Blog Tour : Invisible Women by Sarah Long

Invisible Women by Sarah Long

Published: 20th April 2017

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

Available on Kindle

Pre-Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Isn't it about time we talked about YOU?

Tessa, Sandra and Harriet have been best friends through first crushes, careers, marriage and the trials of motherhood. After twenty years of taking care of everyone else's every need, they've found themselves hitting the big 5-0 and suddenly asking themselves: 'what about me?!'

Sandra has a sordid secret, and Harriet is landed with her ailing mother-in-law. Tessa is looking for something to fill the gaping hole left by her youngest daughter's departure for uni, where it seems she's now engaged in all sorts of unsavoury activities, if Tessa's obsessive late-night Facebook stalking is anything to go by.

When Tessa impulsively responds to an online message from an old flame, she soon finds herself waiting at Heathrow Airport for The One That Got Away.

But what will the plane from New York bring her? The man of her dreams, or a whole heap of trouble?

And could this be the long-awaited moment for Tessa to seize her life, for herself, with both hands?

Today I'd like to give a warm welcome to Sarah Long who is going to talk about the invisibility of middle-aged women, whom characters in her new book Invisible Women are based. So over to Sarah:

The Invisibility of Middle-Aged Women

That moment when you walk past a building site and nobody wolf-whistles at you. Young women will say, I should hope not, Neanderthal sexual harassment. Older women may say, with a twinge of regret, oh yes, I remember that. When the polite nod replaced the hungry stare. You’d reached a certain age and turned into their mother, you were no longer an object of lust.

Nobody laments the demise of the caveman, but most women will say they miss the attention when they morph into middle age. The loudest complaints come from TV presenters and actors. Their success depends on their looks - unlike their male counterparts who are not obliged to look cute or hot -  and so they are quietly sidelined in favour of younger models. 

The heroines of my novel INVISIBLE WOMEN  are not actors or TV presenters. They are examples of a rather outdated breed, the well-to-do housewife. In fact they refer to themselves as members of the dinosaur club, well aware that it is no longer quite the thing for an educated woman to live off her husband. The lack of a role outside the home reinforces their sense of not being noticed as they grow older, of not counting in a world that increasingly applauds the shouty ones, the sexy ones, the ones with beach-ready bodies.

You’ve only got to read the style advice meted out to middle aged women to get the underlying message. There’s a lot of talk about ‘appropriate’ styles: you can wear mini skirts but only with thick tights; cream is kinder than white against older skin, don’t be a ‘cougar’, don’t wear ‘mum jeans’, whatever the hell they are.   In other words, you’ve had it, you’re ridiculous unless you melt quietly into the background and let the young ones take centre stage.

Bollocks to that. I think we should take our lead from earlier role models. Great old operatic divas with heaving bosoms spilling out of their bodices. Terrifying matriarchs striking fear into whoever crossed their path. Margaret Thatcher would have hand-bagged anyone who told her not to wear those pussycat bows, Bette Davis ruling the roost in All About Eve. The more inappropriate, the better, in my opinion.  

The women in my novel are all emerging from their domestic cocoon to realise it is time to be noticed. Two of them are being particularly noticed by men who are not their husbands. It’s not quite the wolf whistles from the building site – we have moved on, after all – but it’s the kind of attention that forces them out of the shadows and on to the centre stage of their own lives.

INVISIBLE WOMEN by Sarah Long is published by Bonnier Zaffre

 

Blog Tour Review : The Married Girls by Diney Costello

The Married Girls by Diney Costello

Published: 4th May 2017 (Hardback)

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Pages: 380

Available in Hardback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

The war is over, but trouble is brewing...
Wynsdown, 1949. In the small Somerset village of Wynsdown, Charlotte Shepherd is happily married to farmer Billy. She arrived from Germany on the Kindertransport as a child during the war and now feels settled in her adopted home.
Meanwhile, the squire's fighter pilot son, Felix, has returned to the village with a fiancée in tow. Daphne is beautiful, charming... and harbouring secrets. After meeting during the war, Felix knows some of Daphne's past, but she has worked hard to conceal that which could unravel her carefully built life.
For Charlotte, too, a dangerous past is coming back in the shape of fellow refugee, bad boy Harry Black. Forever bound by their childhoods, Charlotte will always care for him, but Harry's return disrupts the village quiet and it's not long before gossip spreads.
The war may have ended, but for these girls, trouble is only just beginning.

Review

One of my favourite things about book blogging is the discovery of a new author who I know I’m going to love, Diney Costello for me is a real gem of a find.  The Married Girls is a sequel to one of her early books The Girl with No Name, having not read this book I can say The Married Girls can be read completely as a standalone novel without losing any enjoyment, I thought it was a wonderful book.

The book centres on the lives of Charlotte Shepheard and Daphne Higgins. Charlotte Shepheard was a German refugee from the war who came to London and later was living in the village of Wynsdown where she met and married Billy. Charlotte I believe is the main character in a The Girl with No Name so if you want to read about her early life before Billy you can. She’s happily married now with two children Johnny and Edie. Everything is perfect for Charlotte until her old friend Harry Black appears and the gossip mill starts running and Billy starts to question her love.

