We’re celebrating the release of the first book in a brand-new series by Angela van Liempt called Shattered Secrets Between Us, available October 28th!
Shattered Secrets Between Us (The Willow Grove Series #1)
Release Date: October 28, 2025
Genre: Mafia Romance/ Suspense
Stangers to lovers
Slow burn romance with spice
Secret identity
Hidden interwoven pasts
Morally gray MMC
Grumpy sunshine vibes
Forbidden love
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
She saves lives. He ends them. Their love might free them both.
Francesca Roscoe had no intention of staying in Willow Grove. But after her younger brother’s tragic death, she returned home and never left. Now, despite having a nursing career she adores, Frankie is alone and convinced that a can’t-live-without-each-other love doesn’t exist.
Until a stranger’s quiet charm draws her in.
Rhett Marshall didn’t plan on moving to this small town, but when your mob past hunts you down, you don’t get to make plans. That was before Frankie. The literal girl-next-door. He knows he doesn’t deserve her, but he can’t tear himself away from the woman who makes him feel… alive.
Frankie is unaware of their deeply entwined past. But Rhett will never forget her grief-stricken face the night her brother was murdered. And when she becomes a target, the dangerous man he used to be resurfaces to protect her.
Shattered Secrets Between Us is a spicy romantic suspense where danger and passion collide. Dive into this emotionally layered mafia-romance-with-a-twist today!
This book contains mature themes, dark elements, and explicit content, and is intended for an adult audience. Read at your own discretion.
Triumphs of Tenacity: From Struggle to Success is an inspirational memoir of resilience, women’s empowerment, and immigrant success that will uplift anyone facing challenges in life.
Born in Bangladesh and moving to the UK at just seven years old, Yusra Mariyam faced enormous obstacles—adapting to a new culture, overcoming academic failures, and balancing the demands of motherhood. As a homemaker raising six children, her dream of higher education seemed impossible. Yet, through sheer perseverance, determination, and self- belief, she transformed her life, graduating with a First-Class Honours degree in International Business Management from Anglia Ruskin University.
This powerful true story of courage and transformation explores the struggles of immigrant women, the challenges of adult education, and the journey of personal growth against all odds. It is a moving testament to resilience, empowerment, and the triumph of hope—a memoir that shows how tenacity can turn even the hardest struggles into success.
Readers looking for: ● Women’s empowerment books that inspire change ● Memoirs about overcoming adversity and finding strength ● Immigrant success stories filled with courage and hope ● Motivational books about education, resilience, and self-belief …will find this memoir unforgettable and deeply motivating.
If you enjoy inspiring biographies, personal growth journeys, and real-life stories of achievement, this book belongs on your shelf.
Yusra Mariyam is a London-based Business Growth Executive, writer, and mother of six. Born in Bangladesh and raised in the UK from the age of seven, she brings a rich cross-cultural perspective to her writing. Before entering the corporate world, she devoted many years to raising her children full-time, without ever imagining she would have the chance to pursue higher education.
That dream became a reality when she returned to university as a mature student, juggling family life, full-time work, and academic study. In 2024, she graduated with First-Class Honours in International Business Management—an achievement that inspired her debut memoir.
Triumphs of Tenacity is more than a traditional memoir. It’s a deeply personal account of one woman’s journey to reclaim her identity through grit, growth, and determination. Yusra shares how she balanced motherhood, career, and education in pursuit of self-empowerment. Her voice is honest, unflinching, and ultimately hopeful—inviting readers to see obstacles not as dead ends, but as turning points.
She hopes her journey inspires everyone—regardless of gender, age, or background—to believe that it’s never too late to redefine their path and pursue long-held dreams.
My thoughts: This was an interesting read, Yusra came to the UK as a young child, and her father’s gentle advice and inspiring words helped her cope with life’s little rejections and failures. As a mother of six, she didn’t imagine university was for her, until a woman in the careers service encouraged her to apply to study for a business degree.
