Tuesday 9 July 2019

Blog Tour Review: Chloe Never Forget by Dan Laughey


Chloe Never Forget (Carl Sant Book #2)
Published: 7th March 2019
Publisher: Creativia
Pages: 257
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
An off-duty detective gunned down. A dead woman. A student missing, feared dead. And now, a former policeman in search of his past. All these people, dead or alive, have one thing in common. D.I. Carl Sant must discover what it is.
A series of cold-case enquiries leads D.I. Sant and his colleagues to investigate a botched assassination plot dating back to the 1980s. The deeper they dig into the case, the more secrets are revealed, including shocking connections to the infamous National Front. 
Meanwhile, the memory of former P.C. Tanner, survivor of the assassination horror, is beginning to recover. Sant must find Tanner, and find out who is behind it all - before his superiors lose their rag and more lives are lost.

Review
Chloe Never Forget is the second Carl Sant book by Dan Laughey and is a continuation of the story from Cloe Lost Girl.  If you haven’t read Chloe Lost Girl yet I highly recommend that you do before reading this otherwise you may be a little confused as it the first book there were many strings which all need to be tied together now.

In the first book we had an assassinated police detective, a missing girl and a dead woman. After doing some digging into the mysterious 3 1 8 left on the bus window next to dead DS Dryden, DI Sant believes all recent events are connected to a police shooting in 1984. All Sant needs to do is find the link between them all and locate the retired PC Frank Tanner who was a witness to the crime, easy right, not when those from above are pressuring you for a result and getting twitchy about all your digging. Can Carl find the answers before anybody else gets hurt?

I loved the previous Carl Sant book Chloe Lost Girl as there were so many twists and lose threads and every-time I made a little sense of what was happening Dan Laughey has thrown something else into the mix, making a captivating and thrilling. Now all the threads start to merge together to form a dramatic conclusion to this twisty tale.

I don’t want to say much more as the mystery of the plot adds to the enjoyment. All I can say Is I thoroughly enjoyed both these books and highly recommend them to anyone who loves a good crime thriller. I’m keeping my fingers crossed Mr Laughey is working on more Carl Sant novels as I can’t wait to read them.


Thank you so much to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Dan Laughey is a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University where he teaches a course called ‘Youth, Crime and Culture’ among other things. He has written several books on the subject including Music and Youth Culture, based on his PhD in Sociology at Salford University. He also holds a BA in English from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MA in Communications Studies from the University of Leeds.
Dan was born in Otley and bred in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, a hop and a skip away from the Leeds setting of his Chloe novels.
His crime writing was purely academic to begin with. He’s written about media violence and tackled the age-old concern about television and video games influencing patterns of antisocial behaviour in society. After years of research and theoretical scrutiny, he still hasn’t cracked that particular nut.
He’s also written about the role of CCTV and surveillance in today’s Big Brother world, the sometimes fraught relationship between rap and juvenile crime, football hooliganism, and the sociocultural legacy of Britain’s most notorious serial killer – the Yorkshire Ripper.
All in all, Dan’s work has been translated into four languages: French, Hebrew, Korean and Turkish. He has presented guest lectures at international conferences and appeared on BBC Radio and ITV News in addition to providing expert commentary for The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.

Social Media Links –
Twitter: @danlaughey – Facebook: fb.com/laughey

Purchase Links:


Monday 8 July 2019

Blog Tour Review: The Secret - Violet's Story Eliza J. Scott


The Secret - Violet's Story by Eliza J. Scott
Published: 8th July 2019
Pages: 287
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
It’s been two years since glamorous and ambitious Violet Smith fell head-over-heels in love with blacksmith Jimby Fairfax, and moved back home to the North Yorkshire village of Lytell Stangdale to be with him.

Life couldn’t get much sweeter. Their romance is blooming and Romantique - the business she set up with Jimby’s sister Kitty, designing luxurious underwear and burlesque costumes with the odd wedding dress throw in - is thriving.

But on a romantic weekend break, a face from her past triggers a series of events which send Violet into turmoil. She finds herself with no alternative but to reveal a secret she’s buried deep for the past sixteen years. A secret she hasn’t shared with anyone, not even her best friends, Kitty and Molly, and they share everything.

