Blog tour - The House by Simon Lelic

Available here from Amazon.co.uk

Londoners Jack and Syd moved into the house a year ago. It seemed like their dream home: tons of space, the perfect location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it.

So when they made a grisly discovery in the attic, Jack and Syd chose to ignore it. That was a mistake.

Because someone has just been murdered outside their back door.

AND NOW THE POLICE ARE WATCHING THEM.

Firstly, The House is incredibly difficult to review as I'm so conscious of dropping any spoilers! But I'll try...

This book is narrated by couple, Jack and Sydney who have bought their dream house (a character in itself) after years of saving. The house initially seems perfect, but unfortunately comes with contents from the previous owner and they are left with what to do with it. Something they can ignore until Jack makes a macabre find in the loft - and there is a murder right outside their back door.

The House is an utterly creepy, complex and sinister read. The perfect choice for this time of year - but don't say I didn't warn you when you're sleeping with the lights on! Initially I was thinking, is this a crime thriller, or a ghost story? and it took a while to become clear.

It's extremely well written with he said/she said joint narration, but I did find it slightly confusing at times. Could be down to how fast I was turning the pages and my resting heart rate at the time! It does help give an insight into the couple's relationship but I was weary of an unreliable narrator which stopped me trusting entirely in each character. For me personally I find it detracts a little from the story, but it really is just my preference and don't let it put you off and it's well worth the read!

The ending was very well played and Lelic showed he really is one to watch in this genre.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Annie Hollands.

Review: The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry

Buy here from Amazon.co.uk

Prepare to fall in love with beautiful village of Burley Bridge.

Growing up in a quiet Yorkshire village, Roxanne couldn’t wait to escape and find her place in the world in London. As a high-powered fashion editor she lives a glamorous life of perennial singlehood – or so it seems to her sister Della. But when Roxanne gets her heart broken by a fashion photographer, she runs away, back to Della’s welcoming home above her bookshop in Burley Bridge.

But Burley Bridge, Roxanne discovers, is even quieter than she remembered. There’s nothing to do, so Roxanne agrees to walk Della’s dog Stanley. It’s on these walks that Roxanne makes a startling discovery: the people who live in Burley Bridge are, well, just people – different from the fashion set she’s used to, but kind and even interesting. Michael, a widower trying to make a go of a small bakery, particularly so. Little by little, cupcake by cupcake, Roxanne and Michael fall into a comforting friendship.

Could there be a life for Roxanne after all, in the place she’s spent 46 years trying to escape?

Roxanne Cartwright, fashion editor for a glossy London magazine appears to have a perfect life. If you fancy single(ish), child free and living in central London mixing with glamorous models and styling dazzling fashion shoots (you may guess this was once my dream...) but changes being implemented within the magazine by a know-nothing editor start to crumble Roxanne's perfect job and make her seek refuge with older sister, Della, who runs a cook book shop in her home town of Burley Bridge in rural Yorkshire. Somewhere that Roxanne had been trying to run from all her adult life.

We first met Roxanne, but mainly Della, in Berry's first book (one of my favourites, Fiona Gibson writes under Ellen Berry for these Burley Bridge novels). We didn't get to know too much about Roxanne but she did come across a bit selfish and caught up in her glamorous London life to help Della when their mother died. I must admit I wasn't keen on her character when we met her in The Little Bookshop on Rosemary Lane, but getting to know her properly I really did like her in this book.

So with her sabbatical in the country well underway she begins slowly to reacquaint herself with the village and the natives, and begins to realise they're not all Cath Kidston wellies and pots of homemade jam (although IMHO nothing is wrong with either of these), and friendships begin to blossom.

Her relationship slightly cool - on/off boyfriend Sean (a bit of a creep) plays on her mind a lot while in Burley, she knows something is amiss but still tries her hardest to make it work, so keeps the lovely Michael from the quaint and gorgeous sounding bakery at arms length when it's clear they both like each other, and the friendship that is sparked between Roxanne and Michael's teenage daughter, Ella is charming and probably my favourite aspect of the book.

