Book Review: Love You From A-Z by Linda Corbett
It’s my pleasure to welcome Linda Corbett to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her novel, Love You From A-Z.
Experience has told Jenna Oakhurst that Happy Ever After may happen in all the best stories, but Happy For Now is the best one ought to expect in real life.
Yet lately even that isn’t quite enough, so when a strange set of circumstances leads her to discover a mysterious letter in an abandoned storage unit, she takes the chance to embark on a journey into the unknown…just like the heroines from the storybooks.
Reaching out to the letter’s author, Henry Somners, changes Jenna’s world irrevocably and she starts to realise that the magic she believed in as a child might not be such a fanciful notion after all…
*****
Jenna believes that happily ever after belongs only in stories. It’s not something she expects to happen in real life.
When her boyfriend buys an abandoned storage unit, she discovers an unopened letter which leads her to Henry. This meeting will change her life in more ways than one.
This book sounded intriguing so I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour and couldn’t wait to get started.
From the start it’s clear to see that Jenna is a serious person and the more you get to know her, you realise that her former life experiences have been a huge contributor to that. I loved her as a character and loved watching her develop.
by 
Book Review: Who Do You Think You Are Maggie Pink? by Janet Hoggarth
I am pleased to be welcoming back Janet Hoggarth to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Who Do You Think You Are Maggie Pink
Maggie Pink is a lot of things to a lot of people, but does she know who she really is?
Maggie is a mother to a stroppy teenager, a wife to a befuddled husband, and a daughter to two very different women. She has always known she’s adopted, but has she ever understood what that means? Not really.
Following the death of her mother, Maggie finally feels able to go in search of her birth mother Morag, and heads to the Highlands of Scotland with her disgruntled daughter Roxie in tow, leaving her crumbling marriage to worry about another day.
The family reunion is bittersweet, but everything is blown wide open when Roxie unearths Morag’s explosive teenage diaries. Why did Morag give Maggie away? What really happened all those years ago, and how have the echoes of the past resounded through the generations, like ripples in a puddle?
And when all the secrets and promises are out in the open, will Maggie finally have an answer to the question – who do you think you are Maggie Pink?
*****
Maggie Pink is a wife to Adam and a mother to teenager, Roxie. Mother and daughter do not have the best relationship.
Maggie has also always known that she was adopted.
When her mother dies, Maggie feels that it’s time to go looking for her birth mother, Morag.
However, the secrets and revelations are only just beginning.
I have previously had the opportunity on this blog to share an extract from Janet’s novel, The Single Mums Move On, and so when I was invited onto the blog tour for her latest novel, Who Do You Think You Are Maggie Pink?, I jumped at the chance and couldn’t wait to get started.
I knew from the books description that this novel was going to be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and I wasn’t wrong.
I did like the multiple viewpoints as it gave a real overall picture of what all these women were going through and thinking.
Maggie was someone I could relate to, having lost my own mother in my 30’s. To start with, she’s a hard character to get to know. She’s a closed book but as the plot progressed, you begin to understand why.
Roxie is a typical teenager but, like with Maggie, empathy for her builds throughout the novel as you see things from her point of view.
The plot, in my opinion, moves well and the characters are well rounded. The supporting characters, Fiona, Issy and Angus especially are wonderful.
by Book Review: The Fire Killer by Ross Greenwood
A lovely big welcome back to Ross Greenwood and the blog tour for his novel, The Fire Killer.
When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it’s either children fooling around or a worrying racially motivated crime.
As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. And after an idea is suggested by pathologist Mortis, Barton suspects he has the arsonist’s motives wrong.
When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. Yet all of them act suspiciously and he knows for sure that one or more of them are lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control.
Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn?
*****
DI Barton and his team are back!
A mysterious person is setting fires and it’s not long before arson turns into murder. Time is running out. Can they find The Fire Killer before they kill again?
Having previously read The Cold Killer, I was excited to start reading DI Barton’s latest case. If you haven’t read any of the previous novels, don’t worry. This can be read as a standalone although I do recommend them. They are so good! In fact, DI Barton and his team are now amongst my favourite fictional crime solvers. The Fire Killer is book five in the series. In case you wanted to pick up this series from the beginning, it starts off with The Snow Killer, then The Soul Killer, The Ice Killer and the Cold Killer.
Ross Greenwood immediately draws you into the action so I very quickly got pulled into the story, wanting to know what happens.