Daphne Higgins is the other main character. Born in the east-end of London she’s looking for a way to better herself and when she accidentally meets Felix Bellinger in an air-raid her plans are made.  Becoming an aircraft mechanic put Daphne in the right place to bump into Felix again and her stunning good looks ensured it wasn’t long before she was Mrs Felix Bellinger, but Daphne’s past hides some secrets which need to stay hidden no matter the cost.

Charlotte was lovely character who was kind, caring and resilient to all the setbacks she faced in life. She had fully embraced village life and made herself loved by many. Daphne on the other hand I didn’t really like. She was sneaky, selfish and spoilt and portrayed herself as better than everyone else in the village.

I couldn’t really work out the significance of the Harry Black storyline as it didn’t really add anything to Charlotte or Daphne’s lives in Wynsdown, perhaps this storyline links back to the first book.

I enjoyed this book a great deal as it was full of surprising twists which kept my interest and the storytelling style was descriptive but not drowning in details.  I was a little disappointed with the drama at the end, I felt it could have blown up a bit more. I just felt the book came to an end a bit too quickly.

Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy to review and inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

Blog Tour Review: A Wedding in Italy by Tilly Tennant

A Wedding in Italy by Tilly Tennant

Published: 14th April 2017

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 330

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon UK / Amazon US

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

Sun, spaghetti and sparkling prosecco. When it comes to finding love, there’s no place like Rome… 

Kate is living the dream with her gorgeous boyfriend Alessandro in his native city, but the reality is sometimes a little less romantic than she’d hoped. Every day in her new home is a fight against leaking pipes, her cantankerous landlord and her less-than-perfect grasp of the Italian lingo.
All around her there is talk of weddings, but when a secret from her past is thrust out into the open, Kate must fight to prove to Alessandro’s Mamma – and the rest of his formidable family – that she truly is Italian marriage material. 

With the women in Alessandro’s life on a mission to break them apart, the cracks begin to show and Kate starts to question if Alessandro really is the man of her dreams. Can love and the city of romance conquer all, or is that just a fairy-tale?

Review

A Wedding in Italy is the second book in Tilly Tennant’s From Italy with Love series and follows on from Rome is Where the Heart is. I would definitely recommend reading Rome is Where the Heart is before starting A Wedding in Italy as the first book introduces all the characters and sets the scene for the start of the second book, which follows on really well from where the first book ended.

Kate has left her home and family in England and has moved to Rome and is starting to build a new live for herself with boyfriend Alessandro. The reality of living in Rome is starting to hit Kate as she struggles to find a job and with the language proving more of a barrier than she initially thought she’s sometimes a little lonely.

A lot of the drama in this book takes place centred on the Conti family, initially through Lucetta’s wedding. Where poor Kate is thrown in at the deep and gets to meet most of Alessandro’s extended family in one go, good luck girl. Later there are many family gatherings all of which seem to involve copious amounts of food, which made me very envious because it all sounded so delicious.

Jamie, Kate’s friend from New York and her sisters Anna and Lily also make an appearance in this second book. Which was good as we got to see how they were getting on after events in the last book. Much like the first book Jamie added a little bit of fun and chaos to Kate’s life and scenes with him did make the book more light-hearted and appeared at exactly the right time.

Although I enjoyed this book I did prefer Rome is Where the Heart is. For me this second book just lacked a little of the romance and sparkle of the first book. This is probably because Kate’s viewpoint is different, in the first book she’s doing all the touristy things for the first time which is magical and she’s still got that initial excitement when seeing Alessandro. In the second book she’s learning about living as an Italian which is more of a struggle. Kate is a resilient character though and I loved reading how she adapts to her new life.

Tilly Tennent’s writing is descriptive, warm-hearted and addictive and it wasn’t long before I’d finished the lovely A Wedding in Italy. A great sequel and a must read if you want to find out if Kate gets to live her Italian dream.

Thank you to Bookouture for the review copy and inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

Blog Tour Review: The Cornish Escape by Lily Graham

The Cornish Escape by Lily Graham

Published: 6th April 2017

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 319

Available in paperback and on kindle

Order now from Amazon UK / Amazon US

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

Get swept away along the beautiful Cornish coast, where a love story in a long forgotten diary has the power to change one woman’s life forever.

Victoria Langley’s world crumbles when her husband leaves, but she knows exactly where to go to mend her broken heart. The rugged shores of Cornwall will be her perfect sanctuary.
In the quaint, little village of Tregollan, nestled in the sea cliffs, Victoria is drawn to Seafall Cottage, covered in vines and gracefully falling apart. Inside she finds a diary full of secrets, from 1905.

Victoria is determined to unravel the diary’s mystery, but the residents of Tregollan are tight-lipped about Tilly Asprey, the cottage’s last owner. Just as she reaches a dead end, Victoria meets Adam Waters, the lawyer handling the cottage’s sale. He’s handsome, charming, and has a missing piece of the puzzle.

Tilly’s diary tells a devastating love story that mirrors Victoria’s own. Can Victoria learn from Tilly’s mistakes, and give herself a second chance at love? Or is history doomed to repeat itself?

