Book Extract: Caper Crush by Kathy Strobos
I am delighted to be welcoming Kathy Strobos to Novel Kicks today. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Caper Crush.
A feel-good, opposites-attract, slow burn romantic comedy
Somebody stole my painting! The one I need for the career-defining Vertex Art Exhibit. This upcoming art show is my chance to finally be recognized as an artist—after ten years of waitressing and being asked if I still have that “lovely painting hobby.”
I have mere weeks to find my painting or lose my artist dream forever—but it’s going to mean working with William.
William Haruki Matsumura. Good-looking, if you like the Secret Service type. You know, law-abiding, protector of women and children. That’s all fine, but I can never tell what he’s thinking. Which drives me crazy.
He insists on coming along to do “damage control.” As if “accidentally” wandering into certain areas is “breaking and entering.” I may be an emotional artist, but William shouldn’t dismiss my investigative skills yet.
William is definitely my opposite, and, if there’s one takeaway from my parents’ divorce, it’s that opposites might attract, but it doesn’t last. But detecting with William is kind of fun—and fluttery. I definitely can’t trust these feelings, or can I? However this caper ends, I think this may be more than a crush.
Kathy has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy!
*****beginning of extract*****
In this excerpt, Miranda is eavesdropping on a conversation between two potential suspects (Edmund and Vinnie). She suspects that one of them stole the paintings. She is outside in the garden, crouched down, listening under an open window. William has left to park the car somewhere else:
My foot tickles. I look down. And shriek. Some huge, slimy, sluglike thing is crawling on my foot. I jump up and shake my foot.
Shit.
I dash around the side of the house—only to bump straight into a hard chest.
William. His hands reach out to steady me, and then he pulls me closer to him.
“What happened?”
“Slug on my foot.”
“I know I heard something.” Vinnie’s voice. Crunch. They are outside. They must be on the footpath leading to the house.
William flattens me against the wall behind a pine tree that’s close enough to the house to hide us. His chest is against mine.
by 
Book Review: Anything Could Happen by Lucy Diamond
I am pleased to be welcoming Lucy Diamond to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Anything Could Happen which has been released in paperback.
Your big secret is out. What next?
For Lara and her daughter Eliza, it has always been just the two of them. But when Eliza turns eighteen and wants to connect with her father, Lara is forced to admit a secret that she has been keeping from her daughter her whole life.
Eliza needs answers – and so does Lara. Their journey to the truth will take them on a road trip across England and eventually to New York, where it all began. Dreams might have been broken and opportunities missed, but there are still surprises in store…
*****
I loved the title and the premise for this novel so I was excited when I got invited onto the blog tour for Anything Could Happen.
Lara and Ben share a memorable night in New York and have dreams of a potential life together. However, life intervenes, and they don’t see each other until nineteen years later when their daughter, Eliza, tracks Ben down to inform him that he is her father.
For Ben, it’s a big shock, not to mention having to tell his wife, Kirsten who doesn’t take it very well.
Told from the point of view of Lara, Ben, Eliza and Kirsten, this book explores the impact of finding out that you have a child and how that affects your life. It also shines a spotlight on a marriage that was already only hanging on by a thread.
I loved Lara. She’s feisty and, even though she needs a little reminder to not be so scared, she knows herself. Eliza is like her mother – a strong female character. She is trying to find out who she is and discover what she wants from life and right now, she wants to get to meet the dad she never met.
by Book Review: And Then There’s Margaret by Carolyn Clarke
Marriage and midlife can be difficult. But when you add a controlling, manipulative and self-absorbed mother-in-law into the mix, things can get worse-much worse. Toxic, even.
When Allison Montgomery’s beloved father-in-law and long-time confidant passes away, her mother-in-law, Margaret, ‘temporarily’ moves in. From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen, to undermining and embarrassing Allie at every turn, including funding her daughter’s escape, throwing a hissy fit at the mall, and publicly equating Allie’s glass of Chardonnay to full blown alcoholism, Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down causing her to bounce between a sincere desire to support her grieving mother-in-law and an intense urge to simply push her out of the nearest window.
Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and enjoying a second act, and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. Along the way, Allie discovers the reasons behind Margaret’s attitude toward her all these years. Does it help? Maybe…
*****
The premise for this novel intrigued me as I have always been fascinated by the relationships between family, especially when marriage occurs. You are thrown together with people who you may or may not have chosen to be around.
Allie has always had a good relationship with her father-in-law, George but, when he passes away, her mother-in-law, Margaret moves into her home for a while.
It’s clear from the outset that these two women should not be sharing a space. Haha. Allie behaves in a way that I feel is totally relatable and I cheered when she stood up for herself. However, Margaret is also going through a bad time in her life so it was hard to just dismiss her as difficult. There is more to Margaret’s behaviour than Allie realises.
by Book Review: Lucky Jack (1894-2000): Memoirs of a World War 1 POW by S. Bavey
We are so pleased to be welcoming S. Bavey to Novel Kicks today. She’s here with the blog tour for her book, Lucky Jack (1894 – 2000)
“One of the perils of being a sniper during the First World War was the likelihood of a grenade going off right next to you and burying you alive”.
Meet Jack Rogers. Born in 1894, he once locked eyes with Queen Victoria and was one of the first travellers on London’s ‘Tube’. An early car owner, he had many escapades on his days out to Brighton, including a time when his brakes failed and he had to drive through central London without them!
His skills as an entertainer earned him popularity throughout his life, and kept him out of the deadly mines while a prisoner during the First World War. At the tender age of 103 Jack earned the title of ‘The World’s Oldest Columnist’ as he began dictating his life’s exploits to a reporter from the local newspaper.
*****
I have to admit, memoir type books are not always something I will immediately pick to read but there was something about Jack’s story that drew me to it.
The book, written by Jack’s Granddaughter, is presented in a first person narrative, from Jack’s point of view, as though he were writing a diary. This felt as though I was going through his life with him and boy, what a life.
Born in the 1800’s, Jack lived through two world wars, fought in the first. becoming a POW, saw many prime ministers, witnessed many technological and medical advances, lived in three centuries, locked eyes with Queen Victoria and was amongst the first people to ride the Tube. His stories and anecdotes throughout were fascinating.
by Book Review: The Heart Warrior’s Mother by Marilyn Cohen de Villiers
I am pleased to be welcoming Marilyn Cohen de Villiers to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her book, The Heart Warrior’s Mother.
Kerry-Anne Aarons is over the moon. She and her husband, Imran Patel, are about to become the parents of a baby daughter, and give their son, Leo, an adored little sister. It wasn’t planned, but Kerry knows that Lily’s arrival will complete the perfect little family she has always wanted. She, Imran and their two children are going to live happily ever after…
Then life intervenes.
Lily is born with a serious congenital heart defect and Kerry’s battle to save her daughter commences. It’s a battle that takes her from the operating theatres and Intensive Care Units of local hospitals to the High Court of South Africa. It’s a battle that strains her relationships with her friends, her parents, and – ultimately – her husband. It’s a battle she is determined to win.
But how much will Kerry have to sacrifice to give Lily the future she deserves?
“A true, cross-generational story of the eternal link between love and pain… the greater the love, the more inevitable the pain. Marilyn Cohen de Villiers once again – with amazing skill – depicts the common humanity that transcends differing cultures.”
James Mitchell – former Book Editor, The Star, Johannesburg
A percentage of the proceeds of this novel will be donated to the Children’s Cardiac Foundation of Africa, an organisation that funds lifesaving heart surgery for children across the continent.
*****
This was not an easy book to read. It took me through a large rollercoaster of emotions and, I feel that, if you’ve lost a child, whether it be to miscarriage or illness post birth, be prepared as this novel deals with some very difficult issues.
It however does this with extreme sensitivity and knowledge. There was a feeling that the author had really researched her subject matter and this adds a lot to the novel. To also know that this was based on a true story makes it all the more heart breaking.
From the beginning, you really do feel for Kerry and Imran – to have to see a child going through so much from birth. I turned every page hoping that things would turn around – that everything will be ok.
by Book Club
