#BlogTour #BookReview David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders

Excited to be the latest stop on the Blog Tour for DAVID MOGO, GODHUNTER by SUYI DAVIES OKUNGBOWA.  My thanks to the author, publisher and Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the copy of the book and for putting this tour together!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Nigerian God-Punk – a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.

Since the Orisha War that rained thousands of deities down on the streets of Lagos, David Mogo, demigod, scours Eko’s dank underbelly for a living wage as a freelance Godhunter. Despite pulling his biggest feat yet by capturing a high god for a renowned Eko wizard, David knows his job’s bad luck. He’s proved right when the wizard conjures a legion of Taboos—feral godling-child hybrids—to seize Lagos for himself. To fix his mistake and keep Lagos standing, David teams up with his foster wizard, the high god’s twin sister and a speech-impaired Muslim teenage girl to defeat the wizard. 

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon UK   £7.67

hive.co.uk  £7.99

whsmith  £6.47

MY REVIEW

The gods have fallen, there’s chaos on Earth but life continues as normal in Laos and David Mogo is trying to earn a living as a Godhunter, while also trying to figure himself out – life isn’t easy if you’re a mix of a human and a god!!  And what follows is a fun mix of fast paced action and the fantastical chaos of living in a messed up world, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and spending time in a world which has been creatively invented by the author.

It did take me a little while to ‘get’ the speech used but it soon clicked and really immersed you into the world, and allowed you to really get a feel for the characters and the craziness they are surrounded by!

 In David Mogo, a character has been created who is such an intriguing person – very conflicted as a person, but dealing with his own powers and trying to figure out the best way to use them.  In his work as a godhunter he is placed in the middle of the action which was really exciting – he’s a person with a good heart but a tough exterior.

There are some very shady characters around which takes the story down some darker paths, but there’s enough humour around to lighten the mood of this read and the message about sacrifice and trust between people comes through loud and clear.

A fascinating debut and fun read and I look forward to more from this author in the future!

★★★★

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#BlogTour Something to Live For by Richard Roper #BookReview @Tr4cyF3nt0n #FindYourSomething

Delighted to be on the Blog Tour sharing my review today, on publication day no less!, for the fabulous SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR by RICHARD ROPER.

My thanks to the Author, Publisher and Tour organiser, Tracy Fenton, for the copy of the book and for letting me be part of it all!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sometimes you have to risk everything to find your something…

Andrew works with death for a living. Searching for people’s next of kin and attending the funerals if they don’t have anyone, he’s desperate to avoid the same fate for himself. Which is fine, because he has the perfect wife and 2.4 children waiting at home for him after a long day. At least, that’s what he’s told people.

The truth is, his life isn’t exactly as people think and the little white lie he once told is about to catch up with him.

Because in all Andrew’s efforts to fit in, he’s forgotten one important thing: how to really live. And maybe, it’s about time for him to start

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON UK  £10.98

HIVE.CO.UK  £10.29

WHSMITH  £9.35

GOLDSBORO BOOKS – signed first edition £12.99

MY REVIEW

Beware! This book will make you want to devour the back catalogue of Ella Fitzgerald songs!! That’s what it has made me do and I loved the touching tale that Richard Roper tells of this character who tries to fit in by living a lie – but that only works if you don’t get found out!

Andrew lives a very solitary life but seems happy in his own way. He loves model railways and escapes into that world alongside the online community he connects with, but to cover his tracks (no pun intended!) at work he has created an alternative life for when his co-workers quiz him – he’s married and has 2 kids.   Sometimes it’s easier just to pretend! He has everything thought through – from the first time he went on a date with his ‘wife’, to her job and the holidays they take.

He sees the loneliness of the world magnified due to his work – he arranges funerals for the council for those people who have died alone and seemingly have no relatives or friends around.  He takes it on himself to attend their funerals as well and now has a new colleague working with him – Peggy – who shadows him on his visits to the deceased and instantly feels relaxed in her company.  So he’s now faced with the dilemma of trying to untell a life lie.

Andrew is a sweet soul and I found it totally fascinating to see him living 2 lives.  He didn’t want to hurt people with his made up life, but that’s what started to happen and seeing how he tried to be honest to others, and most importantly, himself was the crux of this story.  The empathy he showed to those who had died too was so thoughtful and really gives you lots to think about.

He also had to face some tough issues in his own family and that was dealt with quite poignantly and gave you more to his background.  There’s also time for lots of fun with this story and that really added to the mix of the book – the character of Peggy was a breath of fresh air and seemed to allow Andrew to breathe as a person.

Fabulous!!

★★★★

#BlogTour #BookReview Needlemouse by Jane O’Connor @JaneOConnor100 @eburypublishing @TessHenderson1 @Tr4cyF3nt0n

Hugely delighted to be the latest stop on the Blog Tour for NEEDLEMOUSE by JANE O’CONNOR. My thanks to the author, publisher and Tracy Fenton for putting it all together and letting me be part of it!

Time to come out of hibernation…

Sylvia Penton has been hibernating for years, it’s no wonder she’s a little prickly…

Sylvia lives alone, dedicating herself to her job at the local university. On weekends, she helps out at a local hedgehog sanctuary because it gives her something to talk about on Mondays – and it makes people think she’s nicer than she is.

Only Sylvia has a secret: she’s been in love with her boss, Professor Lomax, for over a decade now, and she’s sure he’s just waiting for the right time to leave his wife. Meanwhile she stores every crumb of his affection and covertly makes trouble for anyone she feels gets in his way.

But when a bright new PhD candidate catches the Professor’s eye, Sylvia’s dreams of the fairy tale ending she has craved for so long, are soon in tatters, driving her to increasingly desperate measures and an uncertain future.

Sylvia might have been sleep walking through her life but things are about to change now she’s woken up…

A quirky, charming uplifting novel perfect for fans of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Sarah Haywood’s The Cactus. The feelgood bestseller about unrequited love, loneliness and the redemptive qualities of hedgehogs featuring the most unlikely heroine of 2019.

PRE-ORDER LINKS – out 27th June 2019

Amazon UK  £7.99

hive.co.uk  £6.29

whsmith  £5.75

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jane O’Connor is a former primary school teacher turned academic and writer. She grew up in Surrey and lived in London until she moved to the West Midlands in her mid-thirties. Jane’s PhD was about child stars and she is now a Reader at Birmingham City University where she researches children’s experiences of celebrity, media and everyday life. Jane lives in Sutton Coldfield with her husband and two young sons in a house full of pirates, dinosaurs, superheroes and lots of books. She really likes all animals, especially hedgehogs.

Twitter – @JaneOConnor100

MY REVIEW

This book has been compared to Eleanor Oliphant and the like and I can totally see why! The main character is ‘quirky’!  She doesn’t conform to the norm and seems happy enough living life the way she wants to, but you just know that if you scratch away there’s something hidden underneath the surface that makes you want to give them a big hug and let them know that life will be ok!

For 15 years she has devoted herself to her work, and her boss! Thinking he is just waiting for the right moment to dump his wife and live the ‘happily ever after’ life with  Sylvia. BUT he doesn’t see the world the way she does and the more you witness his behaviour, the more you get the impression that he has just used her over the years and taken advantage of her devotion.

It’s only when she sees him in a whole new light that the reality hits her that he’s not her knight in shining armour and all she has pinned her hopes on crumbles away.  So what does she do with her life now?

As well as her work she has devoted her time helping to helping out at a hedgehog sanctuary with Jonas. He’s a wonderful soul who takes great delight in living life simply and just wants to help the hedgehogs!  The more time Sylvia spends with him and the sanctuary, the more her eyes are opened as to what she wants out of life and when an old school friend reappears in her life, maybe her life starts to look up again and she sees things a little differently.

I loved the simplicity of this story – it’s more about the personalities and life choices that each character makes.  Sylvia isn’t the most likeable character to begin with – she’s quite abrupt in her viewpoints but  she has a big dilemma to face when she sees her boss for what he really is and not what she thought he was for all those years.   There’s a reason for why she is the way she is, and the more she gets stripped back then the more you understand her and things fall into place.

I really enjoyed this story and the journey that you see Sylvia take is a very realistic and  poignant one. 

★★★★

#BlogTour #BookReview A BOY AND HIS DOG AT THE END OF THE WORLD by C.A.FLETCHER #FollowGriz @Tr4cyF3nt0n @CharlieFletch_r

Hugely delighted to be the latest stop on the wonderful blog tour for A BOY AND HIS DOG AT THE END OF THE WORLD by C.A.FLETCHER. My thanks to the author, publisher and Tracy Fenton for allowing me to be part of it and putting it all together for us to share!

Here’s a little more about the book to get you in the mood!!

“My name’s Griz. I’ve never been to school, I’ve never had friends, in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, before all the people went away, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.
Then the thief came.

He told stories of the deserted towns and cities beyond our horizons. I liked him – until I woke to find he had stolen my dog. So I chased him out into the ruins of the world.

I just want to get my dog back, but I found more than I ever imagined was possible. More about how the world ended. More about what my family’s real story is. More about what really matters.”

Published by Orbit

Purchase Links

hive.co.uk

WHSmith

waterstones

MY REVIEW

Imagine living on a remote island with only your parents, sister and 2 dogs – there’s nobody else left in your little part of the world as the number of people is increasingly low as the birthrate has fallen dramatically.  This is the position that Griz is in – hearing stories of life in the lands beyond but never able to go there.  That is until someone steals his beloved dog, and his only thought is to jump in a boat and follow!  It just showed the bond created especially when your world is so uncomplicated and focused on those around you.

As Griz explores deserted towns and cities we get a real feeling of just how different the world is – Griz can only imagine things we took for granted and it’s brilliantly told as Griz speaks to us in each chapter of what life must have been like in our ‘crowded world’.    Griz is extremely brave in taking on this pursuit and just shows the lengths we’d all go to save those most important to us – be they human, or animals!

The innocence of Griz is the main thing I took from this book – – his wonder at hearing birdsong, wondering what life was like full of noise, cars, even seeing animals in zoos.  Being so remote on the island with his family, everything new he sees while exploring is a revelation and his time opens his eyes to a different way of seeing things .

It’s difficult to really say much more without giving away too much, but I thoroughly enjoyed being in the world of Griz and loved the twists and turns that awaited him and me as a reader! A book that takes you on a dark but memorable journey!

✸✸✸✸