An unputdownable and gorgeously romantic read about lost love and new beginnings set in the green hills and rocky cliffs of the breath-taking Cornish coast. 

Review

The Cornish Escape was the first book by Lily Graham that I have read. Having begun reading without knowing too much about the story or the author’s writing style I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a light hearted beach romance but instead found an intriguing mystery surrounding a forgotten cottage intertwined with two budding romances a century apart.

Victoria Langley’s marriage has crumbled and needing someplace to go Victoria heads to the rugged coast of Cornwall. While walking along the beach at Tregollan Victoria stumbles across a cottage hidden among the cliffs, as she gets closer she takes a look around she find an old diary written in a secret code.  Being a historical biographer Victoria is intrigued by the diary and the strange connection she has to the derelict cottage.

The story of Tilly, the writer of the diary from 1905 is also told to us and we learn of her growing love for Fen Waters and her intrigue with the mystery surrounding the cottage her father is building at the edge of his estate.

Despite being marketed as romance novel it was the mysteries and the historical aspects of the novel which made it a winner for me. I loved reading about Tilly and her forbidden love with Fen but it was the mystery of the secret cottage and what it all meant which kept me reading. I loved Tilly as a character, she’s determined to do what she wants with who she wants with no regard to her social standing and takes people just as she finds them.

The chapters with Victoria were funnier and had more characters I would like to meet. I would love to go aboard Angie’s Bookshop on a Boat, that place sounded like heaven to me, especially as there always seemed to be cake available when Victoria visited.

Cornwall is one of my favourite places to visit and Lily Graham has really done is justice bringing to life the rugged coastline and the tiny fishing port and it had made me long to go back there. I felt many different emotions when reading about the different places in the book, the cottage by the sea felt eerie and cold with its hidden secrets but the houseboat on the river felt warm, cosy and welcoming, much like the people of Tregollan.

I thought this was a great read with lovely characters, great setting and a mystery which unravelled slowly keeping me guessing until the end. The only thing which I felt let this book down was that the end felt a little rushed and I think the ending could have been a little clearer.

Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and sending me a copy to review.

Blog Tour: Where Dragonflies Hover, Excerpt, Guest Post & Review

Where Dragonflies Hover by AnneMarie Brear

Published: 8th April 2016

Publisher: Choc Lit UK

Pages: 189 pages:

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 5/5

Blurb

Sometimes a glimpse into the past can help make sense of the future …
Everyone thinks Lexi is crazy when she falls in love with Hollingsworth House – a crumbling old Georgian mansion in Yorkshire – and nobody more so than her husband, Dylan. But there’s something very special about the place, and Lexi can sense it.

Whilst exploring the grounds she stumbles across an old diary and, within its pages, she meets Allie – an Australian nurse working in France during the First World War.

Lexi finally realises her dream of buying Hollingsworth but her obsession with the house leaves her marriage in tatters. In the lonely nights that follow, Allie’s diary becomes Lexi’s companion, comforting her in moments of darkness and pain. And as Lexi reads, the nurse’s scandalous connection to the house is revealed …

Excerpt

The late sunshine enveloped the house in a golden glow. Again, it seemed to call to her, begging for attention. A path on the left of the drive looked inviting as it meandered through a small strand of poplars. Lexi grabbed her keys, locked the car and took off to explore again. She had nothing to rush home to now, and if she got caught for trespassing, then so be it.

The overgrown pathway brought her out on the far side of the grounds near the end of a small lake. She gazed over the water towards the back of the house and noticed a paved terrace area. From there the lawn then sloped down to the water. She’d not been around the back before and fell even more in love with the property. She could imagine the serenity of sipping a cool drink on a hot summer’s day and looking out over the lake.

Lexi stepped out along the bank. A lone duck swam by, its movement serene on the glassy, dark surface. This side of the lake was in shadow from large pine trees, and she stumbled on fallen pinecones hidden in the long grass. On the opposite side of the water were some small buildings, a garage, fruit trees in early blossom, and an overgrown vegetable patch, complete with a broken, rejected-looking scarecrow.

She wandered over to a narrow shed on her left and peered through its sole, dirty window. Unable to make out much in the dimness, she walked around to the front and was surprised when she was able to pull the bolt back on the door. Why didn’t people lock things? A covered rowboat took up most of the space inside. She smiled, seeing herself rowing it on the lake. Growing more excited, Lexi edged around it to peer at the workbenches and the odd assortment of tools and useless things one found in abandoned sheds. It was like treasure hunting in an antique shop. She used to love doing that with her grandfather.

She glanced about and spied a dusty painting leaning against the wall. The scene was of a child and a brown dog. Behind the canvas were more paintings, some framed, some not. Lexi flicked through them. The ones that caught her attention she took out and set aside.

She looked for somewhere to sit and study the paintings. A small tin trunk wedged under a workbench seemed the only offering. Thinking it empty, she went to tug it out, but it remained fast.

Using both hands, she heaved it out and was showered in a puff of dust. Squatting down, she inspected the latch that was held tight with a small lock. ‘Why are you locked?’ she murmured. The shed was open to anyone passing by, yet this ugly little chest had a lock on it. The trunk was nothing special, plain and in parts rusted. No ornament or writing hinted at its use.

