Tag: blog tour

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Old Friends – Felicity Everett

ramblingmads

Two couples, best friends for half a lifetime, move in together. What could possibly go wrong…?

Harriet and Mark have it all: successful careers, a lovely house in a leafy London suburb, twin boys on the cusp of leaving home. Yvette and Gary share a smaller place with their two daughters in a shabbier part of the same borough.

But when the stars align for a collective move north, it means a fresh start for them all. For Mark, it’s a chance to escape the rat race; for Harriet, a distraction from her unfulfilled dream of a late third child. Gary has decided to reboot the Madchester band that made him famous, while Yvette hopes it will give her daughters what she never had herself.

But as the reality of their new living arrangements slowly sinks in, the four friends face their own mid-life crises, and the dream becomes a nightmare…

My thoughts: do not move in with your friends, I feel like I’ve read several books that start with this premise and everything always goes horribly wrong. The only thing worse would be moving in with your in laws. I love my pals but I don’t think we’d cope with living together, not when you’re all settled in your ways and like how you do things. Which is why two middle aged couples doing just that in this book.

Harriet and Mark have two sons who’ve just graduated from uni, Jack who’s off to work in the City and Ollie, who doesn’t appear to have a plan, at least to his parents. Yvette and Gary have two daughters, one off to Oxford and one about to have a baby. All their kids are settled more or less.

The parents, on the other hand, Gary’s reforming his Madchester era band, Yvette’s lost her TA job, Harriet’s latest redevelopment (she’s an architect) is way over budget, Mark’s in a spot of bother at work and keeping it a secret. So of course they all decide to live in a converted factory together. Can you say mid-life crisis!

I was going “don’t do it!” and then of course they did. Bad idea guys. Bad idea. But very entertaining for the reader, lots of schadenfreude.

Things go wrong from there. Or at least more things than were already wrong. Yvette is easily the nicest of the four and I’m glad she was ok at the end while the others got their comeuppance in various ways. I’m glad things worked out for Ollie too. But yeah, definitely never moving in with friends. I’m going to be a recluse and live on my own on an island instead. It just feels safer.

*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: Dr Susan’s Reign – Katerina Degratte

ramblingmads

When a mad scientist swipes her chatty pet, she’ll claw her way through any danger to get her back…

Cat Johnson just wants a quiet life. Living paycheck to paycheck, the soft-spoken game-store clerk prefers to spend her nights home alone in the company of her sassy, talking kitty, Maori. But when a beautiful woman lures her out on a date, she’s devastated to discover it was a ruse to abduct her beloved feline friend.

Forcing the duplicitous dame to show her where Maori was taken, Cat races to a secret research lab to rescue her bestie. But she’s horrified when her snarky pal has been transformed into a giant killing machine.

Can Cat free Maori from a terrifying fate?

Dr. Susan’s Reign is the electrifying first book in the Cat Johnson Chronicles LGBTQ science fiction series. If you like strong female characters, sarcastic four-footed heroines, and non-stop action, then you’ll love Katerina Degratte’s meowsome tale.

Available on Amazon

My thoughts: the premise of this was interesting and having discussed it with my cat, Ted, I’m not sure I wouldn’t want a giant cat, however the food bill would be astronomical and I don’t think a super sized Ted would fit through the cat flap!

Cat Johnson’s precious Maori is turned into such a giant fluffball and hangs out in the woods with a giant tiger and some creepy giant spiders (not into that, thanks) while Cat tries to get an antidote made up, even though the outfit she works for wants to turn her pet into kibble.

Cat herself is woefully naive and keeps falling for the worst women, first Susan, then Raven, neither of whom are exactly on the side of the angels. But she does love animals and wants to help them rather than put them down – it’s not like anyone asked them if they wanted to be made gigantic!

*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: I Will Find You – Amanda Rigby

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Three sisters…One terrible secret
Ashleigh: A creative, free spirit and loyal. But Ash is tormented by her demons and a past that refuses to be laid to rest.
Jessica: Perfect wife and loving mother. But although Jessica might seem to have it all, she lives a secret life built on lies.
Grace: An outsider, always looking in, Grace has never known the love of her sisters and her resentment can make her do bad things.
When Ashleigh goes missing, Jessica and Grace do all they can to find their eldest sister. But the longer Ashleigh is missing, the more secrets and lies these women are hiding threaten to tear this family apart.
Can they find Ashleigh before it’s too late or is it sometimes safer to stay hidden?
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Amanda Rigby is the nom de plume of the writing partnership between Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years, and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, which they won!