The tension and suspense builds very well and I was with these characters, invested in trying to find this killer.
by Book Review: Finding Love on Sunshine Island by Georgina Troy
A big welcome to Georgina Troy who is here with the blog tour for her new novel, Finding Love on Sunshine Island.
Welcome to the Sunshine Island – where the beaches are golden, the lifestyle is perfect and anything is possible.
Piper Le Brocq is happily single after the disastrous ending of her engagement eighteen months before. The only man in her life is Jax, her best friend and cousin, who spends his life teaching locals how to forage and taking tourists on boat trips around the island. Her days are filled with helping out at her mother’s guest house and selling her glass mosaics at The Cabbage Patch emporium in Trinity.
Piper loves living on the Sunshine Island, where the neighbours look out for each other and visitors are welcome. So, when handsome guest Alex Cooper arrives at the guest house to check up on his grandfather, she welcomes him to the sunny island. And when he needs help after his grandfather is injured, she’s quick to get involved.
Yet, the more she gets to know Alex the more mysterious he seems, and Alex isn’t the only one keeping secrets from her.
*****
After a horrible breakup, Piper is happily single, helping her mother at the family guest house on Jersey and creating glass mosaics for sale.
When Alex Cooper arrives to see his grandfather, she welcomes him and even helps him out when there’s an accident. However, is love about to catch her unawares?
I adore the fact that Piper refers to Jersey as the ‘sunshine island.’ I’ve never been there but this, as well as the vivid descriptions in the novel, meant that I could really imagine myself there, amongst these wonderfully well written characters.
It isn’t hard to like Piper. She’s had a lot happen but she has picked herself up and has created her own business. I wanted things to be OK for her.
Alex adds mystery to the story. He’s lovely and charming but he is holding something back. I was intrigued to know what.
by Blog Blitz Extract: A Hotel in Cornwall by Laura Briggs
I am very happy to be welcoming Laura Briggs to Novel Kicks today. She’s here to celebrate her anthology series, A Little Hotel in Cornwall.
Here’s the information for the series, A Hotel in Cornwall.
All eight novellas in the UK bestselling series A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL are now available in one collection!
Follow aspiring young author Maisie Clark as she stumbles into a role as a maid in the idyllic hotel by the sea, where there’s never a dull moment, from her quest to track down a reclusive English novelist, to her brush with jewel thieves and a whirlwind trip through Paris and London to name a few.
All the while, she finds herself falling for the handsome and enigmatic groundskeeper Sidney Daniels. Could the key to unlocking her dreams be right in front of her?
This collection contains A Little Hotel in Cornwall, A Spirited Girl on Cornish Shores, Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses, The Cornish Secret of Summer’s Promise, A Train from Penzance to Paris, A Cornish Daisy’s Kiss, A Stargazy NightSky, and The Cornish Key to Happiness.
We have an extract to share with you today so, without further ado, over to you, Laura.
*****
Thanks so much to Laura at Novel Kicks for letting me share with her readers about the books in my series anthology A Little Hotel in Cornwall (Books 1-8).
Set at a quirky seaside hotel with an ‘anything can happen’ atmosphere, the series follows the adventures of amateur novelist Maisie Clark, who stumbles into secrets, surprises, and romance while working as a chambermaid at the hotel.
The following extract is from the second book in the series, A Spirited Girl on Cornish Shores.
It finds the hotel hosting an earl’s elaborate (and eccentric) birthday celebration at All Hallows’ Eve, with a guest list that might be at home in an Agatha Christie mystery—including the supposed psychic whose spooky predictions have the other guests on edge.
*****beginning of extract*****
“I’m looking forward to seeing your power in practice, Miss Norridge,” said the sculptor Ofong to the psychic. “When did you discover you had the gift?”
“I’ve always known,” she answered. “It was just … with me.” She smiled.
She was seated closest to the earl, except for his assistant, who was helping cut the lamb chops into bite-size pieces. Next to her, the worried daughter, who was fussing about the food and the room’s drafts.
“You knew since childhood, I read somewhere,” said Kate the ghost hunter. “Did anyone besides you recognize it? Family, teacher, school counselor?”
“My mother,” said Natalie. “In truth, the gift belongs to my family. My mother shared it, and so did my grandmother. You could say that I come from a long line of spirit whisperers.”
by Book Club