Intrigued, she grabbed a hammer from the workbench, but then hesitated. She had no right to open someone else’s property. Lexi closed her eyes momentarily. What was she thinking of breaking into the trunk? What am I doing? Never had she broken the law and here she was guilty of trespassing and breaking and entering! She looked around the rowboat as though expecting someone to jump out and arrest her.

Something inside urged her on. She knew she couldn’t stop now. Sucking in a deep breath, she bent and hit the lock hard. The ringing sound was loud in the quiet serenity of the garden. The metal dented and with another few solid whacks the lock gave.

Shivers of excitement tingled along her skin. Gently, she eased up the lid.

Guest Post by AnneMarie Brear

For some years I have had a fascination of what is known as the First World War, or the Great War. (World War I 1914 – 1918)

This was a time of enormous change in the world. For the first time countries banded together to fight a common enemy. I’ll not go into the politics of the time or the reasons why the war happened, that is for professional historians to determine, but the effects of the war were far reaching, particularly in Europe.

In Great Britain the changes impacted on all walks of life, from the wealthy to the poor. Women were asked to step into the space left behind by the men who went to war. Not only did they have to work the men’s jobs, but they also had to keep the home running as well. Not an easy task to a female population who was expected to simply marry and have children and keep a nice house. Women of that time were sheltered from the world, innocent. All that was soon to change.

In my book, Where Dragonflies Hover, modern woman, Lexi, finds a diary written by an Australian nurse, Allie.

Allie wrote about her time as a nurse in Great War, and of falling in love with Danny, an English officer. She wrote of her struggles to help injured and dying men who came to her straight from the battlefield, covered in mud and blood.

To write Allie’s story I had to do a lot of research about World War I. I enjoy researching, and because the Edwardian Era is one of my favourite eras, it was no hardship to spend hours reading sources from that time.
I really wanted to make Allie’s story as real as it could be. One of my research sources was reading, The Other Anzacs by Peter Rees. A truly extraordinary book detailing the true stories of Australian nurses in WWI. A lot of my inspiration came from that book. What those nurses went through was simply remarkable.

Another book I read was The Roses of No Man’s Landby Lyn MacDonald. Another interesting account of what the allied nurses and VADs from other countries went through. These women went from the comfort and security of their homes to the heart of battle zones.  They had to learn new skills swiftly, for even dedicated career nurses had never experienced before the types injuries and wounds they encountered only miles from the front line. Those women had to sustain difficulties they never thought of, for example at times they were food shortages, hygiene hardships, danger from bombings, homesickness and many more problems. Yet, these women, some just young girls, dutifully headed into an alien world without the promise of survival.

It is, of course, impossible for me, or anyone, to know exactly how these women felt during this challenging time, we can only read about their experiences. However, simply reading about them is enough for me to give them my heartfelt gratitude and admiration for what they endured.

I hope I did justice to their stories, to what they gave up and for the sacrifices they made to help us win the war.

Review

Where Dragonflies Hover by AnneMarie Brear is a beautifully written novel capturing the essence of what it is to really love someone. It’s 2010 and Lexi a thirty something solicitor is feeling restless in her marriage to Dylan a Doctor at the local hospital. She becomes increasing drawn to Hollingsworth House, a Georgian manor house for sale on the edge of Leeds.  One day Lexi visits the house and finds an old diary hidden away in the old boat house, as Lexi begins to read she becomes consumed by Allie and her story of her forbidden love for Captain Danny Hollingsworth. As Lexi continues to read the diary she learns some valuable lessons about her own life and marriage.

This is a dual time frame novel which is one of my favourite types of novel to read and this one seamlessly changes between the lives of Lexi and Allie we learn of the struggles both women face in their lives. Lexi with a longing for a baby and a happier marriage while Allie struggles with her love for Danny during World War One, wondering if this is the time she will ever see him as they spend precious hours together.

Allie’s story really captured my heart as we learn of the horrors of war and just how much pressure the doctors and nurses were under to save many thousands of injured soldiers. AnneMarie Brear’s research has been done very well as these scenes were so realistic with many details bringing the story to life. I found Lexi a little bit spoilt, she wants to buy Hollingsworth House and does so even when husband Dylan has refused to entertain the idea. I’m glad that as she reads Allie’s diary she learns that compromise is a big part of loving someone.

This was a novel which had me intrigued right from the start and was one I found very hard to put down.  I would have perhaps liked the book to be a little longer with more of Allie’s story after the war ended as I was so absorbed in her life story. I’m very pleased to find AnneMarie Brear has written other books as this is an author I’m desperate to read more books from. Thank you to LLR promotions and the publishers for the review copy which I volunteered to read.

Blog Tour: The Folower by Koethi Zan, Extract and Review

The Follower by Koethi Zan

Published: 23rd February 2017

Publisher: Vintage

Pages:330

Available on ebook

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 3/5

Blurb

SHE'D DO ANYTHING FOR HER HUSBAND.
Julie has the perfect life
A kind boyfriend, loving parents and good grades. She has everything ahead of her.
Cora’s life is a nightmare
A psychopath for a husband, a violent father and a terrible secret. There’s no way out.
But one night, their worlds collide
Locked in an isolated house together, they must work out what has happened – and who they can trust to set them free.

