Blog Blitz - The Memory by

I look down at her, lying fast asleep – always my little girl, and so beautiful. 

She gives a low moan as her head turns restlessly on the pillow. It reminds me of the soft growl of a cornered animal. Where is my poor child? What is she dreaming?

People always notice my daughter, Isobel. How could they not? Incredibly beautiful... until she speaks.

An unsettling, little-girl voice, exactly like a child’s, but from the mouth of a full-grown woman.

Izzie might look grown-up, but inside she’s trapped. Caught in the day it happened – the day that broke her from within.

I know why my daughter is the way she is. There’s nothing I could have done to save her... is there?

An unputdownable psychological thriller about families and secrets, perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell.

Today I am pleased to be taking part in Bookouture's Blog Blitz for The Memory by Lucy Dawson.

There are some brilliant psychological thrillers on the book market at the moment and this is another good one, however I was a little unsettled by the added Ouija and dark occult featuring voodoo that was included (this is just a personal opinion as it is not a subject that I follow).

The story was well written and developed as the book progressed. The storyline took the reader towards an ending however secrets began to be revealed I realised that I was completely wrong and I sped through the remaining pages to get to the end!

Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me to take part in the Blog Blitz and a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

A Very Lucky Christmas by Lilac Hills

Things can't get worse for Daisy Jones... can they?

Christmas is meant to be the happiest time of year so why is absolutely everything going wrong for Daisy? Reeling from a bad breakup, moving back in with her parents and hounded by trouble at work she really shouldn’t be surprised when things go from bad to worse..and she ends up in A&E! Her great-grandmother persuaded her to plant a silver sixpence in the Christmas pud for luck but choking on the coin isn’t the ‘change’ she’d wished for. Yet when dashing Dr Noah Hartley saves the day things finally start to look up. With Christmas Day just around the corner Daisy’s determined to make her own luck...and hopefully bag herself a dishy doc in the process! 

A heart-warming Christmas romance perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Debbie Johnson and Daisy James

Today  I am pleased to welcome Lilac Hills to my blog to celebrate the publication of 'A Very Lucky Christmas'.

I really enjoyed this book - a great book to read in the build up to Christmas or over the Christmas period. I for one hope that my Christmas doesn't go through the rough ride that Daisy Jones does although it was a great read which I recommend to all my blog readers.

Lilac Mills has written a blog post to celebrate the publication and she tells me and my blog readers about her Christmases growing up.

I’m an only child.

My mother is an only child.

My father is an only child.

And my grandparents lived with us when I was growing up.


All this made for an older-person-centred childhood because, apart from my friends, of which I did have quite a few thankfully, I had no relatives my own age. Add my great-aunt and great-uncle, both of whom were older than my parents, into the mix at Christmas, and I had a really quiet festive season. My friends had their own families (usually with an assortment of people of their own age and of which I was absurdly jealous), so I usually had to amuse myself on Christmas Day. I remember seeing the four ladies squashed onto the three-seater sofa, my dad and grandad having grabbed an armchair each, all of them fast asleep after lunch. But woe betide me if I tried to change the channel on the TV and put on cartoons – each one of them would suddenly be awake and reaching for the sherry, and demanding I leave the Queen’s speech on because they “was watching that!”


As I was growing up, I was resentful that my parents had failed to provide me with a brother or sister. My sibling and I might well have hated each other, but at least we could have spent Christmas Day winding the other one up. 

Tormenting and annoying my brother or sister would have kept me occupied, or (and this was my favourite fairy tale) I may have actually been so devoted to them that I wanted to spend every waking minute in their company, the pair of us playing nicely together.


Instead, I had a grandpa who was as deaf as a post and who used to turn his hearing aids off when he couldn’t be bothered talking to anyone (quite often); a grandma who was also rather deaf yet refused to wear a hearing aid and insisted on speaking at the top of her voice (and don’t get me started on how loud she needed the TV to be turned up); a great-auntie and uncle (gran’s sister and brother-in-law) who had never had children and weren’t sure what to do with one or how to behave around one (I think they viewed me as some kind of alien being); and a frazzled mum and dad, who I constantly nagged at to play with me when all they wanted was to put their feet up and get stuck into the Quality Street chocolates, and not be whined at for refusing to play Mouse Trap.