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My thoughts: sisters, who’d have ’em? (I have one younger sister), relationships between siblings are very often complicated and messy, and the sisters in this book have secrets which add to their complex history. When Ashleigh goes on the run, her sisters are looking for her, and also the ones she turns to for help. But is that a mistake?

Tense and with a twist I did not see coming at the end, I couldn’t tell who to trust – everyone had so many secrets and were suspicious at different points. Grace seemed to be hiding who her unborn baby’s father was, Jessica had a whole secret life she kept from her family, and Ashleigh was losing her memories when she was drinking, she could have killed her friend and not remembered. Another excellent thriller from Amanda Rigby.

*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: A Life for a Life – Carol Wyer

ramblingmads

Nobody can get into the mind of an erratic killer—except an unpredictable detective.

When a young man is found lying on a station platform with a hole in his head, DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the grisly murder. But the killing is no one-off. As bodies start to pile up, she is faced with what might be an impossible task—to hunt down a ruthless killer on a seemingly random rampage.

Meanwhile, Kate has her own demons to battle as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death. And she is hell-bent on exposing corruption within the force and bringing Superintendent John Dickson to justice. But with the trail of deception running deeper—and closer to home—than she could ever have imagined, she no longer knows who she can trust.

With her grip on reality slipping, Kate realises that maybe she and the killer are not so different after all. But time is running out and Kate is low on options. Can she catch the killer before she loses everything?

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USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer’s crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages. 

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

February 2021 saw the release of the first in the much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young. An Eye For An Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia. 

Carol has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post. She’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy. When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

To learn more, go to http://www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter: @carolewyer

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My thoughts: as Kate continues her secret investigation into Superintendent Dickson (Book Two – A Cut for a Cut) a series of shocking and unexplainable murders. Starting with a body at the train station, shot with a bolt gun, no witnesses, no suspects. Kate and her team are racing against time to find the killer and stop more people from dying.

This was really clever, the way the case flips between the killer and Kate’s viewpoints and the lack of evidence makes her situation more complicated as the evil Superintendent won’t give her more resources or support. I really like this series and I want Kate to succeed and bring him down, despite the odds stacked against her.

*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 Haven – Amanda Jennings

ramblingmads

It was meant to be paradise…

Winterfall Farm, spectacular and remote, stands over Bodmin Moor. Wanting an escape from the constraints of conventional life, Kit and Tara move to the isolated smallholding with their daughter, Skye, and a group of friends. Living off-grid and working the land, they soon begin to enjoy the fruits of their labour amid the breathtaking beauty and freedom of the moor.

At first this new way of life seems too good to be true, but when their charismatic leader, Jeremy, returns from a mysterious trip to the city with Dani, a young runaway, fractures begin to appear. As winter approaches, and with it cold weather and dark nights, Jeremy’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. Rules are imposed, the outside world is shunned, and when he brings a second girl back to the farm, tensions quickly reach breaking point with devastating consequences…

My thoughts: living in utopian style collectives and off grid appeals to a lot of people and you can see why, except for the thing everyone always forgets – other people. We all love a hierarchy deep down and crave a leader, and in this case Jeremy becomes increasingly unhinged and aggressive as he tries to assert control. He’s clearly not well but has decided doctors and medicine are evil and living off the land with his new friends is best.

But things are far from perfect as the weather turns, people get sick and arguments break out. I liked the differing viewpoints and how Dani and Tara interacted, although like Tara I was a bit concerned about a 14 year old girl being there without any parents.

The ending was rather sweet, things seemed to work out for most of the characters after the horrifying events on the farm at the height of the book. But I won’t be giving up heating and hot water any time soon.

*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 Atlas Six – Olivie Blake

ramblingmads

The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.

Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.

My thoughts: this had a really interesting premise, and I liked many of the characters, except Atlas, who seems a bit suspect, however I felt that it lagged a little at times in the middle.

Despite the fact that the six are supposed to be adults, they often behave more like children, spoilt ones at that. With their squabbles, petty rivalries and inability to work together. Most of them have been out in the world, albeit a very privileged version, for several years, only Libby and Nico are recent graduates with limited life experience. But that doesn’t stop them from falling back into childish behaviour but as we know from reality shows like The Apprentice, people often do when they aren’t getting their own way.

I found Dalton to be a bit robotic, and there are hints that he isn’t quite human anymore, which should be interesting if Parisa unpacks that in book 2. I also really didn’t like Ezra, Libby can do a lot better, but again it looks like there’s more to him than just a side character. There are a lot of things being set up towards the end of the book that hopefully come to fruition in the next book.

I know this book has been something of a sensation (not that I remotely understand how you release a book via TikTok) and it is very well written and enjoyable, the illustrations of the characters helped me a lot as I’m not great with visualising things and I enjoyed the way each chapter had a different narrative voice. I just wanted more to the plot, which seemed to struggle a bit at times, hopefully all the sitting around pays off in the next installment.

*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: Mothers & Daughters – Erica James

ramblingmads

Even happy families have their secrets…

Since the sudden death of her husband, Naomi has steadily rebuilt the life they shared in the village of Tilsham by the sea.

Her eldest daughter, Martha, is sensible and determined – just like her father was – and very much in control of where her life is going. If she could just get pregnant with her husband, life would be perfect.

Willow, the youngest, was always more sunny and easy-going, yet drifted through life, much to her father’s frustration. But now, with charming new boyfriend, Rick, she has a very good reason to settle down.

The three women are as close as can be. But there are things Naomi has kept from her daughters. Like the arrival of Ellis, a long-lost friend from way back, now bringing the fun and spark back into her life. And she’s certainly never told them that her marriage to their father wasn’t quite what it seemed…

The Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James returns with this gloriously compelling tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and love.

My thoughts: having attended an online event with the author (thanks HQ!) I was looking forward to reading this. A compelling and powerful story about family, love, and the willingness to do anything for the people who mean the most to you.

The bond between Naomi and her daughters is strong and even when they fall out, they find their way back to each other quickly and without ongoing bitterness. When it becomes apparent Willow’s relationship with Rick is more than just volatile, it’s her family that stand up for her and encourage her to leave him for her safety and that of her unborn daughter.

Naomi opens up to them about her marriage to their father, shedding new light on the past and they learn to accept that things change and it’s unfair to expect their mum to be alone forever, in fact Ellis becomes something of a support to them all, a kind man with a good heart.

It’s Martha though, who goes through the biggest change – learning that her father wasn’t the hero she thought he was is hard on her but she accepts that children don’t know everything about their parents and it casts her mother in a new light for her. As she prepares to have a daughter of her own, she softens and realises she can’t control everything.

Families are complicated and secrets make things harder sometimes, this book is full of ones that need to be told in order for the characters to move forward with their lives and stay close to one another. An 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: The Party at Number 12 – Kerry Wilkinson

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Everyone’s invited. Someone will never leave.

In a grand townhouse rented specially for the evening, Hannah beams at her guests under the sparkling chandelier. Her sisters, her mother and aunt, her best friends… although she’ll miss them all so much when she moves away, tonight is about celebrating the happy times and raising a toast to the future.

But the next morning, one of the guests is found cold and lifeless in their pristine white bed.

Hannah is desperate to call the police. After all, it must have been an accident. Perhaps too much wine, on a night where emotions were running high. But it soon becomes clear that every single person at the party has something to hide.

A mother who’ll do anything for her daughters.
Best friends with dark secrets between them.
A sister with a jealous streak.

What if one of them is a killer?

And what if this is just the first victim?

An absolutely unputdownable thriller that won’t let you sleep until you’ve reached the final page! Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, The Hunting Party and Shari Lapena.

Amazon Audio: UK/US 

Listen to a sample here

Kerry Wilkinson is from the English county of Somerset but has spent far too long living in the north. It’s there that he’s picked up possibly made-up regional words like ‘barm’ and ‘ginnel’. He pretends to know what they mean.

He’s also been busy since turning thirty: his Jessica Daniel crime series has sold more than a million copies in the UK; he has written a fantasy-adventure trilogy for young adults; a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter and the standalone thriller, Down Among The Dead Men.

https://kerrywilkinson.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KerryWilkinsonBooks/

My thoughts: this could have gone so differently, had people made different choices. But in deciding to cover things up, Hannah and her family make things a whole lot worse for themselves. Now the police have questions and Hannah’s big travel plans are on hold, everyone’s panicking and making themselves look more suspicious than ever. Hannah takes it upon herself to launch her own investigation as the police circle and is joined by Zach, her friend’s equally determined boyfriend.

There is an absolutely shocking twist right at the end that flips the whole thing on its head that you won’t see coming, I certainly didn’t. Not giving you any clues though. Just know you’ll be stunned.

Clever, gripping and with several surprises along the way, this is an excellent 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.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Shit Happens – Eileen Wharton

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Rose Starling, abused wife, is living on benefits with her three children on an estate in a small town near Newcastle. Trying to keep one step ahead of the tallyman she dances in the shadows of various illegal dealings.

She’s got problems though when bits of her ex-husband keep turning up in different places and the slimey DI Savage seems to be bending the evidence to link her to the murder.

Adding to her troubles, she has to work in a topless bar to make ends meet and she’s being pressured into taking a “ job” for hard as nails Vera Devlin from the estate.

Desperate to extricate herself from the mess, she breaks into her old marital home to find the diary of her dead husband, setting off an explosive chain of events.

Set against a backdrop of Northern council estate life, this fast-paced, gritty, humorous novel exemplifies the problems caused by poverty, piles and unruly children.

Amazon UK
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Eileen Wharton is an Oscar winning actress, Olympic gymnast, and Influencer. She also tells lies for a living. Her first novel was published in 2011 to worldwide critical acclaim. And she’s won awards for exaggeration. It did top the Amazon humour chart so she’s officially a best-selling author. She currently has five ‘lively’ offspring ranging from thirty-three to fourteen years of age, and has no plans to procreate further, much to the relief of the local schools and police force. She lives on a council estate in County Durham. She has never eaten kangaroo testicles, is allergic to cats and has a phobia of tinned tuna. She’s retired from arguing with people on the internet.

Follow her at: Twitter Facebook Instagram

My thoughts: darkly comic and peopled with real characters (I loved Rose’s friends Mags and Elsie next door), this is a look at life that’s raw and frankly a bit terrifying. Rose’s mean ex-husband has left her with no money but three children to raise, walking a tightrope between poverty and crime, struggling to get by. She takes on various iffy cash in hand jobs to supplement the scraps of benefits and even then she’s searching down the back of the sofa for bus fare.

After her ex gets murdered and the creepy police detective starts hanging about, she’s under pressure from the local gangster family to do a few jobs or else. Her boss also seems to be taking an interest in her.

Bits of this were hilarious and silly, but other bits were quite dark and sad. Rose hasn’t had an easy life and all she really wants is for things to go right for once. Three children is a lot for anyone and she’s totally alone apart from her friends. But as things escalate she discovers she’s not quite as unlucky as she thought and being resourceful and quite clever, she comes up with a plan to make things go right.

*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 Physician’s Daughter – Martha Conway

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A compelling novel of female perseverance and the role of women in society set in the aftermath of the American Civil War. For readers of Tracey Chevalier and The Second Mrs Thistlewood

It is 1865, the American Civil War has just ended, and 18-year old Vita Tenney is determined to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a country doctor like her father. But when her father tells her she must get married instead, Vita explores every means of escape – and finds one in the person of war veteran Jacob Culhane. Damaged by what he’s seen in battle and with all his family gone, Jacob is seeking investors for a fledgling business. Then he meets Vita – and together they hatch a plan that should satisfy both their desires.Months later, Vita seemingly has everything she ever wanted. But alone in a big city and haunted by the mistakes of her past, she wonders if the life she always thought she wanted was too good to be true. When love starts to compete with ambition, what will come out on top?

From the author of The Floating Theatre, The Physician’s Daughter is the story of two people trying to make their way in a world that is struggling to escape its past.

Martha Conway has been nominated for an Edgar Award and won the North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. She teaches creative writing for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she is one of seven sisters. She now lives in San Francisco with her family.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book, Vita was so determined and brave, striking out on her own – thinking that that was the only way to get to be a doctor. Jacob was equally determined to find her and support her – he didn’t want to hold her back or force her to be someone she wasn’t. I felt sorry for Mitty, her life wasn’t what she’d invisioned and it was only by following Vita’s example in the end that she got to use her brain again and engage with learning.

Women were so stifled, and banned from doing so much, the incredibly limited medical schools who would take female trainees, and even then only a handful. I know it was the same case here too – this ridiculous idea that women, who deal with blood and bodily fluids all the time (especially if they have children) would faint and be too delicate is absurd. Even now fewer women attend medical school – put off by the patriarchal medical establishment, told they’d be better off elsewhere. The old boys network has a lot to answer for. But reading this book, hearing Vita’s voice reminds me of all the incredibly brave, pioneering women who struck out and stuck up for themselves and forced society (and men) to see them as equals.

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