The book itself is beautiful, the writing superb and the descriptions charming, how I'd love to live in Burley Bridge, I quite fancy opening up my own boutique there, or perhaps a chocolate shop? Anyway, I did love the book but it fell slightly away from getting 5* as I would have liked it to have been a little bit more about the bakery - which really did play quite a small part? I seemed to be waiting throughout a lot of the story, then realised by 90% it wasn't coming. But don't let this put you off unless you want a blow-by-blow account of how many cream horns Michael sells throughout the week, because it really is a lovely, charming, witty and well written book. I'd love to see, and am sure there will be, another Burley Bridge outing to come.

Review copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Trouble With Words by Suzie Tullett - Blog Tour

Buy here at Amazon.co.uk

Annabel is desperate to have a baby – there’s just one problem. She’s single and after losing her husband in a hit and run accident, she’s just not ready for another relationship. 

Dan is on the hunt for the perfect woman but when his mother drops a bombshell, he starts to feel the pressure.

When Dan and Annabel’s worlds collide, both start to think that maybe they’ve found the solution to their problems. But things are about to get messy.

Can Dan and Annabel get what they want?

The story opens with Annabel breaking the news to her husband that is going to have a baby.

It's not the most conventional as it's at his graveside, and he's, well, dead. And another problem she has is at that moment she has not found someone to be the father.

I really felt for her as soon as I began reading and was drawn instantly to her character.

As the story progresses we meet Dan and his mum Gerry. She is desperate for Dan to find himself a wife and she needs to be sure it's the right woman for him, she has plenty of candidates lined up!

Dan and Annabel seem perfect for each other - if only they would realise it! With both of them having their own trials that seem more important than the dating game, things seem that they will pass them by, until fate intervenes...

There are some really sad, properly tear jerking moments throughout the book, all beautifully written and sincere enough to make you think you are in the room with the characters, to offset this there are plenty of laugh out loud moments to lighten the mood along the way.

The ending was poignant, satisfying and well written, as was the whole book. I find Tullett a master of writing believable dialogue that is read in your mind just as you would hear someone speaking it. The characters are well developed and seem to really grow in strength throughout the story, Gerry being my favourite - she definitely deserves Fictional Mother of the Year!

Congratulations to Tullett on providing another well written, perfectly researched and entertaining tale.

Many thanks to Bombshell Books for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Suzie Tullett is an author of contemporary humorous fiction and romantic comedy. She has a Masters Degree in Television & Radio Scriptwriting and worked as a scriptwriter before becoming a full-time novelist. Her motto is to 'live, laugh, love' and when she's not busy creating her own literary masterpieces, she usually has her head in someone else's.

Suzie lives in a tiny hamlet in the middle of the French countryside, along with her husband and two Greek rescue dogs.

My Facebook Author page https://www.facebook.com/Suzie-Tullett-Author-221204154583599/

Twitter @SuzieTullett

My website Suzie Tullett

Instagram suzie_tullett 

5* Review: B-Side (Arielle Lockley series book 2.5) by Elle Field

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

"What do I honestly know about the music industry? I'm just another idiot with a dream who is naive enough to hope that I might be the next big star."

Etta Millhouse has always had big musical ambitions to match her big voice, but she's also got three very big problems - the addiction she won't admit to, her godmother's illness that she can no longer ignore, and her godmother's useless business partner (who she wishes she could ignore).

Keeping an eye on Arielle's poor business decisions is the last thing Etta wants to do when she's offered the chance to record a demo with a top producer. But, a promise is a promise, even if it has her reaching for another pick-me-up... And then another. And then one more.

When the secret she must keep for her dying godmother, Felicity, sends her drug habit spiralling out of control, can Etta battle her demons in time and make her dream happen? Or, will her music career be over before it's even begun?

We meet Etta in Lost, book 2 in the fabulous Arielle Lockley series, and quickly into it are introduced to new character, Etta. I really, REALLY did not like Etta. Her character comes across as extremely bad tempered, spoilt and melodramatic; taking an instant dislike to the lovely Arielle and being as utterly loathsome to her as possible, taking her for a money grabbing, lazy rich girl. She thinks she is pulling the wool over godmother, Felicity's eyes and ruining her business, which is far from the truth.

