books, reviews

Book Review: True Story – Kate Reed Petty

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A gifted and reclusive ghostwriter, Alice Lovett makes a living helping other people tell their stories. But she is haunted by the one story she cannot tell: the story of, as she puts it, “the things that happened while I was asleep.”
Back in 1999, Nick Brothers and his high school lacrosse team return for their senior year in a well-to-do Baltimore suburb as the reigning state champs. The afterglow of their big win is bound to last until graduation; not even the pressure of college applications can get in the way of their fun. But when a private school girl attempts suicide in the wake of one of the team’s “legendary” parties, and a rumor begins to circulate that two of Nick’s teammates sexually assaulted her, it seems like it might ruin everything–until the team circles the wagons, casts doubt on the story, and the town moves on.
But not everyone does. Fifteen years later, four people–Alice, Nick, a documentary filmmaker, and a wealthy entrepreneur–remain haunted by the roles they played, the things they still don’t understand, and how the story has shaped their lives. In sections told from different points of view, each more propulsive than the last, the layers of mystery are gradually peeled back as we barrel toward the truth of what really happened that night . . . and what came after. At once a compulsive page-turner and a thought-provoking exploration of issues both timely and timeless, True Story marks the debut of a phenomenal new voice in fiction.

My thoughts:

I still don’t quite know how to describe this book, which feels a bit like the point.

It’s an incredible piece of writing that discusses a very timely issue, looking at different angles and in a variety of writing styles.

It’s definitely something you need to read for yourself.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book with no obligation to review.

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Book Blitz: Steel Hand, Cold Heart – Rachel Menard

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SteelHand

I’m so excited to announce an amazing giveaway event in honor of Steel Hand, Cold Heart by Rachel Menard! Read on for book details, an excerpt and a link to the event!

STEEL_HAND_COVER_w_AwardSteel Hand, Cold Heart

Publication Date: July 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy/ Adventure/ Vikings

On the island of Helvar, women rule. Sixteen-year-old Carina has trained for most of her life to belong to the coveted Daughters of Hel, the steel-handed Viking warriors who provide souls to the Death Goddess in exchange for the prosperity of their island. Gaining her place hasn’t been easy. She was not borne of the island, but another spoil from another raid, raised by the island Chieftain. There are many who would see her fail, and on her first raid, she does. She doesn’t kill a priestess she should have.

Carina needs to prove her worth or risk losing her place. Before she can, her arch-nemesis drugs her wine and sends her off the isle as a captive of three foreign boys. But what is Carina’s greatest misfortune may turn out to be her greatest gift. The young men are taking her to the jewel of the Southern Isles – Fortis Venitis, a place no other Daughter of Hel can venture. Carina can place Hel’s claims on the Southern isle and return to Helvar with the spoils, a victor.

However there are many obstacles to pass before she reaches her goal. Like her rune stone that everyone keeps trying to steal, the mismatched pirates from a country that no longer exists, and the priest with his poison that melts flesh from bones. But the most dangerous obstacle of all are the odd feelings she’s developing for her victims, especially the knife-thieving captain Nik. That could make it difficult for her to kill him in the end.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1

They called me Carina the Unstoppable. No, the name did not render men to terror like Merciless Merle, nor did it inspire awe like Dagna the Destroyer, or command attention like Odda Ironfist. But the moniker was mine. I earned it for the many times I had been knocked flat on the training grounds or limped on bleeding limbs to finish a fight. It was how I earned my place as one of Hel’s Daughters, the Hand of Death Herself.

I leaned over the rails of our longboat, Jörmungandr, aptly named because the figurehead was carved in the image of the giant sea serpent, wriggling its way through the water east toward Frisia. A strong wind held our mainsail, and we bobbed back and forth on gentle waves. These smooth waters were a blessing from the sea giant, Aegir. He approved of our quest, speeding us along our last raid of the season, the last offering to Hel before the long winter.

This was the Daughters’ last raid of the season but my first. I could hardly contain my excitement. I wanted to be there already, to see the villagers’ faces when we arrived on their shore in droves. When we offered their blood to the Goddess Hel.

I curled my steel fingers into a fist. On the eve of my initiation, Thora warned me attaching my steel hand would hurt. Her exact words were, “It feels like cutting your fingers off one by one and pissing in the wound.” Vidar warmed the steel gauntlet in the coals until it glowed sunset red, and I grit my teeth as he slid the molten metal over my fingers. The steel hand burned through flesh and muscle until the metal touched bone. My eyes had watered. A violent scream had gathered in my chest.

I held it back. I didn’t have the luxury of showing weakness, and once the hand was seared to my fingers, I belonged to Hel. She who bears the steel hand has the Goddess’s blessing to take life. That was three months ago. It took that long for my hand to heal, to become useful again

Amazon

Giveaway Details

Goodreads Giveaway Event!