Extract
It was a beautiful late-September night. The air was still warm. The stars, such as they were this close to the city, shone with full force. She took out a pack of cigarettes and knocked it against the post of the wooden porch that encircled the building. Instead of going in, she sat on the bench just under the windows, lit a cigarette, and took a long slow drag. Her parents disapproved of the habit and she agreed with them technically, but, this, her first cigarette in two days, was going down beautifully.

She blew out a long puff of smoke and absentmindedly rubbed the zipper of her bag. This paper was better than anything she’d done last year. She wondered if she should submit it for publication. Professor Greenfield would know the best places for it. Even if she didn’t publish it, this was one more step toward the J. Burden Senior English Award next year.

She stood up and walked over to the steps that led to the tracks, took a final hit on the cigarette, and dropped it on the sidewalk. She rubbed it out with her shoe and then lifted her foot to check underneath. She had this thing about cigarette stubs. Bad luck if they stuck to you. But her sole was clean. She laughed to herself. Yes, she thought, her soul was clean.

She took out her phone, checked the time. Twelve minutes until the train would arrive. She opened Instagram, scrolled through some posts, liked a couple. Boring. She checked the New York Times. Sent a text to Mark. Luv u.

She waited. He didn’t text back. Must not have his phone on him. She watched for a couple more seconds waiting for the dots to appear. Nothing.

Eleven minutes.

Should she read on the train or try to doze off? It was always a gamble as to whether she could sleep on the Metro North seats. She was so sensitive to smells and that horrid faux leather stuck to her skin whenever she moved. She could always read that New Yorker article she’d emailed herself.

Suddenly, the lights inside dimmed. She turned around, puzzled. Was Kurt leaving early? She leaned in toward the glass, but the interior office door was closed. She walked over to the side door and pulled hard but it was stuck fast. Locked. He’d gone home. She would have expected him to have said goodnight before he left or even to have waited with her. Unless he hadn’t noticed her out there. She glanced at the parking-lot exit, and, sure enough, a car was turning out onto the road. But why would he leave now? Did they change the train schedules?

Damn it. This had happened to her once before. She took a step toward the board to check the timetable, but suddenly felt the eerie sensation that she was not alone. She turned to see who it was, but before she’d gone full circle, a leather-gloved hand smothered her face and forced her head back. All she thought of at first was the pain.

That fucking hurts.

She was too disoriented to understand what was happening until he was dragging her by her head and neck across the parking lot. Her feet struggled to keep up, to stay planted on the ground; otherwise the arm squeezing her throat would strangle her.

Review

Julie Brookman has the perfect life. She has many friends, a boyfriend she loves, an affluent family and promising career ahead of her, until one night all that changes. Waiting alone at a deserted train station Julie is kidnapped by James a religious cult leader who believes Julie will bring him his destiny. Locked away in his house Julie struggles to cope and tries her hardest to communicate with James’ crazy “wife” Cora, who could turn out to be more dangerous than Julie first realised. The Follower is the gripping tale of two women whose lives have collided in a horrific way, can either of them find a way to set themselves free before it’s too late.

The narrative in The Follower flips between the story of Julie’s abduction, Cora’s life as a child where we learn some horrific things about her life and the story of Adam, an ex-cop on a one man crusade to find Laura Martin a girl he believes was abducted when she was seven years old.  This was a clever way of telling the story as the more we find out about Cora’s life as a young girl the more fearful we become for Julie’s safety. It’s definitely writing which draws you into its sinister plot.

It was a very different story from what I was expecting after reading the blurb. There is a lot more blood and violence than I’m used to reading and it’s probably not a book to read on your own.

I struggled to like any of the characters in this book. Julie is a girl who although very popular seems to have always gotten her own way either by using her looks or her speech to manipulate people to do want she wants, giving their thoughts or feelings very little concern and she comes a bit unstuck when this doesn’t work with Cora. I could sort of see the motivation behind Cora’s behaviour as she has had such a troubled childhood which would leave anyone desperate for affection, even if James was definitely not the character to give that affection to. The character I disliked the most was Adam. He’s spend years wasting his life chasing Laura Martin in an effort to save her from her captors  in order to redeem the ghosts of his sister Abigail. But Adam is one of those men who will never be the hero as he’s too buried in his paperwork and his beliefs to really help anyone. There are a couple of times in the book where he’s given a chance to change his life and be someone’s hero and he runs away, I found him so weak.

The intense way this book was written I was expecting that when these three stories finally worked themselves together that there would be an epic and shocking ending, instead the ending felt a bit like a circus act with clowns and left me disappointed.

This is a book about abduction, cults, the destruction alcohol and bullying causes and redemption. It’s a book full of violence and living in fear, it’s a book which I found gripping and intense in places and a book which has stretched me as it’s quite far out of my comfort zone.

I’d like to thank the publishers Vintage for this copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for The Follower.