I did not think a book devoted purely to her would endear me, but I was hoping I would at least understand a little more about her, and as the author promised - there is two sides to every story.

What a remarkable character, it turns out, that Field has crafted! I did not like her any better when I had finished the book, but certainly understood what drove the extremely downtrodden, wary young girl who had suffered dreadful tragedy and a life-changing abusive betrayal by a member of her family which drives Etta's future down a very dark and dangerous path, and could see why she reacted with so much jealousy and protectiveness over Felicity.

I was shocked while reading B-Side how Field could go from writing fun, witty novels to writing something powerful and showing a whole new side to her writing which is already clever, well written and great to read. It really opened my eyes to what a versatile writing talent she really is. I enjoyed B-Side, it really is fast paced and keeps you turning the pages as you watch the story unfold.

The story mainly looks at the sad deterioration of Felicity's health and how both characters handle it, another issue sensitively written. Arielle has her wedding to Piers to plan while trying to prove herself with a new business venture and Etta has a promising music career to handle, while trying to keep her life in general on track, dealing with issues that threaten to ruin it all.

It whets the appetite beautifully to the finale of this wonderful series, in Found (out August 2016).

Would work as a standalone novel but far more enjoyable when read in order as part of the series.

Many thanks to the author for providing an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

5* review & Giveaway - The Woolworths Girls by Elaine Everest

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

It's 1938 and as the threat of war hangs over the country, Sarah Caselton is preparing for her new job at Woolworths. Before long, she forms a tight bond with two of her colleagues: the glamorous Maisie and shy Freda. The trio couldn't be more different, but they immediately form a close-knit friendship, sharing their hopes and dreams for the future.

Sarah soon falls into the rhythm of her new position, enjoying the social events hosted by Woolies and her blossoming romance with young assistant manager, Alan. But with the threat of war clouding the horizon, the young men and women of Woolworths realize that there are bigger battles ahead. It's a dangerous time for the nation, and an even more perilous time to fall in love . . .

It's been a while since I've read a book in this genre and I absolutely loved it. A gentle, beautifully narrated story of love and friendship in wartime England - along with the much loved and greatly missed institution that was Woolworths.

Sarah, Maisie and Freda: three girls from different walks of life all in their own way escaping from some aspect of their lives and hoping to find solace in the camaraderie of the working life of being a Woolies Girl. Firstly, their boss, 'Bossy Billington' seems a fierce and unlikeable character, looking down somewhat on brassier yet glamorous character, Maisie, but during the story reveals a much softer and vulnerable side, making her I think my favourite character in the book. Ruby Castelton - Sarah's nan is another wonderful character - the epitome of family matriarch in this troubled time in history and someone you would most definitely want on your side in a crisis.

I loved the vivid descriptions of this time period and often felt I was reading more of a memoir, it felt very realistic. I followed the ups and downs of life with the girls avidly, rooting for all to end well for them, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending where slightly predictable, was satisfying and in no way disappointing.

This is a wonderful nostalgic read from start to end that evoked memories of my childhood (albeit not in the time period which the book is set...!) taking my pocket money to Woolies on a Saturday morning to buy sweets and records!

Well worth reading...

Many thanks to Sophie at EDPR for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Giveaway!!

I am giving away a paperback copy of Elaine Everest's The Woolworths Girls - just comment below (or on my Facebook page) and tell me your fondest memories of Woolworths!

UK only please...

When I Was Invisible - Dorothy Koomson

Buy HERE from Amazon.co.uk

‘Do you ever wonder if you’ve lived the life you were meant to?’ I ask her. 

She sighs, and dips her head. ‘Even if I do, what difference will it make?’ 

In 1988, two eight-year-old girls with almost identical names and the same love of ballet meet for the first time. They seem destined to be best friends forever and to become professional dancers. Years later, however, they have both been dealt so many cruel blows that they walk away from each other into very different futures – one enters a convent, the other becomes a minor celebrity. Will these new, ‘invisible’ lives be the ones they were meant to live, or will they only find that kind of salvation when they are reunited twenty years later?