With the revelation forcing a wedge between herself and Jimby, heartbroken Violet fears that he won’t ever be able to think of her in the same way again and won’t want anything more to do with her.

As ever, Kitty and Molly rally round, offering their advice and support but Vi is worried that keeping her secret was just a step too far for Jimby.

Will she succeed in showing him their love is strong enough to overcome it?

The Secret – Violet’s Story is book 3 in the Life on the Moors Series.

Review
The Secret Violet’s Story is the third book in the Life on the Moors series by Eliza J. Scott, I this third book the story revolves around Violet.

For two years Violet has been back living in the village of Lytell Stangdale and loved up with boyfriend Jimby. On Violet’s birthday Jimby whisks her away to the fabulous Kirkbythwaite Hall Hotel and proposes next to the fountain…which he then falls in. Life then seems perfect for Violet as she prepares to become Mrs Fairfax. Until she runs into a figure from her past and a secret she’s been hiding for years from Jimby and all their friends. When the truth finally comes out can Jimby and Violet work through the aftermath and go ahead with their planned wedding.


I’ve read the first Life on the Moors book but not managed to read the second yet, don’t think that really matters though as the focus of this book is definitely surrounding Violet and Jimby and not too much of Kitty and Molly’s stories are given away. I’d highly recommend Kitty’s story though as I loved it and Molly’s story is on my list for summer reading.

I have loved Jimby’s character from the previous book, he’s such a kind loving man whose made a great Uncle to Kitty and cousin Molly’s children and its obvious he’s going to make a great dad. Having been attracted to Violet most of his life its great to see them finally get together and who wouldn’t want a kind, caring handsome blacksmith, even if he seems to be the most accident prone man on the planet.

It was great to find out more about Violet’s character too and I loved how Eliza J. Scott has taken us back through important parts of Violet’s life so you really get a sense of how she became the woman she is today and how she has come to embrace all thing purple!

This is a wonderful book which centres around Violet, Jimby and their close friends. Eliza J. Scott has brought to life the village of Lytell Stangdale and all its colourful inhabitants, Granny Aggie being one of my favourites.  It has some deep heartfelt moments but also plenty of moments which will make you laugh…mostly involving Jimby and his delinquent cockerel Reg. It’s a novel about friendship and trusting in those closest to you and it’s a novel about love.

I adored this novel and can’t wait to get stuck into Molly’s story. If you’re a fan of Fiona Walker, Catherine Jones or Catherine Alliott then I’m sure you will adore this book as much as I do.
Thank you so much to the author Eliza J. Scott for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel’s Random Resources for organising the blog tour.

About the Author

Eliza lives in a 17th-century cottage on the edge of a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden. Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a teashop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heartwarming stories with happy endings.

Social Media Links –
Blog: Eliza J Scott - elizajscott.com
Twitter: Eliza J Scott – @ElizaJScott1
Instagram: Eliza J Scott - @elizajscott

Purchase  Links


Wednesday 3 July 2019

Blog Tour Review: Foxglove Farm by Christie Barlow


Foxglove Farm by Christie Barlow
Published: 28th June 2019
Publisher: Harper Impulse
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Return to Love Heart Lane for friendship, romance and a community who will be be there for you no matter what…
Isla and Drew Allaway appear to have the perfect life – a strong marriage, two beautiful children and their picture-perfect home, Foxglove Farm.

But, new mum Isla is struggling.  She loves her little family but with Drew working all hours on the farm, Isla’s lonely.
When she discovers that Drew has been keeping secrets from her, Isla has to face losing the home they all love.
Can the Love Heart Lane community pull together once more to help save Foxglove Farm?  And can Isla save her home…and her marriage?

Review
Christie Barlow is one of my favourite authors and after reading Love Heart Lane earlier in the year I didn’t think it was possible for her to write anything better, but yet again she’s managed to create something which is utterly wonderful. Foxglove Farm is a wonderful additional to the Love Heart Lane series and the perfect summer read.


