The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness by Laura Kemp #BookReview

When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights – long enough to scatter her mother’s ashes, and then go back to her life as a successful make-up entrepreneur.

But when a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as the barmaid in the local pub, she unexpectedly finds friendship, and perhaps a chance at love.

But when the plans for a new housing estate put the local woodland under threat, she fears the way of life here could disappear.

Then mysterious acts of kindness start springing up around the village – a string of bunting adorns the streets, a new village signpost appears out of nowhere and someone provides paint to spruce up the houses on the seafront. Who is behind these acts of kindness and can they help in the race to save the village from the faceless developers…?

Welcome to the Village of Love. Where friendship flourishes and love blossoms…

BUYING LINKS

Hive.co.uk – buy online and support a local bookstore

Amazon UK

Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Kemp writes tender but hilarious romantic comedies which are unashamed love letters to the everywoman.
Her uplifting message – based on the notion that everything is research apart from the rude bits – is ‘You Don’t Know How Brilliant You Are!’.
A journalist who has written for The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Sun amongst others, she is married with a son in Cardiff, where she pretends to be a domestic revolutionary so she doesn’t have to do the ironing. Runs to eat crisps and drink wine, adores her mates and loves her dog, Lego and sweary cross-stitch.

Follow the Author on Twitter @Laurajanekemp

MY REVIEW

 

I won this book in  a GoodReads giveaway and knew it was going to be my kind of book from the cover! Such an idyllic setting!

This was a charming and easy to read book that was a perfect escape on a rainy afternoon!

Ceri finds herself in Wales after the death of her beloved mother, in a place where she’s never been before but immediately finds herself at home amongst the villagers and she finds this pace of life refreshing and comfortable. The more time she spends away from her old life, the more she finds herself and discovers there’s more to life than the crazy world she lived in before.

I loved the setting and the variety of characters. There were secrets galore that were revealed along the way which made the journey Ceri faced really interesting. Loved the humour too! I would have liked more focus on the random acts of kindness as I often found that they were forgotten about and could have played a much bigger role in the story and impact on the village. But it still made for a really enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

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My Bookish Weekly Wrap Up – Week 16 2018

Hello!!  It’s a soggy old Saturday so what better way to deal with that, than to look back at the past 7 days in my bookish world!   And it’s been a week of me getting one year older…… I’m claiming to be 21 for EVER!!  There were a few bookish themed birthday presents – Harry Potter goodies are always welcomed here! – but very few book shaped presents as I think people are scared to buy me books in case I already have them! BUT there were book tokens and money in my lovely present haul so I have been treating myself to a few.. okay a lot!…. of books so I will probably do a separate post all about them in the coming week so watch out!!

So with a busy week gone by the reading has taken a hit again so once more I’ve only finished 2 books!  And then I’ve just received 2 books via the post – so at least there is balance!!

BOOKS FINISHED

Where the Light gets in by Lucy Dillon  –  5 stars

I love Lucy Dillon and this is another wonderful story!

Scoop of the Year by Tom Claver  –  4 stars

Really enjoyed this fun read!! Watch out for my Blog Tour stop in May!

BOOK POST

A couple of months ago I signed up to Alma Books and their Year of Reading Classics where you choose each month which book from their fabulous collection is sent to you! So this month I plumped for The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins! Have never read it so looking forward to starting this soon!

And then out of the blue I was sent THE CHEESEMAKER’S HOUSE by JANE CABLE, with a lovely message from the author inside.  This sounds right up my street!

Inspired by a framed will found in her dream Yorkshire house, which had been built at the request of the village cheesemaker in 1726, Jane Cable discovered the historical aspect of her novel. Set near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, The Cheesemaker’s House is a page-turner that will have readers hooked instantly.

The novel follows the life of Alice Hart, who escapes to the North Yorkshire countryside to recover after her husband runs off with his secretary. Battling with loneliness but trying to make the best of her new start, she soon meets her neighbours, including handsome builder Richard Wainwright and kind café owner Owen Maltby. As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village ‘charmer’, what exactly does that mean? 

CURRENTLY READING

The Trees by Ali Shaw

Have had this on my shelves for a while – that cover!! – but have just downloaded the audio version from the Borrowbox app, and am really enjoying it so far!