Veronica Harper is introduced to Veronika Harper, two eight year old girls born to different families yet with virtually identical names - the unlikeliest of coincidences. They both realise a love for ballet and want to become serious, professional dancers, not in frilly pink tutus but with unseen twisted feet covered in calluses - just for the love of the art. But that changes when something horrible and unthinkable happens, and Veronika (Nika) feels she has no choice but to leave her home, friends and family, and leaves the other Veronica (Roni) with a hole in her soul and guilt so strong the only way she can find escape is to become a nun. But then even that doesn't help, so she leaves in order to find the other Veronika Harper and try to ease the noises that wont quieten in her head. 

As usual, Koomson tackles hard hitting subjects with the most utmost skill and sensitivity, but brings them home with huge realism that makes you really think hard.

Roni and Nika's pasts and presents are delved into in personal depths, and we follow the events that define their lives and sculpt their futures showing how both girls' strength of characters differ, one choosing to face things head on, and one choosing to hide - both becoming invisible in their own ways.

I was fascinated by Nika's past, especially the time she spent on the streets and how she ended up there, making the hugest leap in circumstances someone can - and the characters that surrounded her.

The book culminated in a very powerful ending in so many ways which I certainly wasn't expecting. An excellent, thought provoking read.

Many thanks to Sophie at EDPR for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dorothy Koomson - That Girl From Nowhere Blog Tour

That Girl From Nowhere 

Review, Q&A and Fujufilm Instax 8 Mini Giveaway

Top 5 Book Characters

Dorothy Koomson is the author of ten published novels (number 11 is out May 2016). Here, she undertakes the very difficult task of choosing her five favourite characters from the books she has written.

5. Clemency Smittson from That Girl From Nowhere

Clemency is a woman in her late thirties who was adopted as a baby and unknowingly sets herself on the path to meeting her birth family when she moves from Leeds to Brighton during a turbulent period in her life. Clemency is a new entry on the list, obviously because she’s my last published character. She arrives here, though, because she is probably one of my most complicated characters to date. She is so incredibly flawed, it was great to create her. With all that she faces in her life, she tries to do the right thing but often gets it wrong, while being a bit of a people pleaser. She’s also strong minded, selfish, big-hearted and loving. I hope that comes across in the telling of her story.

4. Serena Gorringe & Poppy Carlisle from The Ice Cream Girls

Cheating, I know, to have two of them but I couldn’t separate them. I love these two characters because they were the first two I wrote when I penned my first ‘emotional thriller’ – a book with a crime at the heart of it that focuses mostly on the impact that crime has on the people involved. Poppy and Serena are both sexually involved with their violent teacher as teenagers and when he winds up dead they’re both accused of it but only one of them goes to prison. Serena and Poppy are both products of their involvement with a violent, manipulative man and I based my characters on the real-life experiences of the people I spoke to. I felt a real responsibility when writing the book to accurately portray those experiences and not descend into sensationalist stereotypes about seductive young girls who lead grown men astray.

3. Kamryn Matika from My Best Friend’s Girl

She was my first ‘complicated’ (read: slightly unsympathetic) character. Kamryn she has been hurt by her best friend - Adele - and fiancé, Nate, when they have a one-night stand and Adele goes on to have Nate’s child. Kamryn cuts them both off but years later, Adele gets in touch to ask her to look after her daughter because she’s dying. When I first wrote her I thought I had to make her more ‘perfect’ and likeable but as the story unfolded, I realised that she had every right to be prickly and slightly stand-offish – she’d been wronged many times over. That realisation, I think, allowed me the freedom to be more realistic with all the characters in the book and I had a lot of fun creating someone who wouldn’t normally be the main character/hero of a story.

2. Greg Walterson from The Chocolate Run

He is the bad-boy of my second novel and probably my most favourite male character out of all the men I’ve created. People tell me all the time they like my male characters, but when I ran a survey on my website, Greg was the winning lead man. There is something delicious and dangerous but also comforting and kind about him. Yup, still my favourite male character.

1. Ceri D’Altroy from The Cupid Effect

Ceri, who in The Cupid Effect discovers she’s modern-day Cupid, is the character out of all of my books who is most like me. She finds the same things funny as me, she has the same taste in TV heroes and people used to tell her their problems all the time (people used to do that to me, too). She’s the character who secured me my first publishing deal so I’ll always love her just that bit more for that. (Don’t tell my other characters.)