At the time, I’m not sure I appreciated any of this, but on looking back, these intense family get-togethers have provided me with an endless source of material for the older characters in my stories, especially the women. Although I don’t base my characters on any one person in particular, I can see elements of my relatives peering out of the pages every now and again.


Take Gee-Gee in A Very Lucky Christmas, for instance. My own grannie was just as cantankerous when she was arguing with her sister (my great aunt) and my mum. And Flossie in Summer on the Turquoise Coast reminded me so much of her in the way she used to say what she was thinking without filtering her thoughts first. She used to cause me no end of embarrassment when I was growing up but now I look back on my memories of her with love. She was certainly one of a kind.


Then there was another of my great-aunts, Nelly. She was tiny with a really deep, gruff voice and a bring-it-on attitude. She was a nurse, and nothing fazed her. I used
to hear my gran sharing stories of what Nelly used to get up to, and Flossie most definitely has some of her zest for life in her character.


My mum says she can see herself in the main character’s mother in Sunshine at Cherry Tree Farm. I can’t see it myself, but my great-aunt is still alive (93! I hope I’ve got some of her genes) and she says the exact same thing. So it looks like I do incorporate bits of my family in my writing, even when I don’t think I do.


I have noticed I often tend to write eccentric, belligerent, and frequently demanding older ladies into my stories, and actually they are great fun to write. I feel I can let my hair down with them a bit and besides, our lives are multigenerational. Nearly all of us come into contact with people older than ourselves, often as part of our families, so why shouldn’t we include them in our novels?


My elderly relatives have made me what I am, have helped shaped me and left their marks on me. If nothing else, they taught me independence and resilience, and left me with a hope that one day I can be as weird and as wonderful as they are, if I’m lucky enough to live that long!

Thank you to Lilac Mills for joining me on my blog. I can definitely relate to Christmas's growing up where we were joined by older generations and their exploits throughout the Christmas period.

Thank you to both Canelo and Lilac Mills for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Overshare: Love, Laughs, Sexuality and Secrets by Rose Ellen Dix and Rosie Spaughton

Today I am really pleased to be taking part in Compulsive Reader's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour. My stop on the tour is to promote 'Overshare' by Rose and Rosie.

Love, laughs, sexuality and secrets from LGBT superstar YouTube couple, Rose and Rosie.

Rose and Rosie are known for their candid and hilarious YouTube videos... but now they are taking oversharing to a whole new level. Discussing sexuality, revealing secrets and empowering others, Overshare is a book packed with Rose and Rosie's unique take on friendships, fame, mental health and LGBT issues.

As visibly out members of the LGBT community, they open up about their own experiences, both together and as individuals, and have written this book in the hope that it gives strength to those who have faced similar difficulties.

They are spreading a message of positivity and inclusivity, and want everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin, no matter what their sexuality.

Delve deep into the unfiltered highs and lows of Rose and Rosie's life: family relationships, secrets of a happy marriage, struggles with OCD and anxiety, finding love and navigating the world as a gay couple. Get ready to laugh, cry, cringe and Overshare.

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co 
ISBN: 9781409176411 

Overshare is one of those reads that I wasn't sure what to expect but I am so glad that I picked it up and read it! I saw lots of publicity around its launch and was really interested to see what it was all about.

I must admit I had never heard of Rose and Rosie before seeing this book but now I have been googling and watching their YouTube channel and have since seen that they are just as fabulous on screen as they are in print!

Overshare made me laugh, cry and also think more about how the world around us judge people and their relationships. It made me angry in places when Rose and Rosie talked about their childhood, their teenage years and the prejudices that they were faced with along the way. 

The book is a great read and it gives hope to all who are growing up unsure of their sexuality by letting them know there is someone for everyone and also support for all.

Thank you to Trapeze Books and Tracey Fenton, Compulsive Books, for inviting me to take part in the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

A VIllage Affair by Julie Houston

Cassie Beresford has recently landed her dream job as deputy head at her local, idyllic village primary school, Little Acorns. So, the last thing she needs is her husband of twenty years being 'outed' at a village charity auction - he has been having an affair with one of her closest friends.

As if that weren't enough to cope with, Cassie suddenly finds herself catapulted into the head teacher position, and at the forefront of a fight to ward off developers determined to concrete over the beautiful landscape.

But through it all, the irresistible joy of her pupils, the reality of keeping her teenage children on the straight and narrow, her irrepressible family and friends, and the possibility of new love, mean what could have been the worst year ever, actually might be the best yet...

Julie Houston's novels are funny, wonderfully warm and completely addictive. Perfect for all fans of Gervaise Phinn, Katie Fforde and Jill Mansell.

Julie Houston's 'A Village Affair' is one of those reads that I love to loose myself in over a weekend. It has a cast of fantastic characters and is set in a lovely village which I would love to visit.

A Village Affair is a cosy read but Julie Houston has included some fantastic humour along the way which made me laugh out loud, a lot of which came from the Lithuanian Lollipop Lady and her broken English translations. 

I think that one of the things that I loved most about the book was all the school tales, it reminded me of my love for Enid Blyton's Malory Towers and St Clares as a child and my other love of Jack Sheffield's brilliant books. 

I very much look forward to reading more by Julie Houston and hope that she revisits the village again soon.

Thank you to Aria for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

The Diary by Vikki Patis

‘I know all your secrets, Lauren.’

Lauren has spent years running away from her home town, her childhood and the memories of her best friend, Hannah.

Until the tenth anniversary of Hannah’s death forces her to return home and to the group of friends she abandoned there. It should be a quick visit, just so Lauren can pay her respects.

At home, Lauren finds Hannah’s old diary. A diary full of secrets. The terrible things Lauren did, the lies she’s told, the reason she ran away. And she receives a message:

‘I don’t know why you’re back, but I know why you left.’ 

But no-one else has seen the diary, and Hannah’s dead, isn’t she?

A suspenseful psychological thriller full of twists and turns – you won’t be able to stop turning the pages of The Diary. Perfect for fans of The Sister, The Girl on the Train and We Were Liars. 

I really enjoyed this book however with six characters to keep track of over the course of the book I did find that it was one that I had to concentrate on. However saying that 'The Diary' is a brilliant book, very well written and kept my attention to the very end. The six characters individual stories are all intertwined and feature story-lines which are very relatable to teenagers of today and are topics which need to be discussed. 

A fantastic psychological thriller which was an unputdownable read which I will be recommending to all! I am also already looking forward to Vikki Patis' next novel already.

Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me to take part in this Blog Blitz in return for an honest review. 

Bait, Grist and Security by Mike Hodges (Blog Tour)

Today I am pleased to be taking part in the Blog Tour to celebrate the publication of Mike Hodges' 'Bait, Grist and Security'.

In ‘Bait’ , a slippery PR man, Mark Miles, is unaware he’s being manipulated and dangled as bait by an investigative reporter until he’s swallowed by a sadistic mind-expanding cult from America. 

In ‘Grist’ , the bestselling writer, Maxwell Grist, ruthlessly uses real people as fodder for his crime novels before finding himself living up to his name and becoming grist for his own murder. 

In ‘Security’ , an American movie star, unhappy with the film he’s working on, refuses to leave his hotel for the studios, while in the corridor outside his luxury suite mayhem and murder take over. 

Mike Hodges is well known for directing 'Get Carter' and 'Pulp' and therefore I was interested to read his new release 'Bait, Grist and Security'. 

Bai, Grist and Security are three tales, all original and unique, and very well written. Each reads as a separate novella and kept me engaged and enthralled to the very end, 

I really hope that Mike Hodges writes more as I have really enjoyed these three stories and would love to read more from this great director.

Thank you to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours and Unbound for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review. 

The Liar's Wife by Samantha Hayes (Blog Blitz)

When Ella wakes up in hospital following a hit and run incident, she is scared and confused. Close to tears, her eyes fall on a get-well-soon card on the window sill and the nurse reassures her that her loving husband will be back soon.

But Ella has never been married… 

Absolutely love twisty and unputdownable psychological thrillers like Girl on the Train, The Wife Between Us and Gone Girl? Then you will be totally hooked by this jaw-dropping novel about the dangerous secrets behind a perfect marriage.

