Friday 31 January 2020

January's Reads



Apartment 6 by Stuart James
Published by Bloodhound Books
Publication Date: 29 January 2020
BLOG TOUR 29 JAN 2020
Be careful what you wish for… 
When Meagan was five years old her mother was viciously attacked and murdered.
Now an adult, she herself is the victim of an abusive relationship. Meagan is desperate to escape but doesn’t have the courage to leave.
So, when Meagan meets Oliver, a decent guy who is on the rebound after a failed relationship, the two strike up a connection. But when Meagan confesses that her husband is abusive, it leads Oliver down a dark and dangerous path.
Just how far would you go to protect someone?
Oliver is about to find out and be pushed to his very limits…



The Dilemma by BA Paris 
Published by HQ
Publication Date: 9 January 2020

It’s Livia’s 40th birthday and she’s having the party of a lifetime to make up for the wedding she never had. Everyone she loves will be there except her daughter Marnie, who’s studying abroad. But although Livia loves Marnie, she’s secretly glad she won’t be at the party. She needs to tell Adam something about their daughter but she’s waiting until the party is over so they can have this last happy time together.
Adam wants everything to be perfect for Livia so he’s secretly arranged for Marnie to come home and surprise her on her birthday. During the day, he hears some terrible news. He needs to tell Livia, because how can the party go on? But she’s so happy, so excited – and the guests are about to arrive.
The Dilemma – how far would you go to give someone you love a last few hours of happiness?

She Said, Three Said by David B Lyons
BLOG TOUR 1ST FEB 2020

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a juror in a high-profile celebrity trial?

Well... now you don't have to.
Step inside the jury room to deliberate one of the most talked-about court cases of the decade.
SHE SAID
…all three men got her drunk, led her to a hotel room and took advantage of her.
THREE SAID
…she was a willing participant and consented to sex with each of them.
After five-weeks of listening to all of the evidence and all of the arguments in a celebrity rape trial that has gripped an entire nation, the jury sit down to begin their deliberations.
But they don’t know who to believe…will you?

Two by KJ McGillick
BLOG TOUR 25 JAN 2020

Her husband wants her locked away in a psychiatric facility. His business partner wants her dead. 


Isabella Armond is an ordinary Parisian woman with a comfortable life — until a shocking discovery shatters her perfect world. As her husband’s behavior becomes increasingly unstable, Isabella slowly realizes all the signs point to the fact he is not who he appears to be. Is he a respected Cardio-thoracic surgeon with a thriving Paris medical practice helping people? Or is he leading a double life which involves the international trafficking of black market organs? Greed, blood money, and psychopath are the terms she learns are associated with a man she thought she knew.
Forced to delve deeper into her husband's secret life, she makes discoveries that will make her question everything she believed forcing her to face an impossible decision. She is desperate to uncover the truth, but once you know something, it can’t be unknown. The more she learns, the more she wishes she knew nothing at all.


One by KJ McGillick
BLOG TOUR 8 FEB 2020

Azar Abed is out for revenge for the life Dr. Adrian Armond stole from her. No matter what the cost. Adrien Armond will stop at nothing to recover the massive fortune Azar Abed embezzled from him. Neither will walk away until the other is dead. Someone’s going to die, that is for certain.
Personal revenge gets caught up in a bio-terror plot to crash the world’s economy as darkness spirals into darkness and terror is the order of the day. Azar Abed and Adrien Armond are on a collision course that could have catastrophic consequences on a global scale.
Who will kill who first? Will it be enough? Can anyone stop the bio-terror plot to destroy the world’s economy that is already in motion? Does anyone have enough humanity left even to try?

The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Published by Orion
Publication Date 9th July 2019
YOUR PHONE RINGS.
A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD.
TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD.
YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM'S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD.
IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN:
YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED.

YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN




Wednesday 29 January 2020

Apartment 6 by Stuart James #BlogTour #review @BOTBSPublicity @StuartJames73


Apartment 6 by Stuart James
Published by Bloodhound Books
Publication Date: 29 January 2020

Book Description:


Be careful what you wish for…
When Meagan was five years old her mother was viciously attacked and murdered.
Now an adult, she herself is the victim of an abusive relationship. Meagan is desperate to escape but doesn’t have the courage to leave.
So, when Meagan meets Oliver, a decent guy who is on the rebound after a failed relationship, the two strike up a connection. But when Meagan confesses that her husband is abusive, it leads Oliver down a dark and dangerous path.
Just how far would you go to protect someone?
Oliver is about to find out and be pushed to his very limits…


My Thoughts:

This is probably my most anticipated read of the year so far - I know it's only January but since I read Stuart's previous novel Turn the Other Way, I have been eagerly awaiting this book. So when Sarah invited me to be part of the blog tour there was no question in my mind about requesting a slot.