This time the focus of the story is on Isla and Drew Allaway, childhood sweethearts who now live at Foxglove Farm with their sons Finn and Angus. After years of happy marriage Isla has noticed a change in Drew. He’s become withdrawn, argumentative and claiming its time Isla went back to work instead of living off his handouts. Luckily distraught Isla has her friends in Heartcross to rally round her and give support and if Drew’s moods weren’t enough to cope with a series of mishaps lead to Isla and Drew fighting to save their home.

This is a wonderful novel which at the core has the message that sometimes even the strongest of us are not ok and are suffering on the inside and that its okay to ask for help. Despite the serious side to this novel its balanced perfectly with plenty drama and fun. Birthday llamas, grannies on Tinder and mountains of bunting all add their own touch of joy to this wonderful story.

Martha and Nate are new arrivals to the village and they give the residents of Heartcross plenty of drama while they settle in. I love that new characters have been added into the mix, but it was lovely to find out more about Isla and Drew and of course catch up with how things are going for Flick and Fergus from Love Heart Lane.

This was an absolute joy to read, it’s a wonderful uplifting story which will definitely leave you with a great big smile on your face, the only downside is I read it far too quickly, so now I’m impatiently waiting with fingers crossed that’s there’s another book by Christie out very soon.

Thank you so much to Christie Barlow and the publishers for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the Author



Christie Barlow is the author of A Year in the Life of a Playground Mother, The Misadventures of a Playground Mother, Kitty's Countryside Dream, Lizzie's Christmas Escape, Evie's Year of Taking Chances, The Cosy Canal Boat Dream, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm, Love Heart Lane and Foxglove Farm. Her writing career came as somewhat a surprise when she decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. The book she wrote to prove a point is now a #1 bestseller in the UK, USA & Australia. 

Christie is an ambassador for @ZuriProject raising money/awareness and engaging with impoverished people in Uganda through organisations to improve their well-being.
Twitter @ChristieJBarlow 
Facebook page Christie Barlow author




Purchase Links:

Tuesday 2 July 2019

Blog Tour Review: Le Tour de Love by Lilac Mills


Le Tour de Love by Lilac Mills
Published: 31st March 2019
Pages: 283
Available on kindle
Rating: 4/5

Blurb
“…the opportunity of a lifetime.”
When physiotherapist Molly Matthews is offered a dream job by a guy who shaves his legs and has an obsession with his bicycle, she has serious doubts about accepting. But, as she keeps telling herself, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and she’ll never get another chance like this. So, she does what anyone in her position would do – she agrees to join a professional cycling team for the most prestigious race in the cycling world – The Tour de France.

The reality, though, isn’t exactly what she had anticipated; instead of eating out at restaurants in pretty French villages and spending her free time lounging around the hotel pool, Molly finds herself living out of a suitcase for three weeks, massaging eight pairs of sweaty legs, administering ice baths and treating saddle sores.

And neither did she anticipate falling for a gorgeous, passionate, professional rider by the name of Alexander Duvall…

Review
This is the first book that I’ve read by Lilac Mills and I’m sure it won’t be the last as I found Le Tour De Love to be an interesting and enjoyable read. I know nothing about the cycling world but was intrigued enough by the line “opportunity of a lifetime” to give this book and new to me author a read.


Molly Matthews is working as a physio-therapist when Alex Duvall walks into her clinic for treatment on his wrist, he explains to her he needs to be race fit in two weeks as he’s competing in the Tour De France. Molly bends the rules and treats Alex morning and night to help him into peak condition, but then Alex makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Join team BeSpoke as their physio and travel round the world with them, with nothing to lose Molly decides to give it a go. Molly soon finds its not the glamorous lifestyle she was picturing, she also finds she’s becoming more attracted to Alex as each day passes, something which against team rules. Can Molly keep her feelings in check until the end of the Tour or will love find a way?

I liked both Molly and Alex as characters on their own but as romantic partners I felt there was something missing between them. Probably time together because although this is dubbed a romance novel set in the cycling world to me it was very heavily focused on the cycling side of the story and the romance felt secondary.