She chronicles her time as a mature student, with the support of her family, especially her husband and children, and with her father’s continued love and support, she achieves her goal and graduates. She credits not only the people around her, but also her Muslim faith for helping her through the difficulties and hard work.
While her life has not always been easy, and those early knockbacks affected her confidence for a long time, she overcame the many challenges and struggles along the way. It’s an inspiring and encouraging – reminding us all, regardless of our background, that you can do whatever you set your mind to, whatever your age or life.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders . . .
Norman may seem a bit old-fashioned, but he’s always willing to learn from his band of misfit recruits.
A body in the forest. An ancient pagan ritual. A baffling mystery.
On Halloween night, the body of a young woman is discovered buried in a shallow grave in the Dragon Forest, a popular local beauty spot. The only clue to her identity is the number 37 tattooed on the sole of her foot.
Detective Norman’s new boss, Acting Superintendent Evans, is convinced the murder is connected to a group of pagans who were performing a secret ritual in the forest that night.
Norman’s not so sure. The one thing he does know is that he’d make much faster progress without the insufferable Evans breathing down his neck.
Something is off about this case. Norman knows he’s missing something important — but he can’t seem to see the wood for the trees.
Then the discovery of a second body in the woods turns everything on its head.
Peter Ford always dreamed of becoming a writer, but a dream is easily stifled without support from those around you. It was only when his old, unhappy life fell apart and he met his new partner (now wife) Mary, who believed dreamers should be encouraged, that he finally got the chance to live that dream. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed. Now, blissfully happy, settled in a quiet corner of Wales with wife Mary and their rescue dogs, P.F. Ford is living proof that it’s never too late to achieve your dreams.
My thoughts: A young woman’s body is found badly concealed in a hasty grave in the forest. The temporary Superintendent thinks that the local Pagan group is carrying out human sacrifices, because he’s clearly a total idiot. Thankfully the rest of the team is not so ignorant or willing to guess rather than find actual evidence.
When cadaver dogs find more human remains buried in the same part of the forest, it suggests that there’s something much darker going on.
While Norman and the team follow what little evidence there is and attempt to find out who the first body they found is, teams across the country are checking their missing persons cases to help identify the others.
A gripping and dark crime case in the Welsh woods.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Mystery novelist Radhi Zaveri has a new job, teaching spoiled kids at Mumbai’s prestigious North Star High School. But, little does she suspect, things are about to veer wildly off-syllabus . . .
When fiery teacher Ms Venus is found slumped across her desk, the school insist she died of natural causes. But Radhi’s not convinced. The Ms Venus she knew was in rude health, quite literally, stirring up drama and discord at every turn.
What if someone — a disgruntled parent, a disgraced ‘D’ student — decided to silence her acid tongue for good? And the last person to clash with Ms Venus is mysteriously missing . . .
Can Radhi piece it all together — before the killer’s ruthless red pen strikes again?
Meeti is an award-winning copywriter, content writer and mother (though no awards for this yet). When she isn’t busy writing ads that make toothpaste sound like an aphrodisiac, Meeti can be found with a cup of ginger tea, gazing contentedly at the yellow gulmohars outside her window and plotting the murder of perfectly innocent people.
In 2016, Pan Macmillan India published her memoir, Do You Know Any Good Boys? – a funny guide to the Indian arranged marriage – based on the awkward arranged dates she had with 40 different men, before she met her husband. Meeti lives with her daughter and husband (yes, the same one she took such pains to find) in Mumbai.
My thoughts: This was a clever whodunnit set at an elite school in Mumbai, where the students are under intense pressure to perform and where the teachers all have secrets.
When English teacher Ms Venus is found dead, visiting author/teacher Radhi suspects foul play – there are a few things about the scene that suggest it might be murder. She and the local police detective dig into Ms Venus, the other teachers and the students (and their parents) who might have had reason to kill.
Radhi is also avoiding her own issues, the complicated relationship with her sister, her growing attraction to a married man she went to college with, and her grief at her parents’ deaths. She’s drinking too much and worrying the people closest to her.
As she investigates the school’s goings-on and worries about the party her sister is throwing for her birthday, it all starts to come to a head. Can she fix the problems in her life and catch a killer?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
A bundle of old, what appear to be recollections and witness statements, are discovered in an attic by a son following the death of his father.
They tell the tale of three teenage school friends who are involved in a prank that almost costs the life of one of them. Whilst they all follow different and diverse career paths, the incident creates a lifelong bond of trust.
Some two decades later, that trust is put to the test when Gordon Shawcross helps another and in doing so, puts himself under suspicion of treason. Gordon’s ordinary life touches, for a brief moment, extraordinary heights.
Set in the dying embers of the Cold War, A Life Quite Ordinary tracks the mundane life of Gordon, who is catapulted into the challenging threats of the late 1980s with the Cold War, AIDS and homosexual rights in the armed forces. The novel covers the East-West interface of the British Commanders-in-Chief’s Mission to the Soviet Forces BRIXMIS, mixed with burlesque cabaret and church architecture.
A Life Quite Ordinary is a fact-based novel that deals with serious matters in a gripping but plausible manner.
Bryan Campbell Johnston was raised and schooled in North Yorkshire and returned with his wife, Wendy, to live in Richmondshire in 2020. Bryan has three children, two step-children and he and Wendy have two grandchildren. Between leaving North Yorkshire and returning, Bryan had both a military and legal career.
His military career started at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and ended as a Major commanding an infantry company during Gulf War I. In-between he served in Germany and Northern Ireland and other outposts around the shrinking globe.
His legal career started at The University of Westminster and the School of Law and ended as a Solicitor and Managing Partner of a law firm.
In-between Bryan was involved in the arts as a Director and Trustee of a regional theatre for six years. He has been, among other appointments, Chair of a charity and Chair of a Chamber of Commerce. Bryan is a trained Mediator.
Bryan wrote articles for a business magazine for several years; he had a play performed at Brentwood Theatre and his adaptation of Northanger Abbey was performed in over 31 locations by a professional touring troupe.
Bryan’s hobbies include writing, theatre, horse racing, sailing, golf, trekking and skiing.
My thoughts: I wasn’t sure what to make of this at first, there are multiple narrative view points that build up the story of three old school friends and a brush with the world of espionage in the age of the Cold War. It was really interesting and clever, and I was hooked. I liked the little facts between each section too.
Gordon Shawcross saves the life of a school friend at a party, and years later that same friend – known as Jaffa, comes to ask a favour. It seems quite innocent but ends with Shawcross being threatened with arrest for treason.
His friends Geordie and Jaffa contribute their narratives, along with a few others, to explain how Gordon ended up in that situation. It’s a story of mistaken identities, people trying to do the right thing, a little paranoia and the bonds of friendship.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
It’s the annual Awards Banquet at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, and Vivian Steele can’t wait for the star-studded event. She’s attending with her best friend, Carole Lombard, and several acclaimed actresses will be wearing her fashion designs. What she doesn’t expect is for the night to turn deadly.
During the awards ceremony, Carole finds an actress stabbed to death in the restroom. She quickly alerts the staff, but when they return, they can’t find a body. An hour later, another guest screams bloody murder that an actor drowned in the pool outside. Again, the body disappears.
While the guests have a good laugh, Vivian is convinced the murders took place and reluctantly asks Preston Stone, Hollywood’s notorious playboy, for his help in proving her suspicions.
Together, they uncover a sinister killer who has mastered the art of illusion and set his sights on two Oscar-winning stars. Can Vivian and Preston stop the killer in time…and without revealing their well-kept secrets?
A Bloody Banquet is the second book in this exciting new 1930s Stone & Steele mystery series starring a great cast of characters ranging from the rich and famous to Bella and Boris, the canine costars, and a few other endearing folks. (A pretty clean read – series or standalone)
Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.
My thoughts: Someone is staging murders and no one knows if they’re pranks or something else. Preston Stone and Vivian Steele join forces again to investigate what’s going on. How are a magician and his assistant connected to the strange disappearing bodies?
As three actors meet their tragic deaths, who is killing them or are they really accidents?
Preston and Vivian bicker their way around Hollywood as they investigate, it seems they still can’t be friends like their canine companions are.
The crimes are twisted and the killer is targeting Hollywood’s biggest stars like Clark Gable and Bette Davis next, if Preston and Vivian can’t solve it fast and hand the killer over to the police.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We’re celebrating the release of The Sinuous Bargain of a Cowardly Prince, the first book in a new series by Kayliani Shi!
The Sinuous Bargain of a Cowardly Prince (The Shadowed Throne Chronicles #1)
Release Date: Oct 21, 2025
Genre: Romantasy
-Enemies to lovers
-Anti-chosen one
-Rejected fated mates
-Friends to lovers
-He falls first
-Teacher/master x student
-Strong fmc
-Soft, kind MMC
-High stakes
-Forbidden romance (between an elf and a human)
-Hero’s journey/ quest
She was his chance for redemption.
He was her key to freedom.
Prince Ramiel Faundor is a bastard. His entire existence is the second best-kept secret in a kingdom built on blurred lines. But when his dragon-slaying brother dies in battle, Ramiel must stand in his place in the kingdom’s coronation duel. There’s just one problem: thanks to the king’s intimidation, no noble or soldier dares to train him.
Ether Malaphon is a cutthroat elven warrior. Her hatred for humanity is etched into her soul, second only to her resentment for the fairies who killed her parents. Her world unravels when she’s dragged from her village to be sacrificed to a long-dead monarch. But fate intervenes when a certain desperate prince strikes a bargain that might save her life. If he rescues her, she must agree to train him for his duel.
As time runs out and enemies close in, Ramiel and Ether must navigate dark curses, buried secrets, and a history determined to repeat itself. But in a kingdom shaped by betrayal, victory may come at the ultimate cost.
We have a great recommendation for your spooky TBR. The Devil Drinks Monsoons just came out on October 15th and is as funny as it is gruesome! Check it out!
Evolving/Becoming (Richard reluctantly changes his beliefs. Molly embraces the changes that are forced upon her.)
Courage & Perseverance (Molly survives after car accident, and then the attack, and still flourishes.)
Independence (Even though she’s blind, Molly does everything she can by herself.)
Prejudice (Richard is prejudiced against everyone different from himself. Candee is looked down upon because she’s a sex worker. David is ignored because he’s Black.)
Friendship (Unlikely friendships are formed between Richard and Molly, Candee and Richard, Richard and Jeanne, Molly and Candee, Dwayne and Candee, Beuletta & Parker.)
Redemption (Richard redeems himself by saving Livvy from vampire Jeanne.)
Endurance (New Orleans survives mostly unchanged for 300 years. The vampires live on.)
Grumpy P.I. Richard is secretly ridding his beloved New Orleans of the offenders on his “List” in a variety of inventive ways that favor his bad back. Molly, recently blinded from an accident and nursing a broken heart, moves to the city, right next door to Richard, in search of a new start. When Molly’s newborn baby attracts the attention of Richard’s ladyfriend, (who, unbeknownst to him, is a vampire queen), he obliviously entangles himself in a dangerous power struggle between the humans and the dark forces that fester just beneath the surface of daily life in The Big Easy.
Will Molly find her happily ever after? Will Richard redeem himself from his own dark past? In turns both darkly humorous and shockingly gruesome, The Devil Drinks Monsoons will chill your blood even as you find yourself laughing out loud.
They changed her life forever. Did they really think they could get away with it?
Evie Perry was a high-class escort whose way of life was abruptly and cruelly shattered by two drunken men.