Julie Brookman has the perfect life. She has many friends, a boyfriend she loves, an affluent family and promising career ahead of her, until one night all that changes. Waiting alone at a deserted train station Julie is kidnapped by James a religious cult leader who believes Julie will bring him his destiny. Locked away in his house Julie struggles to cope and tries her hardest to communicate with James’ crazy “wife” Cora, who could turn out to be more dangerous than Julie first realised. The Follower is the gripping tale of two women whose lives have collided in a horrific way, can either of them find a way to set themselves free before it’s too late.

The narrative in The Follower flips between the story of Julie’s abduction, Cora’s life as a child where we learn some horrific things about her life and the story of Adam, an ex-cop on a one man crusade to find Laura Martin a girl he believes was abducted when she was seven years old.  This was a clever way of telling the story as the more we find out about Cora’s life as a young girl the more fearful we become for Julie’s safety. It’s definitely writing which draws you into its sinister plot.

It was a very different story from what I was expecting after reading the blurb. There is a lot more blood and violence than I’m used to reading and it’s probably not a book to read on your own.

I struggled to like any of the characters in this book. Julie is a girl who although very popular seems to have always gotten her own way either by using her looks or her speech to manipulate people to do want she wants, giving their thoughts or feelings very little concern and she comes a bit unstuck when this doesn’t work with Cora. I could sort of see the motivation behind Cora’s behaviour as she has had such a troubled childhood which would leave anyone desperate for affection, even if James was definitely not the character to give that affection to. The character I disliked the most was Adam. He’s spend years wasting his life chasing Laura Martin in an effort to save her from her captors  in order to redeem the ghosts of his sister Abigail. But Adam is one of those men who will never be the hero as he’s too buried in his paperwork and his beliefs to really help anyone. There are a couple of times in the book where he’s given a chance to change his life and be someone’s hero and he runs away, I found him so weak.

The intense way this book was written I was expecting that when these three stories finally worked themselves together that there would be an epic and shocking ending, instead the ending felt a bit like a circus act with clowns and left me disappointed.

This is a book about abduction, cults, the destruction alcohol and bullying causes and redemption. It’s a book full of violence and living in fear, it’s a book which I found gripping and intense in places and a book which has stretched me as it’s quite far out of my comfort zone.

I’d like to thank the publishers Vintage for this copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for The Follower.

Blog Tour Review: Brides and Bouquets at Cederwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin

Brides & Bouquets at Cedarwood Lodge by Rebecca Raisin

Published: 24th November 2016

Publisher: HQ Digital

Pages: 102

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

Christmas has come to Cedarwood Lodge in the second part of the feel-good romance serial from best selling author, Rebecca Raisin!

Dreaming of a happily ever after at Cedarwood Lodge is Clio Winters’ current focus, especially with a winter wonderland wedding expo planned. But with brides coming from far and wide the heat is on for Clio to fulfil everyone’s dream of a Christmas wedding!

It seems like Clio’s new business might be off to a rocky start and surrounded by love struck brides she can’t help but hope for a little Christmas romance of her own…

Cedarwood Lodge is a delectable romance told in three parts – following Clio Winters journey back to her hometown of Evergreen. This is Part Two.

Review

Brides and Bouquets is the second book in Rebecca Raisin’s Cedarwood Lodge series set in the lovely town of Evergreen. This time its heading towards Christmas and Clio is upping her marketing of Cedarwood Lodge by holding a Bridal Expo so it’s all hands on deck as Clio and the team prepare for this wedding extravaganza which will hopefully put Cedarwood on the map as a luxury wedding destination.

I’m a huge Rebecca Raisin fan and have adored all of her previous books and this one is another winner for me. It leads perfectly on from the first book in the series, so I highly recommend you read Confetti and Celebrations first. Along with Micah and Isla, Clio has now been joined by New York best friend Amory and her boyfriend Cruz who despite having a few relationship problems jump straight in to help Clio succeed.

This is a story where there is always something happening and despite being fairly short Rebecca has manage to cram a great deal of drama including a number of mishaps and misunderstanding which may lead to the expo not being held. It’s not a book which lacks detail either, the Lodge and the town of Evergreen are described perfectly so I can really imagine the place when I’m reading and I would my own stay at Cedarwood Lodge is sounds absolutely heavenly.

I loved the way previous romances are simmering away and I cannot wait for book three to find out if Clio will open her and let love in. I’m also dying to know what Clio’s mum’s big secret is, spreading that over the series has been agony as I have no clue, so hurry up book three.

If you’re a Rebecca Raisin fan then this is definitely one to add to your Christmas reading.

Blog Tour Review: Snokeflakes and Christmas Cakes by Lindsey Paley

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes by Lindsey Paley

Published: 15th June 2015

Publisher: Purple Heather Publishing

Pages: 178

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

When all-round buttercream princess, Millie Carter, becomes stranded at Craiglea Manor Cookery School, she believes her chance of enjoying a merry festive season is over.

The village of Aisford is Christmas-card perfect, but Millie hates it - she hates the snow, her freezing fingertips, and being forced to look like her Aunt Marjory in a mud-splattered wax jacket and wellies instead of her beloved shorts and sparkly sandals. 