There came an elastic aftershock of creaks and groans and then, softly softly, a chinking shower of rubbled cement. Leaves calmed and trunks stood serene. Where, not a minute before, there had been a suburb, there was now only woodland standing amid ruins…

There is no warning. No chance to prepare.

They arrive in the night: thundering up through the ground, transforming streets and towns into shadowy forest. Buildings are destroyed. Broken bodies, still wrapped in tattered bed linen, hang among the twitching leaves.

Adrien Thomas has never been much of a hero. But when he realises that no help is coming, he ventures out into this unrecognisable world. Michelle, his wife, is across the sea in Ireland and he has no way of knowing whether the trees have come for her too.

Then Adrien meets green-fingered Hannah and her teenage son Seb. Together, they set out to find Hannah’s forester brother, to reunite Adrien with his wife – and to discover just how deep the forest goes.

Their journey will take them to a place of terrible beauty and violence, to the dark heart of nature and the darkness inside themselves.

The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness by Laura Kemp

A fun, easy read book!

When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights – long enough to scatter her mother’s ashes, and then go back to her life as a successful make-up entrepreneur.

But when a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as the barmaid in the local pub, she unexpectedly finds friendship, and perhaps a chance at love.

But when the plans for a new housing estate put the local woodland under threat, she fears the way of life here could disappear.

Then mysterious acts of kindness start springing up around the village – a string of bunting adorns the streets, a new village signpost appears out of nowhere and someone provides paint to spruce up the houses on the seafront. Who is behind these acts of kindness and can they help in the race to save the village from the faceless developers…?

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What’s been keeping you turning the pages this week?! Hope it’s been a good bookish week and here’s to a good bookish weekend and week to come!!

Where the Light gets in by Lucy Dillon #bookreview

‘You know those cracks in your heart, Lorna, where things didn’t work out, but you picked yourself up and carried on? That’s where the fear gets out. And where the light gets in.’

It was Betty, defiant to the end, who sent Lorna back to Longhampton. If Lorna’s learned one thing from Betty it’s that courage is something you paint on like red lipstick, even when you’re panicking inside. And right now, with the keys to the town’s gallery in her hand, Lorna feels about as courageous as Betty’s anxious little dachshund, trembling beside her.

Lorna’s come home to Longhampton to fulfil a long-held dream, but she knows, deep down, there are ghosts she needs to lay to rest first. This is where her tight-knit family shattered into silent pieces. It’s where her unspoken fears about herself took root and where her own secret, complicated love began. It’s not exactly a fresh start.

But as Lorna – and the little dog – tentatively open their cracked hearts to old friends and new ones, facing hard truths and fresh promises, something surprisingly beautiful begins to grow around the gallery, something so inspirational even Lorna couldn’t have predicted the light it lets into her world . . .

An inspiring, life-enhancing novel that will make you see your life afresh . . . Fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry will love it.

BUYING LINKS

Amazon UK

Hive.co.uk – buy online and support your local bookstore

Book Depository

MY REVIEW

Such a wonderful book!!! I love reading books from Lucy Dillon as she always creates such warm characters who you immediately connect with, and this story follows Lorna as she goes back to where she has some bad memories, but just taking that brave step to face them head on and start a new project just brings out the best in her – and changes the life of those around her too!

We first meet Lorna as she is volunteering at a hospice where she spends time with those in the final stages of life, and you instantly see how compassionate she is, and how she acquires the little dog Rudy!

Lorna only has her sister Jess left around as they lost their parents years ago, and while Jess has a husband and family, Lorna is left feeling a little lost and is looking for a new direction in which to take her life. And that is when moving back to Longhampton to buy the failing art gallery becomes her plan!

As soon as she arrives she finds many faces from her past that evoke a number of feelings, no more so than when she finds Sam is back in the area – she used to have a major crush on him during her teenage years and she finds those feelings don’t seem to have gone away. Is he still the same kind of character that she remembers though?!

The friendship and bond Lorna then builds up with Joyce is a wonderful and touching part of this story. Joyce is an artist, but a reclusive one and is happy to live her life on her own, with her dog Bernard, and has developed a hatred of her social worker! But she sees something in Lorna that resonates with her and is quick to trust her, first with walking Bernard for her and then being more open to sharing her artwork to help the gallery.

There are a wide range of topics throughout this book – memories, family secrets, yarnbombing, a community pulling together, facing your fears – and I found myself unable to put the book down at times as I became so wrapped up in the characters and the situations they found themselves in! There were tears too!!

A fabulous read!!

My thanks to the publisher and author for the advanced readers copy in return for a fair and honest review.

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#CoverReveal One Summer Weekend by Juliet Archer

cover reveal

COVER REVEAL

It’s that time again!! I get the honour of sharing yet another stunner of a cover with you from the fabulous folk at Ruby Fiction!

Here’s a little bit more information about the book for you all before the big reveal….

One summer weekend can change everything …  

Alicia Marlowe’s life as an executive coach is well under control – until she meets her new client, Jack Smith. Jack’s reputation precedes him and Alicia knows immediately that he spells trouble. Not least because he reminds her of someone else – a man who broke her heart and made her resolve never to lower her guard again. 

Taking Jack on as a client is a risk, but one that Alicia decides to take for the good of her career. As long as she keeps him in his place, she might just make it through unscathed. But Jack has other ideas – including a ‘business’ trip to the Lake District. One summer weekend with him is all it takes to put Alicia’s carefully organised world in a spin … 

 

One Summer Weekend is published on 19th June by Ruby Fiction and will be available to purchase as an eBook on all platforms.  

So here is your first look at the beautiful cover……

onesummer

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The Kindness of Strangers by Julie Newman #bookreview

Deception abounds in Julie Newman’s breath-taking new novel. Widow Helen is desperate for a perfect family life, and will do everything she can to get what she wants. A veteran of the Afghanistan conflict Martin is adrift and seemingly without hope – can he ever win back his estranged family? Pregnant teenager Charley is striking out on her own to create a new life for her unborn child, but her mother Lizzie has other ideas. When three seemingly disparate lives connect, the past and the present collide to reveal secrets, lies and how far people are willing to go to hide the truth. Following the gripping and controversial Beware the Cuckoo, Julie Newman’s thrilling new novel lifts the lid on the dark past that haunts a seemingly happy household.

Publisher – Urbane Publications

BUYING LINKS

Amazon UK  £8.46

Hive.co.uk – buy online and support a local bookstore   £7.49

MY REVIEW

Prepare to be shocked!! I know I was!! This book will take you on a much different journey than where you thought it would take you! Believe me!! And that is such a brilliant thing to happen while you’re reading!  I had absolutely no clue of what was going to happen and that is probably why I enjoyed reading this so much!

It’s the story of 3 strangers and how their paths cross and their lives connect. And they’re all such different characters that the author can explore so many different subjects with them and the challenges that they face.

In Part One we get to meet the main characters – Helen is a widow and dealing with the loss of her beloved husband. Through donating her husbands’ clothes to a nearby charity shop, she meets Audrey who works in there and seems to have a knack of finding those in need of help.  Audrey is one of the good guys in the world and is always willing to help those in need and becomes a much needed friend to Helen who is struggling.  And when Helen then comes across some secrets from her husbands past she is completely thrown and all she thought she knew goes out the window.  But that does give her a new focus in life….

Martin is an ex solider and  suffering from PTSD.  His home life has suffered and is a mess and he’s living on the street looking for a way back to his ex and their children.   He ends up with a social worker who is there to help him find work and a new future and he finds himself at the charity shop where Audrey works looking for some clothes.

Charley is a teenager who finds herself pregnant.  Her mum is not the best role model and seems to find her daughter an irritation and throws her daughter out when Charley wants to keep the baby. She too finds herself at the charity shop and the life of her and her baby are set to change. 

The way the chapters are set out really helps each character get under your skin as you learn more about them and helps you connect more to the positions they find themselves in.  Fate works in mysterious ways so they say, and no more so than in this book!

 Part Two of the book is really about how the characters face up to the situations that life has dealt them and also gives you a chance to see more of Audrey and the role she plays in these characters lives.  It also features a much darker side to the story and I loved the change in atmosphere and tempo!  I can’t say much more than that but it really took my breath away as things evolved and made for such  a memorable read!!! Prepare for the unexpected!!

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The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May #BlogTour #Giveaway #BookReview #TCSICB

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Super excited to be the latest stop on this fabulous blog tour, hosted by Rachels Random Resoures, to share the love for this book that is filled with romance, attitude and fun! As well as my review, there’s always a giveaway… now that got your attention didn’t it?!!!!

cockle

Praise for Nicola May’s books  

‘This book will twang your funny bone & your heartstrings’ – Milly Johnson 

‘A fun and flighty read’ the Sun 

‘A funny and fast-paced romp – thoroughly enjoyable!’  WOMAN Magazine 

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Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy.  While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he – or she – has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.  

     Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed – and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail? 

     There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events.  

With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light. 

Purchase from –  

Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8KML35/ 

Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B8KML35/ 

 Amazon CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B8KML35/ 

 Amazon AU - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07B8KML35/ 

About Nicola May 

nicola

 Award winning author Nicola May lives in Ascot in Berkshire with her rescue cat Stanley. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon, eating flapjacks and enjoying a flutter on the horses. Inspired by her favourite authors Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews, Nicola writes what she describes as chicklit with a kick.  

Follow Nicola May 

Website - www.nicolamay.com 

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NicolaMayAuthor 

Twitter – https://twitter.com/nicolamay1 

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/author_nicola/ 

Giveaway – Win x 3 Paperback copies of The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay (Open Internationally) 

What are you waiting for?!  Click on the link below for your chance to win a copy!!

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize. 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c6949475/?  

MY REVIEW

This is a chick lit book with attitude! The main character Rosa is not your normal kind of ‘heroine’ – she’s had an extremely tough upbringing`and finds herself unable to settle and very happy to pick fights with those who she sees as treating her badly.

Then out of nowhere she is contacted to say she has inherited a corner shop in a place she’s never visited or even heard of in Devon! And it couldn’t have come at a better time as she’s just walked out on yet another job so she has nothing to lose in packing up all her things – and Hot her loyal sausage dog! – and heading to Devon to find out more about this shop, the area and why, and more importantly who, has left her this shop and flat.

She soon finds she’s at the centre of attention in this quaint tourist village, something she isn’t used to, but soon finds some trustworthy new friends, and some who are not so nice! Her friend Josh, who she lived with is busy with his life, but is always there for her on the phone or for a visit to help her settle in – he’s her voice of reason when she wonders where her life is going and what she should do.

As she clears up the flat that has laid empty for so long, she uncovers quite a few secrets and as she settles down to village life she starts to relish life as a shop owner and the new challenges that this brings her way. With all the goings on, she finds herself in anything but a quiet and sleepy tourist destination!

I really loved the character of Rosa – she’s rough round the edges but extremely likeable – as is Hot her faithful companion! I also loved the character of Mary who she befriends and how they are there for each other when needed.

I found this to be an enjoyable, fun, edgy and not your normal light and fluffy chick lit read – more please!!!

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My bookish weekly wrap up – week 15 2018

Hey! It’s hot!!!  The past couple of days here in south east england have been unseasonably warm so after weeks and months of being too cold, too wet, too grey – it’s now too blooming hot!!  But the garden has loved it and it just puts a smile on my face everytime I go out there!!

And if it’s too hot to do much, that means it is best to conserve energy and just READ!! So my reading  slump from last week is now over and I’m back up to having finished 5 books this week!  Way behind on reviews though now – oops – so need to focus on those over the weekend!!

And the postie has been busy again delivering lovely book shaped parcels my way and I may(!) have taken a sneaky peek at NetGalley – despite telling myself not to go there! – and added 2 more reads to my Kindle!

So here’s a quick little look at my bookish week….

BOOKS FINISHED

The Man on the Middle Floor by Elizabeth S.Moore     

This was a fascinating read that I raced through! Will post more thoughts here on the 29th April when I’m on the Blog Tour!

BLACK VIOLET by Alex Hyland

fun fast paced thriller and the start of an exciting new series!

THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCHESSES by JULIE FERRY

A really interesting look at how American society bought their way into the English aristocracy. Full review on the 4th May for the Blog Tour!

THE MAGIC OF RAMBLINGS by KATE FIELD

Loved this story of a woman finding happiness and herself at a crumbling mansion.  If you love Kate Morton books then you will love this!

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS by JULIE NEWMAN

Don’t let the sweet cover fool you! I loved this!  Just when the story was going one way, BOOM, big twists that I didn’t see coming! Loved it!!

BOOKPOST

Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone

In a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, in which a tectonic fault has opened up to produce a new volcano in the Firth of Forth, and where tremors are an everyday occurrence, volcanologist Surtsey makes a shocking discovery. On a clandestine trip to The Inch – the new volcanic island – to meet Tom, her lover and her boss, she finds his lifeless body. Surtsey’s life quickly spirals into a nightmare when someone makes contact – someone who claims to know what she’s done…

Kill The Angel by Sandrone Dazieri

When a high-speed train from Milan draws into the station in Rome with a carriage full of dead bodies, Deputy Police Commissioner Colomba Caselli, a fierce detective still reeling from having survived a bloody catastrophe of her own, is called to lead the investigation. After receiving a message claiming responsibility for the killings and announcing more murders to come, officers turn their attention to a small group of Islamic extremists.

But Dante Torre believes authorities are being misdirected. For him the Islamic link is a smokescreen concealing the actions of a killer who has been committing murders all over the world for years: a woman who calls herself Gilitinè, after the mythological Lithuanian goddess of death. After further carnage, Gilitinè’s murderous plans escalate to macabre heights, and only Dante and Colomba can stop her.

The Cliff House by Amanda Jennings   due out 17th May 2018

Cornwall, summer of 1986.

The Davenports, with their fast cars and glamorous clothes, living the dream in a breathtaking house overlooking the sea.
If only… thinks sixteen-year-old Tamsyn, her binoculars trained on the perfect family in their perfect home.
If only her life was as perfect as theirs.
If only Edie Davenport would be her friend.
If only she lived at The Cliff House…

Amanda Jennings weaves a haunting tale of obsession, loss and longing, set against the brooding North Cornish coastline, destined to stay with readers long after the final page is turned.

My Favourite People by Rob Keeley  due out 28th April 2018

IBooks

Amazon UK 

Rob Keeley’s first picture book!
A book for young children all about the importance of relationships.
Comes complete with suggested activities for bringing the book to life.

Illustrated by Simon Goodway.

My favourite people are…

all in this book. And I’m going to tell you all about them. You can meet my Auntie Meg and Uncle Steve, my best friend Alice, my favourite footballer and the band that’s going to save the world. Then I’ll tell you about a brilliant idea I’ve had…

Following his success as a writer of novels and short stories for older children – including the ongoing Spirits series, listed for the Bath Children’s Novel and Independent Author Book Awards – Rob Keeley makes his picture book debut with My Favourite People, a fun illustrated journey through childhood and the friends and family who make it possible. It’s an amusing and insightful look at the world around its central character, an excellent read-aloud or read-alone. It encourages young people to look at relationships and recognise their importance. It will appeal to girls and boys of lower primary age – and to parents and teachers reading the book aloud.

The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst  due out 3rd May 2018

Born on the night of an ill-auguring comet just before Charles II’s Restoration, Ursula Flight has a difficult future written in the stars.

Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.

Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.

The Old You by Louise Moss  – due out 15th May 2018

Nail-bitingly modern domestic noir
A tense, Hitchcockian psychological thriller
Louise Voss returns with her darkest, most chilling, novel yet…

Lynn Naismith gave up the job she loved when she married Ed, the love of her life, but it was worth it for the happy years they enjoyed together. Now, ten years on, Ed has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and things start to happen; things more sinister than missing keys and lost words. As some memories are forgotten, others, long buried, begin to surface… and Lynn’s perfect world begins to crumble.
But is it Ed s mind playing tricks, or hers…?

NETGALLEY HAUL!

Girl with Dove by Sally Bayley   due out 17th May 2018

Growing up in a dilapidated house by the sea where men were forbidden, Sally’s childhood world was filled with mystery and intrigue. Hippies trailed through the kitchen looking for God – their leader was Aunt Di, who ruled the house with charismatic force. When Sally’s baby brother vanishes from his pram, she becomes suspicious of the activities going on around her. What happened to Baby David and the woman called Poor Sue? And where did all the people singing and wailing prayers in the front room suddenly go?

Disappearing into a world of books and reading, Sally adopts the tried and tested methods of Miss Marple. Taking books for hints and clues, she turns herself into a reading detective. Her discovery of Jane Eyre marks the beginning of a vivid journey through Victorian literature where she also finds the kind, eccentric figure of Charles Dickens’ Betsey Trotwood. These characters soon become her heroines, acting as a part of an alternative family, offering humour and guidance during many difficult moments in Sally’s life.

Combining the voices of literary characters with those of her real-life counterparts, Girl With Dove reads as a magical series of strange encounters, climaxing with a comic performance of Shakespeare in the children’s home where Sally is eventually sent.

Weaving literary classics with a young girl’s coming of age story, this is a book that testifies to the transformative power of reading and the literary imagination. Mixing fairy tale, literary classics, nursery rhymes and folklore, it is the story of a child’s adventure in wonderland and search for truth in an adult world often cast in deep shadow.

The Poison Bed by E.C.Fremantle  due out 14th June 2018

Elizabeth Fremantle’s THE POISON BED is a chilling, noirish thriller ripped straight from the headlines.

A king, his lover and his lover’s wife. One is a killer.

In the autumn of 1615 scandal rocks the Jacobean court when a celebrated couple are imprisoned on suspicion of murder. She is young, captivating and from a notorious family. He is one of the richest and most powerful men in the kingdom.

Some believe she is innocent; others think her wicked or insane. He claims no knowledge of the murder. The king suspects them both, though it is his secret at stake.

Who is telling the truth? Who has the most to lose? And who is willing to commit murder?

CURRENTLY READING

click on the book title for the GoodReads page for more info!

The Year of Surprising Acts of Kindness by Laura Kemp

Scoop of the Year by Tom Claver

☼☼☼☼☼

Not a bad little week then!  Got a pretty busy weekend ahead so not sure if next week will be as impressive!  

Enjoy the weather and enjoy your reading!!

Black Violet by Alex Hyland #BookReview

A MICHAEL VIOLET THRILLER

On the surface, Michael Violet is a legitimate San Francisco car dealer. But appearances can be deceiving. In reality, he’s a talented pickpocket lifting the keys to the city’s most luxurious cars.

He’s kept his criminal life secret from his journalist brother, Jon, who’s made a career out of exposing corruption. But when Jon is killed, Michael uses his talents to track down his brother’s killer.

Driven by guilt and revenge, Michael finds himself being forced into the role of the hero, whether he likes it or not.

But turning from thief to hero isn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped…

Perfect for fans of Lee Child and  James Patterson .

Publisher Accent Press

BUYING LINKS

Amazon UK

Hive.co.uk – buy online and support a local bookstore

Book Depository

MY REVIEW

My thanks to the publisher, Accent Press, for the copy in return for a fair and honest review.

I found this to be a fast paced thriller, full of breathless pursuits, a fascinating lead character and all the elements that keep you turning the pages until it’s over!

Michael Violet is a thief! But he has made the stealing of luxury cars a fine art and manages to keep his ‘career’ as a secret. But his world changes when he hears that his brother , a journalist, has been killed at his home after a burglary gone wrong – apparently. Michael doesn’t believe this and sets out to find his brothers’ killer and this leads him to enter a whole new world, and one where he ends up trying to play the hero.

There are so many unanswered questions to why his brother was killed, and the more he investigates the darker the revelations become. He is forced to revisit his past, their childhood and face his regrets about not being in contact with his brother before his death.

I loved how the author drip fed tiny bits of information throughout each chapter. It just raised your interest with each new page, trying to join the dots and work out the links before it was all revealed! And I can’t wait for the next book in the series to see where this new life leads for Michael Violet!

My Blog’s Name in Books Tag!

I spotted this over the weekend, posted by Lynne over at Fictionophile  and thought it sounded like lots of fun – so here I am to take part!!  So here are the rules;

Rules: 

1.  Spell out your blog’s name. (this is where you wish your blog’s name was shorter LOL)

2. Find a book from your TBR that begins with each letter. (Note you cannot ADD to your TBR to complete this challenge – the books must already be on your Goodread’s TBR)

3. Have fun!  

I may have had to cheat with the O’s but otherwise it was fun going through my TBR shelves to find this little lot!

                                                                                                                                                                           

   Oletter  

                                       

                      

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My Bookish Weekly Wrap Up – week 14 2018

Hello!!! You made it to the weekend!! Time to celebrate!  I really don’t know what has happened to the last week! It’s been a bit of a blur!  I’ve been looking after our old neighbours’ 2 cats this past week so that has taken up some of my precious reading time! How dare they demand being played with and being fed!!  And also had a visit from my lovely nephew and niece so no chance of reading with them around, although my 10 year old niece is a proper little bookworm already, so we had to stop at a Waterstones and she came out with 3 books – which I’m hoping she’ll let me borrow when she’s finished with them!

So my reading week has been a bit of a shocker and I’m wondering if it’s a little mini slump! It’s not as if I’ve not been enjoying the books I’ve been reading but it’s just that life got in the way this week! Hopefully normal service can be resumed next week – and NEEDS to be resumed if the toppling TBR pile is anything to go by!!

Just 2 books – yep 2! – finished for me this week! Way down on normal!  And 3 books arrived – never good to have the arrivals outweighing those read haha!  So here’s a look at them all!

BOOKS FINISHED

Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O’Neill  –  4 stars

So much fun! Loved this off the wall look at 16 crazy Aussie authors!

Love in an English Garden by Victoria Connelly  – 3 stars

A lovely, easy to read book that was delightful!

 

BOOKPOST

Sunset over the Cherry Orchard by Jo Thomas

Publication Date – 23rd August 2018

Headline Review

Jo Thomas’s new novel invites you to a special cherry orchard in Spain, where sunshine, romance and family secrets are the order of the day. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond, Milly Johnson and Katie Fforde, SUNSET OVER THE CHERRY ORCHARD is a heartwarming, hilarious tale.

It’s time for Beti Winter to dance to her own beat.

After three failed engagements Beti is in desperate need of a fresh start. What better place than the sun-drenched hills of southern Spain?

But it’s not all sangria and siestas. Beti finds work on an old Andalucian cherry farm where there are cherries to be picked, trees to be watered and her fiery boss, Antonio, to win over.

As the sun toasts her skin, Beti finds herself warming to the Spanish way of life. Embracing the art of flamenco, she discovers there is much to learn from the dance of passion. She just has to let loose and listen to the rhythm of her heart.

THAT SUMMER IN PUGLIA by VALERIA VESCINA

Publisher – Eyewear Publishing

Blog Tour coming in May 2018

Tommaso has escaped discovery for thirty years but a young private investigator, Will, has tracked him down. Tommaso asks him to pretend never to have found him. To persuade Will, Tommaso recounts the story of his life and his great love. In the process, he comes to recognise his true role in the events which unfolded, and the legacy of unresolved grief. Now he’s being presented with a second chance – but is he ready to pay the price it exacts? That Summer In Puglia is a tale of love, loss, the perils of self-deception and the power of compassion. Puglia offers an ideal setting: its layers of history are integral to the story, itself an excavation of a man’s past; Tommaso’s increasingly vivid memories of its sensuous colours, aromas and tastes, and of how it felt to love and be loved, eventually transform the discomforting tone with which he at first tries to keep Will and painful truths at a distance. This remarkable debut combines a gripping plot and perceptive insights into human nature with delicate lyricism.

THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCHESSES by JULIE FERRY

Publisher – Aurum Press

Publication Date – 24th May 2018

Blog Tour coming in May 2018

POWER, SCANDAL, GLAMOUR, FAME

On 6th November 1895, the beautiful and brilliant heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt was wedded to the near-insolvent Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough in a dazzling yet miserable match – it glittered above all others for high society’s marriage brokers who, in this single year, forged a series of spectacular, and lucrative, transatlantic unions.

The bankrupt and ailing British aristocracy was suddenly injected with all the wealth and glamour of America’s newest dynasties. Millions of dollars changed hands as fame, money, power and privilege were all at play.

Brimful of scandal, illicit affairs, spurned loves and unexpected tragedy, The Million Dollar Duchesses reveals the closed-door bargaining which led to these most influential matches and how America’s heiresses shook-up British high society for ever.

CURRENTLY READING

The Magic of Ramblings by Kate Field

Really enjoying this book and loving the characters!

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Packham

Fascinating insight

Black Violet by Alex Hyland

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