Set sail for adventure, romance and cross-dressing on an epic Viking-inspired journey! 

Enter for a chance to win 1 of 50 digital Kindle copes of STEEL HAND, COLD HEART, Grand Prize Winner of the 7th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards! Winners will be selected at random, and their prize will be sent directly to their Kindle device. Giveaway is open from May 15, 2020 through June 14, 2020.

About the Author

Rachel_Menard

Rachel Menard earned her degree in marketing from ASU, during which time her work was featured in the university paper and her own, self-published punk zine, Chelsea. Her short fiction has been featured in the New England Speculative Writers’ Anthology, The Final Summons and on Cast of Wonders. Most recently, her self-published YA fantasy novel won the Grand Prize in the 7th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book awards. For more of her writings and ramblings, visit http://www.rachelmenard.com.\

Rachel Menard | Twitter | Instagram 

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books, reviews

Book Review: Fifty Fifty – Steve Cavanagh

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Alexandra Avellino has just found her father’s mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.

Sofia Avellino has just found her father’s mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.

Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury.

But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be.

You’d be wrong.

My thoughts:

The Eddie Flynn books are very popular in my house and so there was a little unseemly squabbling about who got to read this first.

The plot is so clever, the twist at the end I couldn’t even see coming, and I’m pretty good at spotting them.

Cavanagh is an excellent writer at the top of his game and knows how to deliver a clever, witty plot and play with his readers’ brains in the process.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book with no obligation to review.

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Blog Tour: The Babysitter – Phoebe Morgan*

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Who knew her secret? And what happened that night?

‘I loved it, those twists!’ B A Paris, Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors and The Dilemma

‘A cracking page-turner’ Cara Hunter, Sunday Times bestselling author of All the Rage

On the hottest day of the year, Caroline Harvey is found dead in Suffolk. Her body is left draped over a cot – but the baby she was looking after is missing.

Hundreds of miles away, Siobhan Dillon is on a luxurious family holiday in France when her husband, Callum, is arrested by French police on suspicion of murder.

As Siobhan’s perfect family is torn apart by the media in the nation’s frantic search for the missing baby, she desperately tries to piece together how Callum knew Caroline.

What happened that night? Was Caroline as innocent as she seemed – or was she hiding a secret of her own?

My thoughts:

So I totally got the guilty party wrong when reading this and playing guess the murderer, the twists at the end were very clever, and the title suggests the babysitter as the villain not the victim so I was wrong footed from the start, which shows just how good Phoebe Morgan is at what she does.

This was a cracking read, lots of red herrings and turns, really, really good stuff. I’m not sure what more I can say really!

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

books, reviews

Book Review: Daughters of Night – Laura Shepherd-Robinson

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Lucia’s fingers found her own. She gazed at Caro as if from a distance. Her lips parted, her words a whisper: ‘He knows.’

London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly-paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker, Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.

But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous than she can know . . .

My thoughts:

A sort of sequel to Blood & Sugar, this is a fantastic historical romp of a novel as Caro has to solve a murder and several other crimes and misdemeanors along the way.

I really enjoyed this book, the writing really flows and the plot carries you along with it.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book with no obligation to review.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Rules – Kerry Barnes*

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Holed up in prison, Mike Regan is offered a deal – his freedom in exchange for his firm taking down the gang that is supplying a new dangerous drug that has hit the streets. What starts as a game soon becomes a shocking revelation with devastating consequences.

Meanwhile, Mike’s fiancé, Zara Ezra, has her own firm to run. But when the so-called Governor is out to take her down, she has her own decision to make – either fight, run, or write her own rule book…

My thoughts:

If you like the gangsters are the heroes genre of thrillers, then you’ve probably already heard of Kerry Barnes.

Rather than a police procedural this book is on the other side of the tracks and the bad guys make the rules.

An enjoyable romp through a London that most people wouldn’t recognise,of gangs and guns, is at heart about people. And people can be messy and complicated, even while trying to rise to the top and stay alive.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Music From Another World – Robin Talley*

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It’s summer 1977 and closeted lesbian Tammy Larson can’t be herself anywhere. Not at her strict Christian high school, not at her conservative Orange County church and certainly not at home, where her ultrareligious aunt relentlessly organises anti-gay political campaigns. Tammy’s only outlet is writing secret letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk…until she’s matched with a real-life pen pal who changes everything.

Sharon Hawkins bonds with Tammy over punk music and carefully shared secrets, and soon their letters become the one place she can be honest. The rest of her life in San Francisco is full of lies. The kind she tells for others — like helping her gay brother hide the truth from their mum — and the kind she tells herself. But as anti-gay fervour in America reaches a frightening new pitch, Sharon and Tammy must rely on their long-distance friendship to discover their deeply personal truths, what they’ll stand for…and who they’ll rise against.

My thoughts:

umm, where was this book when I was a teenager trying to figure my stuff out?

With a soundtrack of punk and Patti Smith, the letters and diary entries that comprise this amazing book are so real and full of heart and angst and I would not be a teenager again if you paid me!

Sharon and Tammy are trying to find their places in the world, while the world seems determined to stop them. From Tammy’s controlling aunt, to the very politics of the time (Harvey Milk is running his first campaign), there’s a lot to take a stand against. But also a lot to stand for.

I loved the descriptions of Sharon’s punk gigs and the feminist bookshop and Tammy’s awful church meetings.

This book has an enormous amount of heart and wears it proudly on its sleeve.

Reading this as we head into Pride month (June in the UK) makes me miss the celebrations more as events have been cancelled due to the current lockdown, and this feels like an antidote to that.

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

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Blog Tour: After Darkness – J.F. Johns*

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Year 2160

RULE #.1

Humans AND Cyborgs are prohibited from communicating in any shape or form with each other.

RULE #.2

Curfew is from 12 p.m until 7.30 a.m

Applicable to ALL citizens, humans AND cyborgs.

RULE #.3

All propaganda against the government, written or verbal is a crime.

RULE #.4

All the above laws if broken are punishable by death.

WELCOME TO THE NATION

Are you ready?

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J.F.Johns is 27 years old and was born and raised in Spain. She studied English Literature and Creative Writing at ARU in Cambridge, UK.

She won the Indie Book Awards 2017 for best book written by an author under the age of 25, and was a finalist for best book cover with her novel Eternal Darkness.

She’s an animal lover, and spends her free time playing with her adopted dog and rescued cat, drinking too much coffee and posting book photos on her Instagram.

She believes in the art of dramatic sighing and eye rolling. She works as a ninja, but has been told several times that she’s not very good at her job.

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Giveaway – win a copy of Johns’ debut novel Eternal Darkness

The world is divided between humans and cyborgs.

Scarlet Lock is neither.

She is a soldier created to kill on command. But her memory has been erased and when she awakens in a government facility she soon discovers that this new world is a dangerous place, full of government secrets and cruel experiments performed in the name of progress.

With the help of a group of cyborgs, Scarlet will fight to uncover the truth and transform the future of the new world she now lives in.

Eternal Darkness is full of suspense, action and romance and will make readers question what it means to be human.

Enter here

My thoughts:

Although this book starts a series loosely connected to the author’s previous trilogy, you don’t have to have read those books to follow this one.

Cyborgs were once exiled from the world of humans but now they have returned but the law forbids humans and cyborgs from interacting or even acknowledging the other exists, so when Terra starts dreaming about a cyborg in need of her help and then sees him in waking life, she is determined to try to find out who he is.

The secrets she learns will change her forever.

I thought this book’s concept was interesting, I found Terra a bit whiny and annoying at times, and the cyborgs were definitely more interesting as characters; there’s a lot of back story there.

I did feel the battle against the Big Bad was over and done with quite quickly, and bits felt a bit rushed, which was a shame as other parts could have been shorter and given the plot more room to stretch out.

Overall this was a good read, although all dystopian fiction these days feels a bit too real at times, I liked the idea of the cyborgs and the Destroyer, the creepy twins not so much.

If you like your dystopia quirky and not plague related, then you should give this a read.

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

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: These Lost & Broken Things – Helen Fields*

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Maiden-Mother-Murderer
How dangerous is a woman with nothing left to lose?
The year is 1905. London is a playground for the rich and a death trap for the poor. When Sofia Logan’s husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her penniless with two young children, she knows she will do anything to keep them from the workhouse. But can she bring herself to murder? Even if she has done it before…
Emmet Vinsant, wealthy industrialist, offers Sofia a job in one of his gaming houses. He knows more about Sofia’s past than he has revealed. Brought up as part of a travelling fair, she’s an expert at counting cards and spotting cheats, and Vinsant puts her talents to good use. His demands on her grow until she finds herself with blood on her hands.
Set against the backdrop of the Suffragette protests, with industry changing the face of the city but disease still rampant, and poverty the greatest threat of all, every decision you make is life or death. Either yours or someone else’s. Read best-selling crime writer Helen Fields’ first explosive historical thriller.

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An international and Amazon #1 best-selling author, Helen is a former criminal and family law barrister.

Every book in the Callanach series claimed an Amazon #1 bestseller flag. Her next book, the sixth in the series, ‘Perfect Kill’ is due out on 6 February 2020. Helen also writes as HS Chandler, and last year released legal thriller ‘Degrees of Guilt’.

Her previous audio book ‘Perfect Crime’ knocked Michelle Obama off the #1 spot. Translated into 15 languages, and also selling in the USA, Canada & Australasia, Helen’s books have won global recognition.

Her first historical thriller ‘These Lost & Broken Things’ comes out in May 2020. A further standalone thriller published by HarperColllins will come soon.

She currently commutes between Hampshire, Scotland and California, where she lives with her husband and three children.

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My thoughts:

It took me a while to get into this book, but once Sofia had stopped flapping about and started working for the less charming than he thinks Vinsant the story picked up and I enjoyed it more.

Told through a mixture of flashbacks to Sofia’s past and her present predicaments, the story of a woman with a taste for killing is interesting, a lot of crime (especially historic crime fiction) often embraces the idea that women aren’t ruthless enough to kill and those few that do won’t use violence or force.

Sofia kills for two reasons – to protect those she loves and for revenge. Her strength and weakness is this need to take lives.

A much more complex and rich story than it at first appears, These Lost & Broken Things is ultimately redemptive as Sofia comes into contact with the growing women’s rights movement.

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

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Book Blitz: Titanborn – Brian Schutter

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TitanBorn copy (1)

Welcome to the blog tour for Titanborn, an exciting new Sci-Fi adventure from Brian Schutter! Read on for details an exclusive excerpt and a chance to win a signed copy of the book!

1600x2560px_BrianTitanborn

Publication Date: April 13th, 2020

Genre: Science Fiction

“No more death.”

In Titanborn, Schutter weaves the vivid world of Shangri-La — a colony living in isolation on Saturn’s moon, Titan — and the genetically-engineered humans known as Titanborn, whose task is simply to prove they can survive.

Meera is just one cog in the wheel of Shangri-La. Assigned to fulfill a role, Meera struggles to find a place for herself and overcome the trauma of loss as Titan casually takes the lives of her fellow colonists.

When a friend goes missing, Meera must choose to face her fears to save not just him, but all of the Titanborn, as the colony begins to unravel.

Can Meera and her people overcome the dangers of the inhospitable moon, or will the Titanborn fall to an enemy closer to home?

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Excerpt

Chapter 1

Stuck

Meera; Neuroengineering Breakroom, Shangri-La As I joined the meeting, the circuits in my brain pushed out the rest of the world. The signals from my eyes, my ears, my skin—all my senses—were reduced severely. If I needed to feel my breathing I could, but otherwise my body was like a distant memory.

The virtual meeting room was in a physically impossible space: outside, in the open air. Our “chairs” sat on the dunes. Virtual whiteboards hung from nothing.

The virtual space didn’t look exactly like Titan either. Instead of golden, omnipresent fog, this virtual Titan was clear. You could see the stars behind us and Saturn’s striped storm systems, each band the color of a unique mixture of coffee and cream. They looked so small from here even though any one of Saturn’s stripes could effortlessly engulf Titan. It’s rings curved towards us in striking, vibrant cerulean. I’d never actually seen them like this. The sun’s reflection off our patron gas giant couldn’t penetrate the thick, unbreathable atmosphere above.

For a moment, I forgot where I was. I forgot my fears. Instead of triggering me, something about seeing the stars and Saturn made me feel peaceful and proud.

We’d survived out here for over twenty-five years. That was why we’d been born after all: to prove that humans could survive out here alone. As much as I was struggling, I was still succeeding. I was alive.

Available on Amazon!

About the Author

author pic

Brian Schutter’s fascination with the future began at a young age. He studied materials science at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, California & Cornell University in Ithaca, New York to pursue his interest in research. Schutter found himself drawn to the amazing possibilities that the technology around him offered, and wrote extensively after hours about speculative applications of machine learning, quantum computing, and bioengineering.

After graduating with his master’s degree from Cornell in May of 2018, he completed his debut novel, Titanborn. Schutter writes stories that combine the big struggles of colonizing distant worlds with the little struggles of finding the strength to be yourself. His tales are about taking ownership of our choices and writing our own stories.

Brian Schutter | Twitter | Instagram

Giveaway: You can win a signed copy of Titanborn! Click here to enter!

TitanBorn copy (1)

Blog Tour Schedule

May 18th

Breakeven Books

The Consulting Writer 

Jessica Belmont

Tsarina Press  

May 19th

Entertainingly Nerdy

Dark Whimsical Art

Reads & Reels

May 20th

The Scary Reviews

The Faerie Review

The Magic of Wor(l)ds 

May 21st

B is for Book Review 

Didi Oviatt 

Lecari 

May 22nd

Read & Rated 

Rambling Mads 

Lunarian Press

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