Samantha Hayes is a fantastic psychological thriller author and I look forward to each new book. 'The Liar's Wife' is Samantha's latest release and I really believe her books are getting better and better with each release.

The synopsis sounds like many other books which have been released over recent years however Samantha soon breaks the mould as her unique style and clever mind tells a story which makes the reader forget other stories and immerse themselves completely in Ella's  very bad dream which slowly turns into a nightmare. 

The story is a slow burner where secrets and lies are revealled and a manipulative 'husband' tries to rewrite history while Ella is in the vulnerable position of a hospital bed. Although it is a slow burner Samantha has written a tale which builds in both pace and intensity and finishes off with the crescendo ending and hard punch that leaves the reader both satisfied and wanting more.

Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me to take part in the blog tour in return for an honest review.

Blog Blitz - The Shape of Us by Drew Davies

Today I am pleased to be taking part in Bookouture's Blog Blitz to celebrate the publication of Drew Davies' 'The Shape of Us'.





If you read one book this year, make it this hilarious and emotional novel about love, loss and second chances. Fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, The Note and Jojo Moyes will be utterly charmed by this unique love story.

One day in London…

Daisy is rushing to work when a stranger on a bicycle almost knocks her over – and then asks for her number.

Dylan, a teenage boy, lives with an illness which means he can’t leave his bedroom – but which hasn’t stopped him from falling hopelessly in love.

JoJo, a wife in her sixties, is trying desperately to win her beloved husband back from his mistress.

Adam has recently lost his job and lies to his housemate about where he goes every day.

These four total strangers – whose paths cross in the charming city of London – have one thing in common. They are all lonely souls looking for love. But what are the chances of them actually finding it?

An absolutely unputdownable, uplifting and unforgettable book-club read for anyone who has ever made a mistake, been broken-hearted, or waited by their phone for it to ring.

The Shape of Us is a clever book where four, seemingly separate, story-lines are introduced with characters of varying ages and demeanor are introduced but finally intertwine and tell a beautiful story.

Each of the story-lines have their own strong character leads, all individual and with characters that everyone can relate to. There are many traits which can be identified and I know that I found myself relating them to friends, family members and acquaintances in my own life. 

There are some dark story-lines within the book however the author introduces light and shade with the individual characters. I really like JoJo, a sarcastic character who added light to the story at times where the story-line was going on a darker path.

I really enjoyed this book - it is something a bit different to read, I don't think I can remember reading anything similar in the last couple of years. Drew Davies is an author to watch going forward!

Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me to take part in the Blog Blitz in return for an honest review.

Blog Tour - The List That Changed My Life by Olivia Beirne

Sometimes all you need is a little push...

When Georgia’s sister is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she promises to do everything her older sibling can no longer do, resulting in a journey that will change her life forever...

Georgia loves wine, reality TV and sitting on the sofa after work. She does not love heights, looking at her bank account, going on dates, or activities that involve a sports bra. And she will never, ever take a risk.

That is, until her braver, bolder, big sister finds out that she won’t be able to tick off the things she wanted to do before 

turning thirty, and turns to Georgia to help her finish her list.

With the birthday just months away, Georgia suddenly has a deadline to learn to grab life with both hands. Could she be brave enough to take the leap, for her sister? And how might her own life change if she did? A hilarious and heart-warming journey of a lifetime, showing us what it means to really be alive.
 

This is a fantastic debut novel which I really enjoyed reading. 'The List That Changed My Life' tells the story of two sisters, Georgia and Amy. Amy is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and she asks Georgia to complete a list of things that she wanted to do before she was 30 but is now unable to do. The list is full of a range of activities and there are a number that Georgia considers difficult or impossible. 

The story has a bit of romance, a bit of fun and is a great story of the sisterly bond between Amy and Georgia. The two sisters are very different but love each other dearly and do all they can to keep the sisterly bond strong. 

The story is a great read and I liked that the ending was not too cheesy - it was a great ending and I felt satisfied when I finished it,

Thank you to Headline Review and Anne Cater at Random Things book tours for inviting me to take part in the tour in return for an honest review. Apologies it is a little later than scheduled.