I did enjoy the story and learning about the cycling world, it seems very complex and Lilac Mills has obviously done her research well every detail felt very realistic and she managed to capture the excitement, nerves and pressure surrounding each stage of the races, creating a fabulous story.  If your looking for a romance novel then you might be slightly disappointed but if you’re looking for an enjoyable summer read which will have you on the edge of your seat as you follow along with the races then you will love this book.

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy to review honestly and to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author


Lilac spends all her time writing, or reading, or thinking about writing or reading, often to the detriment of her day job, her family, and the housework. She apologises to her employer and her loved ones, but the house will simply have to deal with it!

She calls Worcester home, though she would prefer to call somewhere hot and sunny home, somewhere with a beach and cocktails and endless opportunities for snoozing in the sun...

When she isn't hunched over a computer or dreaming about foreign shores, she enjoys creating strange, inedible dishes in the kitchen, accusing her daughter of stealing (she meant to say "borrowing") her clothes, and fighting with her husband over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher.


Purchase Link:

Monday 1 July 2019

Blog Tour Review: Chloe Lost Girl by Dan Laughey


Chloe Lost Girl (Carl Sant Book #1) by Dan Laughey
Published: 5th March 2019
Publisher: Creativa
Pages: 286
Available on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
A missing student. A gunned-down detective. A woman in fear for her life. All three are connected somehow.

Detective Inspector Carl Sant and his fellow officers get on the case. But what links the disappearance of a university student, the death of an off-duty police sergeant, and a professor reluctant to help them solve the case?

Their only clue is a sequence of numbers, etched by the police sergeant Dryden on a misty window moments before he breathed his last. Soon it becomes clear that Dryden's clue has brought the past and present into a head-on collision with the very heart of Sant’s profession.

Racing against time, D.I. Sant must find out what's behind the mysterious events - before the bodies start piling up.

Review
Chloe Lost Girl is the first book written by Dan Laughey featuring Detective Carl Sant a guy who’s dedicated to his work and not afraid to bend the rules to find out the truth. In this first book Carl and his team are looking for missing girl Chloe Lee whose being missing for over five weeks. The team don’t have much to go on so when colleague DC Liam Dryden is gunned down in a massacre about the number 33 bus their focus is elsewhere. The dead detective has left them a clue 3 1 8 is marked in the window of the bus above his body, what does this mean and is it anyway linked to the missing Chloe Lee.

I was hooked from this from the start, possibly because I’ve been on the number 33 bus from Otley quite regularly, so reading about the mass shooting did send shivers down my spine. It’s not just the bus though, this is a great story with so many twists and turns in the plot its bound to appeal to anyone who loves this genre. I loved that there were so many possible suspects and explanations and just when I thought I had it all worked out Dan Laughey goes and throws someone else into the mix for us to suspect.
It’s not the fastest moving story but I enjoyed the slower pace as I got to know the characters more and really get a feel for the story, I guess it helps I know the area very well too so can easily picture the action unfolding.
Great story and I highly recommend you have book two ready to read as soon as you’ve finished this as I was desperate to work out how all the various threads tied together and I’m sure you will be too.
Thank you so much to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel’s random Resources for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the Author


Dan Laughey is a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University where he teaches a course called ‘Youth, Crime and Culture’ among other things. He has written several books on the subject including Music and Youth Culture, based on his PhD in Sociology at Salford University. He also holds a BA in English from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MA in Communications Studies from the University of Leeds.

Dan was born in Otley and bred in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, a hop and a skip away from the Leeds setting of his Chloe novels.
His crime writing was purely academic to begin with. He’s written about media violence and tackled the age-old concern about television and video games influencing patterns of antisocial behaviour in society. After years of research and theoretical scrutiny, he still hasn’t cracked that particular nut.
He’s also written about the role of CCTV and surveillance in today’s Big Brother world, the sometimes fraught relationship between rap and juvenile crime, football hooliganism, and the sociocultural legacy of Britain’s most notorious serial killer – the Yorkshire Ripper.
All in all, Dan’s work has been translated into four languages: French, Hebrew, Korean and Turkish. He has presented guest lectures at international conferences and appeared on BBC Radio and ITV News in addition to providing expert commentary for The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.

Social Media Links –
Twitter: @danlaughey – Facebook: fb.com/laughey

Purchase Links: