like, where it will come from or when. But there’s likely to be monsters.

I liked Ruc and Bien, priests of the goddess of love, Eira, captured after their temple is destroyed, dragged off to inevitable death. But they’re both fighters in their own ways, resilient and brave. Ruc has already survived a childhood raised by feral gods, out in the Delta, he is determined that he won’t die in the city’s annual blood fest.

I also liked Gwenna, I totally understood her guilt and anger and frustration. The Emperor sends her off to the end of the world as a punishment, and not only does she somehow manage to find the nests of the kettral (huge hawks that were trained to fly soldiers into battle) that might just save the empire, but she ends up doing so much more. When she really doesn’t want to.

Each story unfolds slowly, which there’s plenty of room to do in almost 800 pages, but you need the detail, to really get to know the characters and root for them as they struggle against seemingly impossible odds and put their all into staying alive and seeing things through.

*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

Book Blitz: The Girl in the Triangle – Joyana Peters

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TheGirlintheTriangle

Congratulations to author Joyana Peters on the release of her romantic historical fiction, The Girl in the Triangle!

Read on for details and a chance to win a signed copy of the book!

Triangle-CoverPickThe Girl in the Triangle

Publication Date: July 12th, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

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. 

Available on Amazon

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About the Author

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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.

Joyana Peters | Facebook | Instagram

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blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Arrowood & the Meeting House Murders – Mick Finley*

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Nowhere to hide.
London, 1879. As winter grips the city, a group of African travellers seek sanctuary inside the walls of the Quaker Meeting House. They are being hunted by a ruthless showman, who is forcing them to perform in his ethnic exhibition in the London Aquarium.

Nowhere to turn.
Private investigator William Arrowood and his assistant Barnett agree to help the travellers avoid capture. But when they arrive at the Meeting House, they find a scene of devastation. Two people have been murdered and the others have fled into the night.

Nowhere to run.
The hunt for the real killer leads Arrowood into the dark heart of Victorian London. A shadowy world of freak shows, violence and betrayal, where there are no good choices and only the slimmest chance of survival…

My thoughts: I really enjoy this series – Arrowood is the anti-Sherlock (who he hates) and can sometimes barely stand but always gets his man, or men. The brutal murders in this book lead him all over London, following on the heels of showmen in the PT Barnum mould, as well as a group of South African performers trying to get out of a contract they never should have signed.

However there’s more to it – a deadly theft that traces all the way back to South Africa and a killer in search of gold. Mixing elements of real history with fictional figures, this is a dark and deadly crime story.

*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: Coldharbour – John Mead*

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The Met Police’s Major Investigation Team East has its hands full: a rash of tit for tat gang related stabbings, a strangled housewife, the decomposed remains of a woman found in a ditch and more to come. Adding to their woes is their boss, Chief Inspector Matthew Merry, being distracted by his problems at home.
For Matthew’s wife, Kathy, her only concern is dealing with the aftermath of being drugged and raped by a co-worker. Will the trial of the man responsible be enough to give her the justice she demands. Or, as her therapist states, is it revenge she really desires. She doesn’t know. As her emotions see-saw from elation to depression, her only certainty is that her husband seems more concerned about his work than her.
And Matthew is only too aware of his failings both at home and work. But the police machine grinds on, seeking information and sifting evidence — justice is not their concern.

Amazon UK
Amazon US


John was born in the mid-fifties in Dagenham, London, on part of the largest council estate ever built, and was the first pupil from his local secondary modern school to attend university. He has now taken early retirement to write, having spent the first part of his life working in education and the public sector. He was the director of a college, a senior school inspector for a local authority, and was head of a unit for young people with physical and mental health needs. When he is not
travelling, going to the theatre or the pub, he writes.
John is currently working on a seies of novels set in modern day London. These police procedurals examine the darker side of modern life in the East End of the city.
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My thoughts: this was an interesting novel that started as a simple murder case that grows to have international implications and draws in officers from France and Italy as the police search for the criminal gang involved in trafficking and who lie behind the brutal murder of the young woman found on a Dagenham industrial estate.

The characters were interesting too – DCI Merry in particular. He struggles between the needs of his job and the needs of his family. His wife especially, struggling with her own pain and needing more support than he can give. The book goes to some dark places – the casual cruelty of the gang towards their victims is shocking and the way they act as though it’s just business is a grim reminder of the dark underbelly of London.

*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 Lesson – Lisa Bradley*

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Read my review of Paper Dolls by the same author.

SOMEONE’S GOT TO MAKE HIM PAY.

Evie has just started her second year at University. She is young, beautiful and popular. She should be having the time of her life, except she has something to hide – a one-night-stand with her English Professor, Simon.

Not wanting any of his other students to be used in the same way, Evie reports their relationship to University HR. But hours later, Village Vixen, the student gossip blogger, is baying for blood. She’s found out about the accusation and is firmly on Simon’s side.

But how could Village Vixen possibly have known? Evie can’t help but feel like she’s being watched. As paranoia and fear set in, the one thing Evie knows for sure is someone has to teach Simon a lesson…

My thoughts: this was really good with twists and turns and jaw dropping moments of total “what just happened?” It’s so cleverly done, you can’t tell who you can trust, is Evie a liar, is Simon being set up, and what exactly is Jenny up to? None of them are reliable, all of them have an agenda.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it was smart and gripping and I dropped my breakfast a few times when another sudden turn appeared. The ending especially is so shocking and unexpected. Brilliant stuff.

*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: Her White Lie – Jackie Walsh*

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Her dream wedding might become a nightmare

Tara Moore feels like the luckiest girl in the world. She’s finally found the man of her dreams, and after the fairytale wedding, she’s leaving Dublin to start a new life in Australia.

Until Avril Ryan’s body is discovered in a house that Tara lived in three years ago.

Tara doesn’t know Avril, so why was she the last person Avril called? How has she become the number one suspect?

But what the police don’t know is that Tara’s past conceals her own dangerous secrets. And as the detectives start digging and old friendships come to light, Tara begins to wonder who she can trust.

Will her wedding day become her last?

A twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller packed with suspense. Fans of T.M. Logan and Samantha Hayes will be completely gripped.

Jackie Walsh lives in Dublin with her husband Paul and dog Layla. She is a member of the Irish Writers Centre and The Irish Crime writer’s group. After years spent building her own business she decided to take time out and pursue her interest in writing. With a lot to learn, Jackie attended classes, writing groups and travelled to lots of festivals and launches. She secured a publishing deal with Hera Books who published Familiar Strangers and The Secrets He Kept in 2019, Five Little Words in 2020 and Her White Lie which will be published in July 2021.

Twitter: @JackieWalsh_ie

My thoughts: this was a clever and tense thriller, who can you trust if you can’t trust your oldest friend?

Tara’s sitting on a secret, but not the one the police think. Having to rely on her former friend and housemate, herself riddled with secrets and lies, isn’t ideal and Tara’s perfect new life is at stake.

Very much on the edge of your seat stuff as the two women try to keep their stories straight. It had me hooked all the way through.

*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: Games We Played – Shawne Steiger*

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When actress Rachel Goldberg shares her personal views on a local radio show, she becomes a target for online harassment. Things go too far when someone paints a swastika on her front door, not only terrifying her but also dredging up some painful childhood memories. Rachel escapes to her hometown of Carlsbad. To avoid upsetting her parents, she tells them she’s there to visit her Orthodox Jewish grandmother, even though that’s the last thing she wants to do. But trouble may have followed her.Stephen Drescher is home from Iraq, but his dishonorable discharge contaminates his transition back to civilian life. His old skinhead friends, the ones who urged him to enlist so he could learn to make better bombs, have disappeared, and he can’t even afford to adopt a dog. Thinking to reconnect with his childhood friend, he googles Rachel’s name and is stunned to see the comments on her Facebook page. He summons the courage to contact her, Rachel and Stephen, who have vastly different feelings about the games they played and what might come of their reunion, must come to terms with their pasts before they can work toward their futures.

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Shawne Steiger wrote her first story when she was seven. Over the years, she has been a pizza maker, dressage teacher, house cleaner, and therapist. The one constant in her life has been her writing, which is why, after years working as a trauma therapist, she applied to Vermont College of Fine Arts and completed an MFA in Fiction writing. After learning that she’s happiest when writing, Shawne published short stories and essays in several literary journals. Supporting her writing habit with her social work degree, Shawne frequently incorporates her understanding of how trauma affects people into her fiction. When not writing or working, she enjoys going to the theater, reading and travel. Luckily her love of travel stops her from fully realizing her aspirations to enter the realm of mad cat woman, since she’s yet to find the perfect suitcase that will fit both her cats and still be light enough to carry.

Shawne Steiger | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub

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My thoughts: this was an interesting exploration of hate, passed through the generations, and how it affects people’s thinking. Stephen is raised by his racist, neo-Nazi grandfather, but at the same time seeks affection from Rachel’s Jewish grandmother. But even the influence of Goldbergs doesn’t change the way he behaves and the people he associates with. Meanwhile Rachel’s religion is bringing unwanted attention to her door, as someone who doesn’t practise her childhood faith she struggles with this – does she want to identify as such when it draws negative reactions from some?

I didn’t feel that Stephen really learnt anything from reconnecting with Rachel and her family, while she decided to stand up and speak out. Considering that the world is how it is at the moment, this feels like a timely story.

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