Stella Kendrick’s husband committed suicide and left her with a legal battle and a debt of £6m, but he leaves her a message with the names of three men on it.
Daniella Maddox is a world-class barrister, assigned to an indefensible case for a corrupt client, but one she must win to save her own life. Unbeknownst to them, fate has woven their lives into a twisted web.
Detective Sergeant Alan Armitage is mystified when he attends the scene of a triple murder, but he is very quickly joined in his hunt for the killer by Detective Sergeant Steve Denton from The Met, and Detective Sergeant Bob Williams from North Yorkshire CID. Along with Detective Constable Rachael Jones, they have to uncover who the murderer is and why they are killing people across the country. Their task is made even more difficult because a criminal known to most simply as The Broker gets closer to banking millions every time his team commits another murder.
Writing is his hobby, which he fits in between full-time work, family, and completing unusual fundraising challenges. For more information, visit geoffmajor.info. He lives in Yorkshire, with his wife and their dog.
My thoughts: Evie wants revenge on the men who ruined her face and ended her career as an escort, she’s running out of money and hopes the threat of a tell-all book will encourage her targets to cough up.
Unbeknownst to her however, someone else is taking out the men who wronged her, and a few of their friends. The police are struggling to join the dots as the murders at first appear random and the victims live all over the country, meaning it takes a while before the various forces link up.
Niall Fitzgerald and his wife Yvonne are devastated at the murders of their friends, and Niall thinks it’s a woman he once knew as SILK, but as the police dig, it seems there’s someone else involved.
The mysterious Broker makes a lot of money ordering his minions to do terrible things, he doesn’t even really care why and stands to make even more money with this latest commission.
As the bodies pile up and the police think they’re onto something, can they identify the person behind it all before it’s too late?
Clever, complex and gripping, this is one of those thrillers where you think you know what’s going on…but then you don’t! Just like the police, you want to solve it before anyone else dies, but you might not be able to guess the reasons behind it all. Fiendish stuff.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
This week we are pleased to share a unique story that while fictional, is based on the author’s journey!
A Shadow Called Sunshine
Genre: Dark Psychological Romance
Tropes/ Themes
Hero’s journey
Major characters killed off
Unlikeable victim
Self discovery
Righting past wrongs
Time twisted Love triangle
Forbidden love
Soul life journey
He doesn’t see himself as the villain.
She can’t believe he is, until it’s too late. But the damage is undeniable.
Charismatic, composed, and deeply controlled, the shadow of the man at the center of this haunting story has mastered the art of perception. Yet beneath his carefully curated surface lives a long lineage of suffering, sabotage and choices that ripple far beyond what her doting eyes can see.
When their worlds begin to unravel, their souls are pulled into a surreal, subconscious descent—where memories blend with illusion,
time folds into itself, and lives once lived rise to the surface.
What emerges is not just the unraveling of one man’s mind, but a blinding revelation: that every choice casts a shadow that we carry from one life to the next.
That power, without awareness, breeds quiet devastation.
And our stories—spoken or not—bind us in spiraling patterns across generations, and even lifetimes.
Told through lyrical, dreamlike prose, A Shadow Called Sunshine is a psychological and spiritual reckoning— a mirror reflecting the shadows we all carry, and the karmic imprint of the pain we refuse to face.
This is not a story of survival.
It’s a story of consequence that explores the path from self-sabotage to self-sovereignty.
And it dares to ask:
What if self-sabotage casts shadows beyond the edges of this lifetime?
A Shadow Called Sunshine is a haunting psychological novel that explores the allure of narcissism, the rippling impact of abuse and the soul life journey that connects us all—even beyond the constraints of our current reality.
Told through dreamlike prose and a surreal, poetic lens, this story follows the spiral staircase timeline of three trauma tethered souls. A woman who trifles with the sharp knife of self sabotage, the man who wants to save her and the monster who never saw himself as the villain.
ramblingmads 