Thanks, Donna, that was fun. Dorothy x

That Girl From Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson is published on 24^th March by Arrow, price £7.99 in paperback. 

GIVEAWAY!

Share your favourite photo and its story to #ThatGirlMemories to win a Fujifilm Instax 8 camera.

Review:

Clemency (Smitty), was adopted not long after birth with nothing other that a box decorated with butterflies to link her to her birth mother (the tradition/tale behind this box is captivating). After a painful breakup and while still grieving the death of her adoptive father, who throughout the book we see was a wonderful, caring man, she decides to pack up her life and move to the town she was born, Brighton, with the view of carrying on her jewellery making business. Her somewhat domineering mother decides, without invitation, to move with her. Clemency is certain the agenda behind this is to make sure she does not try to trace her birth family, which she has promised her adoptive mother she will never do. But a chance meeting sees that the decision is taken from Smitty's hands, and this starts a chain of events which changes everything in Smitty's life.

True to form Koomson tackles a variety of sensitive issues with care, making them as believable as they are hard hitting. I found looking deeply into Smitty's life and feelings interesting, how she perceived herself and the world around her, the feeling of being unwanted, not finding a place she belonged. The family dynamics of both her natural and adoptive family were especially fascinating, although I'm not sure I cared for any of her family members much - especially the deplorable cousin Nancy. So much jealousy, betrayal and deception goes on behind closed doors.

As always Koomson has a fabulous knack of writing an engaging tale with interesting twists and natural and in parts humorous dialogue, so many times I had to remind myself I was not reading someone's memoirs. I particularly enjoyed the vivid description of Smitty's many photographs on her wall (a collection of her most important life memories), and it has inspired me to get a 'real' camera to take photos over the summer and be able to have them in my hands instantly. 

Fans of Dorothy Koomson will devour this and it will make fans of new readers.

GIVEAWAY!

Share your favourite photo and its story to #ThatGirlMemories to win a Fujifilm Instax 8 camera.

5* Review: You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell

Available at Amazon.co.uk

On the morning of Lily's twenty-fifth birthday, it's time to open the very last letter written to her by her beloved mother, who died when she was eight.

Learning more about the first and only real love of her mum's life is a revelation. On the same day, Lily also meets Eddie Tessler, a man fleeing fame who just might have the ability to change her world in unimaginable ways. But her childhood friend Dan has his own reasons for not wanting Lily to get too carried away by Eddie's attentions.

Before long, secrets begin to emerge and Lily's friends and family become involved. In the beautiful Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, nothing will ever be the same again...

I had a feeling before I started to read this latest offering from Jill Mansell that it might be a bit of a tearjerker - a bit depressing, but no! It's absolutely not at all. Although the story is based on the tale of Lily, a young woman on her twenty fifth birthday who has just received the last of her birthday letters that her dying mother penned to her, that is only really a very small part of the book. It is more based on the living and the life that has been constructed for Lily around the lovely Cotswold village of Stanton Langley, and the friends that have been there for her whilst growing up.

Coral was her mother's best friend at uni and has brought Lily up as her own after the untimely death of Jo when Lily was small, and even after she was widowed herself when her husband died. She has provided a loving home and job for Lily in the antiques yard in the village.

Then there's Patsy, Lily's old babysitter who is around ten years older than Lily, the two have grown more like best friends over the years and Patsy runs the village salon. She is divorced and faces several (often really laugh-out-loud) dating disasters.

There's Dan, the boy Lily has loved since childhood but has kept her feelings well hidden as he is somewhat of a Casanova, and Lily does not just want to be another notch...and several other villagers who form the fabric of Lily's life, which is steady and somewhat boring...until the day she finds Eddie Tesslar, famous and gorgeous Hollywood star hiding out in the village.

You and Me, Always really is a lovely light read to lose yourself in. It isn't the usual boy-meets-girl romance, it does have depth, light and a lot of humour, but essentially is it a well written feel good read, perfect to curl up with on the weekend. The characters - though there are a lot - are easy to get to know and follow, the dialogue is good and the situations that crop up along the way really are funny. 

A highly recommended read for fans of this genre!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.