She plots her escape but ends up locking spatulas with the estate manager, Fergus McKenzie, who is forced to rescue her before she succumbs to a severe dose of hypothermia. Things start to improve with the arrival of handsome Sam Morgan, fresh from the beaches and rum shacks of the Caribbean. 

Can Millie accept her fate? And will Aisford sprinkle some of its seasonal magic on her troubles? 

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is a festive story of love and friendship and reaching for the buttercream icing and edible glitter when life gets tough. 

Review

Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is the first book in Lindsey Paley’s Camille Carter series and is a book which is full of mishaps and festive treats surrounding Camille Carter or Millie as she prefers to be known.

Millie Carter’s a girl who adores the sun and living in the south of France she gets plenty of it, this year she has reluctantly agreed to spend Christmas with her sister Nicole in cold and wintry England.

Arriving in London with not even a coat Millie is about to get a shock when sister Nicole suddenly cancels their holiday plans and asks Millie a huge favour. Will she replace Nicole as a cookery demonstrator at Criaglea Manor in the Lake District to deliver a course on the perfect Christmas dinner. With no other option Millie agrees and heads north towards Criaglea Manor and hopefully a cosy Christmas sharing her passion for cooking with a group of enthusiastic learners.

However as Millie arrives things are not as she dreamed, Aisford where Craiglea Manor is situated is covered in snow, the only way to get around is via quad bike and she’s going to need to buy herself a huge coat to keep out the chill in the air. When she arrives at the Manor things are even worse the heating’s broken and the cookery course has been cancelled.

Stranded at the Manor for the weekend with no way of escape Millie entertains herself with thoughts of handsome estate manager Sam, baking up a mountain of Christmas treats and most of all trying to avoid the frosty Fergus who sees Millie’s whole presence an inconvenience, especially after he has to rescue her from hyperthermia when she tries to make her way back to the train station.

As Millie reluctantly settles into village life for the weekend and meets many of the villages lovely residents is there someone special who can thaw her heart and convince her life in the snowy village isn’t as bad as she thinks.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found myself warming to Millie despite her being quite a standoffish and cold character to begin with.  I liked her a whole lot more once she began to get settled in the village and could see her fitting in well with the group of characters who became her friends.

I thought she was quite a lucky lady too as there seemed to more than one man who had noticed her arrival and I was glad with the choice she finally made.

I loved that this was more than a chick-lit romance and had some more serious moments involving some of the characters. I also loved the comedy moments Millie provides by being angry and clumsy. The aftermath of her kitchen bake-off I can totally relate, I also leave a trail of mass destruction wherever I go so loved this characteristic in Millie.

I’m so glad this is part of a series as I’m really looking forward to reading more about Millie and hopefully other characters from the village. This story was well written with some heartfelt moments and plenty of laughs, an ideal read for a wintery afternoon by the fire.

Thank you to Neverland Book Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour and for the review copy of the book.

Giveaway:  open to UK residents only

1 eBook copy of Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes and an actual Christmas cake. Mmm!

Click on the link below to enter, good luck x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Review: Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody

Published: 6th October 2016

Publisher: Piatkus

Pages: 389

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Pre-Order now from Amazon

Rating 5/5

Blurb

Nothing ever happens in August, and tenacious sleuth Kate Shackleton deserves a break. Heading off for a long-overdue holiday to Whitby, she visits her school friend Alma who works as a fortune teller there.
Kate had been looking forward to a relaxing seaside sojourn, but upon arrival discovers that Alma's daughter Felicity has disappeared, leaving her mother a note and the pawn ticket for their only asset: a watch-guard. What makes this more intriguing is the jeweller who advanced Felicity the thirty shillings is Jack Phillips, Alma's current gentleman friend.
Kate can't help but become involved, and goes to the jeweller's shop to get some answers. When she makes a horrifying discovery in the back room, it soon becomes clear that her services are needed. Met by a wall of silence by town officials, keen to maintain Whitby's idyllic façade, it's up to Kate - ably assisted by Jim Sykes and Mrs Sugden - to discover the truth behind Felicity's disappearance.
And they say nothing happens in August . . .

Review

Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody is my first Kate Shackleton mystery and one I was very much looking forward to as being a Yorkshire girl I love it when places are set somewhere I know, like Whitby which is a place I love.

Kate Shackleton a woman who has been widowed by the WW1 and has taken up investigating with her friend Jim Sykes and her housekeeper Mrs Sugden. This story is set in August 1927 when Kate and her assistants believe nothing much will happen in their hometown of Leeds so decide to each have a well-earned break on the East Coast.

Kate heads to Whitby to visit old school friend Alma and her daughter Felicity. On arrival Kate takes a walk round Whitby reacquainting herself with memories from her past with husband Gerald. When she enters the jewellers where Gerald bought her wedding and engagement rings Kate makes a shocking discovery, the owner Jack Phillips is lying dead in the back room. Alarmed by her discovery Kate goes for help and soon finds herself as a prime suspect for murder.

To make Kate’s visit even worse she discovers that her goddaughter Felicity has disappeared along with her boyfriend Brendan and a pawned watch-guard. Can Kate help Alma find Felicity and work out who killed Jack Phillips and are the two things linked? One thing is certain, Kate is going to get the nice relaxing holiday she was planning.

The overwhelming feeling I had when reading this book was how much like an Agatha Christie novel this was with murder described in not much detail and the sleuthing taking place by amateur investigators at a very gentle pace. Kate Shackleton reminded me instantly of “Miss Marple”, but a few years younger with her need to solve the mystery. I loved her very English and “proper” way of doing things like when she was reluctant to meet with new acquainted men in the hotel bar.

I think Frances Brody has perfectly captured the essence of Whitby and the period of the 1920s from the details of the town to the descriptions of social etiquettes of the time. It shows she has done her research well to make a realistic story.

I loved the flow of this mystery a number of people are suspected and there are a few twists to overcome before the murderer is revealed making this a very enjoyable read. I’m so glad to have found this new to me author as I love her writing style and am looking forward to going back and reading her previous works as they are perfect for when you want a little mystery but nothing too gruesome.

I’d like to thank the publishers Piatkus for this copy to review in exchange for my honest opinions and also for inviting me on the blog tour.

Blog Tour: The Secret by Kathryn Hughes, ‘The Summer of ’76: Phew, what a scorcher!’ by Kathryn Hughes

The Secret by Kathryn Hughes

Published: 8th September 2016

Publisher: Headline Review

Pages: 416

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Mary has been nursing a secret.

Forty years ago, she made a choice that would change her world for ever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear.

Beth is searching for answers. She has never known the truth about her parentage, but finding out could be the lifeline her sick child so desperately needs. When Beth finds a faded newspaper cutting amongst her mother's things, she realises the key to her son's future lies in her own past. She must go back to where it all began to unlock...The Secret.

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Kathryn Hughes author of The Letter and The Secret to my blog and today she is sharing her experience of the Summer of 1976, over to Kathryn:

Phew, what a scorcher!

‘Phew, what a scorcher!’ It’s an oft-repeated headline when the weather gets a tiny bit too hot and it’s usually accompanied by a picture of Blackpool beach, not a square inch of sand to be seen, as burnished bodies stretch out on gaudy beach towels.  Never has this headline been more accurate though than in 1976 when England’s green and pleasant land turned brown and withered right before our eyes.  That summer has become the benchmark against which all subsequent summers are measured.  It was the hottest summer since the famous ‘records began’ and remains unsurpassed.

So just how hot was that summer and how long did it last?  Well, for starters we dealt in Fahrenheit back then which I always think sounds more impressive. The heatwave officially began on 22nd June 1976 and lasted until 26th August 1976, a total of nine weeks, although the reality was the drought began much earlier with below average rainfall since April the previous year. From 22nd June until 16th July, the UK sizzled in temperatures of at least 27 degrees C, every single day. Even more remarkable, during the same period the mercury rose to 32 degrees C for fifteen consecutive days, peaking on 3rd July at 35.9 degrees C or for those of us that were there, 96 degrees F. So, we’ve established it was hot, very hot, and prolonged too, but how did this affect us?

It goes without saying we were desperately short of water.  Reservoirs resembled the cracked plains of the African savannah, but without the wildebeests. It was absolutely forbidden to use a hosepipe even to the extent where we were encouraged to grass up our neighbours if their lawn appeared to be greener than it ought to be.  The water authorities shut off the main supply and erected standpipes in the streets.  Friendships were forged as people stood in the queue, bucket in hand, swapping tales of sunstroke, heat exhaustion and how little Johnny had fried an egg on the pavement.  The government took out full page advertisements in the papers urging us to save water.  We were told to only take a bath if it was absolutely necessary and then no more than five inches deep. It became a symbol of national pride to have a dirty car.  Crops failed, food prices soared and as the grass didn’t grow farmers used up all their winter hay stocks to feed the starving cattle.  When some parts of the country were down to their last thirty days of water, emergency plans were drafted to bring water in by tanker from Norway.

I was only a child that summer so for me it was a blissful, carefree time spent playing outside, eating ice pops and Jubblies by the truckload, and making my special perfume from rose petals, which smelled like a compost heap the next day. With no such thing as Factor 50, my shoulders turned the colour of a coffee bean.  For the working population however, conditions were tough.  Air conditioning in offices and cars was non-existent and productivity levels fell. At Wimbledon, for the first time in its history, umpires were permitted to remove their jackets.  Even Big Ben downed tools as it suffered its first and hitherto unrepeated, major breakdown due to metal fatigue.  Its long hands did not crawl round the dial for three whole weeks which was surely synonymous of Britain grinding to a halt. There was no respite at night either. Even with all the windows flung open, sleep was impossible.  I resorted to lying on a wet towel in my bed.

And the ladybirds!  They were everywhere, all over the car windscreen and the pavements, making it almost impossible not to crunch them underfoot.  As all the plants had died there was nothing left for them to feed on and there were reports of them sucking the sweat off people as they desperately tried to rehydrate.  

Finally, on 24th August, enough was enough and the Government appointed Denis Howell as the Minister for Drought.  It worked.  Three days later it began to rain. And rain and rain.  If the ladybirds had reached biblical proportions then the torrential downpour that followed would surely have sent Noah running to his workshop.

Thank you so much Kathryn