Apartment Six will certainly have you on the edge of your seat at some points and hiding behind your hand at others. I was properly rooting for Meagan and Oliver to get together as their friendship started to blossom on the train each day, up until Meagan asks Oliver to do the ultimate thing for her and the needle skittered across the vinyl record and alarm bells started to ring.

Oliver is so besotted with Meagan that all common sense goes out of the window and I genuinely felt sick to my stomach as events panned out and the realisation dawned as to what Oliver had actually done and how he intended to crisis manage the situation. I couldn't quite get things to add up where Meagan was concerned until the penny dropped that she wasn't who we had been led to think she was.

With excellent plotting from Stuart as always, I sprinted through this book far too quickly and am so pleased that I still have The House on Rectory Lane to read while I wait with bated breath for Stuart's next book to be created. Apartment Six is a book I will definitely re-read as I feel I need to revisit the intricacies of the plot which I may have missed in the excitement of reading for the first time.



About the Author:




I have always loved scary stories, especially ones that shocked me, left me terrified, looking under my bed or in the wardrobe before going to sleep.
There was just a fantastic buzz whenever I watched or read something that took my breathe away.
I remember going to my nan’s house in Ireland as a youngster with my mother and sister, on the West Coast, staying in a cottage, surrounded by miles of fields and my family sitting around the table in the kitchen at night telling ghost stories. Going out and exploring derelict farmhouses in the middle of nowhere. I remember clearly the field at the end of the road was supposed to be haunted by headless nuns.
My cousins often remind me of the great times we had, frightening each other and running for our lives whenever we’d see something that didn’t look right.
This is why I love nothing more than to tell a story.

I started writing two years ago, penning The House On Rectory Lane.
I got the idea from something that has often seemed scary to me. I know that a terrifying story has to be something that you’re frightened of doing, something that makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck, something that fills you with dread, yet also with excitement.
To me, the thought of going to a house in the middle of nowhere, upping and leaving a busy town and moving to the country is something that scares lots of people and me: the seclusion, the quiet, the darkness.
That’s what inspired me to write my first novel.

My second thriller is called Turn The Other Way.
I have multiple stories running, past and present. A family who want answers from the surgeon responsible for their daughter’s death.
A young woman looking for her parents after they go missing from a party.
A couple driving home and hearing screams for help from the back of the van in front of them.
A serial killer on the loose in North London, dragging victims off the street.

I’m so grateful when people not only read my thrillers but also take the time to get in touch and leave a review. To me, that is the greatest feeling, hearing from people that have enjoyed my work. I know then that I’m doing something right.

I’m 45, married and have two beautiful children. Currently, I’m a full-time plumber but would love nothing more than to make a living from my writing.
I hope I write stories and people continue to enjoy them for years to come. That would be completely amazing and a dream come true.


Social Media:


Saturday 25 January 2020

Two by KJ McGillick @rararesources #BlogTour @KJMcGillickAuth #book #review

Two by K J McGillick
Published 21st Feb 2018
Crime/Thriller

Book Description:

Her husband wants her locked away in a psychiatric facility. His business partner wants her dead.

Trust. Who do we place our trust in every day? Family members, friends and people who we turn to for help, doctors. But what if the doctor you placed your trust in had secrets? Dark secrets. So many secrets.
Isabella Armond is an ordinary Parisian woman with a comfortable life — until a shocking discovery shatters her perfect world. As her husband’s behavior becomes increasingly unstable, Isabella slowly realizes all the signs point to the fact he is not who he appears to be. Is he a respected Cardio-thoracic surgeon with a thriving Paris medical practice helping people? Or is he leading a double life which involves the international trafficking of black market organs? Greed, blood money, and psychopath are the terms she learns are associated with a man she thought she knew.
Forced to delve deeper into her husband's secret life, she makes discoveries that will make her question everything she believed forcing her to face an impossible decision. She is desperate to uncover the truth, but once you know something, it can’t be unknown. The more she learns, the more she wishes she knew nothing at all.
When the sun dims, your second self shall disappear. Consequences not of her making were nipping at her heels. Tick. Tock.

My Thoughts:

First I need to thank Rachel Gilbey for the opportunity to discover this excellent series and be part of the blog tour. I am often swayed by the cover of a book in my reading choices, but with this one it was purely the book description which grabbed my attention and I was not disappointed.

The first chapter takes us straight to the action in this book, no messing about or preamble.  With a limited number of characters there is no chance of getting confused as to who is who and the action keeps coming at you with no chance of a respite.  "I want her dead. Make it happen." The opening sentence of the book leaves us in no doubt that Adrien Armond mixes with some very dubious characters.  Why does Adrien's associate want his wife out of the equation? The book takes us on international travels into some very dodgy political and criminal areas to give us the answer to this question, touching on sensitive subjects such as organ trafficking and the desperation of refugees seeking a better life; money laundering, fake identities and art forgeries all feature strongly too - but surely a well renowned surgeon wouldn't need to be involved in such criminal activities would he? And how far will he go to save his own skin?

Adrien's wife has no clue of the double life her husband leads or the depths he will go to in order to improve his financial and social standing.  It's not until she chips off the top of the iceberg and decides she wants a divorce from her controlling husband that the enormity of what has been going on under her nose comes to light.  The authorities are soon involved and Isabella begins to realise that her husband is doing business with some very dangerous men. There is shock revelation after shock revelation and I struggled to put this book down as Isabella's position grew more and more precarious. I could definitely see this being made into a gripping TV mini-series. Come on Netflix, sign it up!

This book certainly took me by surprise as I got far more than I bargained for based on the cover design. So much so that I am immediately moving on to the sequel, entitled 'One' which I will be reviewing later this month here on the blog. If you like fast moving thrillers, I strongly recommend this one.


About the Author:



K. J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that's what New Yorker's do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing.




Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/KJMcGillickauthor/ 

Kathleen McGillick

@KJMcGillickAuth

http://www.kjmcgillick.com/

https://twitter.com/KJMcGillickAuth
https://www.goodreads.com/Kmcgillick

Tuesday 21 January 2020

My One Month Marriage by Shari Low #book #review #BlogTour @sharilow @BoldwoodBooks

My One Month Marriage by Shari Low
Published by Boldwood Books
Publication Date: 21st January 2020
Womens Fiction

Book Description:

“I just need to know...which one of you slept with my husband?”


You know that "till death do us part" bit in the wedding vows? Well, Zoe Danton believed it. One month after she said “I do”, the man she loved is gone, given his marching orders after Zoe discovered a devastating secret.

As teenagers facing a crushing loss, Zoe made a pact with her three sisters to stick together no matter what. Now she’s discovered that one of them may have been the reason her husband betrayed her. She’s lost her happy-ever-after, but has she lost a sister too? 

My Thoughts:

First and foremost I need to thank Megan at Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication.  It's a fun read with a serious message at its core.

The Danton sisters are a diverse bunch but despite their differences they are what matters most at heart:  family.  Their dad left home when they were at very impressionable ages and they made a pact back then that nothing would break up the sisterhood.  The book looks at how the break up of their family affected each of them and how it helped mould their personalities as they grew into adulthood.

Marina: the organiser, stay at home mum of 2 who controls every aspect of her family's life.
Yvie: the carer. Nurse by profession who gives far more of herself to her job than perhaps is healthy for her.
Zoe: ambitious, career girl with no end to her talents in PR.
Verity: Stressy and uptight, she is a teacher at the same school as Zoe's husband Ned.

I very much enjoyed this look at how a group of sisters can be so different from one another yet still have the same values underneath their individual veneer.  The ugly question of what happens when more than one sister takes a shine to the same guy is the main focus of the book with Verity's crush, colleague Ned, taking centre stage in more than one of the ladies' lives.  How they each deal with the situation - or the assumptions they have made about the situation - throws up some great comedy moments along the way to Zoe's impromptu wedding ceremony. Unfortunately for her, only a few weeks after the wedding Zoe finds herself sitting on the floor of her flat asking her sisters who slept with her husband.

The book flips between the various sisters' points of view and time frames, which could have been confusing but somehow works beautifully. The story shows just how easily lack of communication between the sisters has led to misunderstandings of how the sisters see one another, and how by taking the time to sit and really talk between themselves they can be so much more supportive as a family. Don't think that this is a preachy self-help book though, it's far from that. More of an easy to read, fun look at a dysfunctional family which many will be able to relate to.

The one character who I really wanted to throttle - I thought it was going to be Ned, but surprisingly he came a very close second - was the girls' mother. Totally self-absorbed I found her annoying virtually every time she featured in the book. On the flip side I loved Yvie's work colleague and good friend Kay who is a proper giggle of a character, who I was rooting for a happy ending for.
You'll have to read the book to find out how that works out for her and the Danton girls.




About the Author:



Shari Low is the No1 best-selling author of over 20 novels, including One Day In Winter, A Life Without You, The Story Of Our Life, With Or Without You, Another Day In Winter, This Is Me and her latest release, The Last Day of Winter.
And because she likes to over-share toe-curling moments and hapless disasters, she is also the shameless mother behind a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So.
Once upon a time she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she lives near Glasgow with her husband, a labradoodle, and two teenagers who think she's fairly embarrassing except when they need a lift.
For all the latest news, visit her on Facebook, twitter @sharilow, or at www.sharilow.com

Saturday 11 January 2020

The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright by Beth Miller @bookouture @drbethmiller #book #blogtour #review

The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright by Beth Miller
Published by Bookouture 
Publication Date 9th January 2020
Womens Fiction, Humour


Book Description:

Sometimes it takes losing something to see where you truly belong.

For the past twenty-nine years, Kay Bright’s days have had a familiar rhythm: she works in her husband’s stationery shop hoping to finally sell the legendary gold pen, cooks for her family, tries to remember to practice yoga, and every other month she writes to her best friend, Ursula. Kay could set her calendar by their letters: her heart lifts when the blue airmail envelope, addressed in Ursula’s slanting handwriting, falls gently onto the mat.

But now Ursula has stopped writing and everything is a little bit worse.

Ursula is the only one who knows Kay’s deepest secret, something that happened decades ago that could tear Kay’s life apart today. She has always been the person Kay relies on.

Worried, Kay gets out her shoebox of Ursula’s letters and as she reads, her unease starts to grow. And then at ten o’clock in the morning, Kay walks out of her yellow front door with just a rucksack, leaving her wedding ring on the table...

Buy your copy here:

Google Play:  https://bit.ly/2ZLpiGH  


My Thoughts:

First of all I would like to thank Sarah Hardy for the invitation to be part of the blog tour for this lovely book.  I like a catchy title and this one certainly stood out for me.

The book starts with Kay Bright, wife, mother, bookshop assistant, packing a rucksack and leaving her husband of almost 30 years. Nobody has had the least hint that Kay hasn't been happy in her marriage so it's a bombshell which leaves chaos in its wake.  Accusations and assumptions are made, as is the way when these things happen, but for Kay there is no affair with another man - possibly a midlife crisis of a kind, but not the way people are thinking.

Kay has something on her mind. Ever since her friend Ursula emigrated to Australia in her youth the two women have written to each other monthly to keep each other up to date with their daily lives. But the letters from Ursula have stopped and Kay can't help but think that something is wrong. Plus, Ursula is the only person in the world who knows Kay's secret. She needs to know all is well for her friend.

We follow the turbulent patch of Kay's life as she tries to explain to her nearest and dearest what has made her walk away from her home and family. None of them understands, tempers flare and as Kay sets off on her quest to put her mind at rest the relationship between her and her daughter is left out in the cold. 

This is an interesting analysis of what people's reactions are when a marriage breaks down.  None of Kay's family seem to be listening to her reasoning or valuing how she feels in all this. I enjoyed reading about how she decided to tackle the emotions she was feeling and the travels she went on to find her peace especially when she met up with Ursula and discussed their shared history.  Ursula has her own secrets these days though, and with those secrets come words of advice for her oldest friend. You can't beat a story of true friendship, and while it wasn't all happy endings I felt the book came to a satisfying conclusion in the end.

Beth Miller writes from the heart and although there are some gems of wisdom scattered through the story I never felt I was being patronised or preached to. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - but be prepared to shed a couple of tears along the journey with Kay as she sets off in search of the life she was destined for.


About the Author:
I have been told that I write like a tall blonde, so that's how I'd like you to picture me.

I've published three novels, with one more about to be born, in January 2020. I've also published two non-fiction books. I work as a book coach and creative writing tutor.

Before writing books, I did a lot of different jobs. I worked in schools, shops, offices, hospitals, students' unions, basements, from home, in my car, and up a tree. OK, not up a tree. I've been a sexual health trainer, a journalist, a psychology lecturer, a PhD student, a lousy alcohol counsellor, and an inept audio-typist. I sold pens, bread, and condoms. Not in the same shop. I taught parents how to tell if their teenagers are taking drugs (clue: they act like teenagers), and taught teenagers how to put on condoms (clue: there won't really be a cucumber). I taught rabbis how to tell if their teenagers are druggedly putting condoms on cucumbers.

Throughout this, I always wrote, and always drank a lot of tea. I'm now pretty much unbeatable at drinking tea.  

Social Media Links:
@drbethmiller  

Follow the Tour: