Book Review: Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker
I’m pleased to be welcoming Carrie Walker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Escape to the Northern Lights.
Packed with humour, romance and a love affair with nature, Escape to the Northern Lights is a story of transformation, second chances and finding home in the most unexpected places.
High-powered lawyer Sara thought she had life figured out – until her whirlwind marriage ends in divorce, her dream promotion slips away and a burnout diagnosis forces her to take a break.
Desperate for a reset, she books a four-week spa retreat in Norway, imagining a luxurious escape. Instead, she finds herself in the rugged wilderness of Firefly Forest, knee-deep in reindeer droppings and stuck with an annoyingly bohemian – and ridiculously attractive – outdoorsman, Henrik.
What starts as a nightmare turns into a journey of self-discovery as Sara swaps designer heels for bare feet, legal briefs for tree-hugging, and fleeting flings for something far deeper…
*****
When Sara misses out on a promotion and has a health scare, she is forced to take time off work. She finds herself booking a spa escape in Norway. If could be fun – a place of luxury, rest, and relaxation. If it was good enough for celebrities, it was good enough for her. Things don’t go as planned but in being somewhere she wasn’t intending to be, could she find something she wasn’t aware she was looking for?
I have a bit of a love affair with the Northern Lights, so I jumped at the chance to read Escape To The Northern Lights by Carrie Walker. Going to see the lights has been on my bucket list for such a long time. I know we had the chance to see them in the UK a while back, but there’s something romantic about seeing them in a beautiful country like Norway. With this novel, I had a chance to see them vicariously through Sara’s story.
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Book Review: Murder at the Wedding by Anita Davison
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Anita Davison back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for Murder at the Wedding.
Hannah Merrill is about to marry the love of her life…
The couple are determined their low-key celebration will go without a hitch, but there can’t be an ‘I do’ while the vicar is missing. And when he’s found dead – a victim of a poisoning – in the crypt behind the church, Hannah knows only she and Aunt Violet can find out who did it.
Hannah’s beloved thinks she shouldn’t interfere. But if he fails to remember that an independent woman in 1916 doesn’t do what she’s told to by a man, the dead vicar may be the least of his worries…
Then the vicar’s own fiancé appears on the scene, even though nobody knew he was engaged. And suddenly it becomes clear someone has a secret, one shocking enough to kill for.
Will the intrepid pair of amateur sleuths catch the murderer before they kill again? Or will it be til death parts them all?
*****
Hannah Merrill is about to marry Darius Clifford. The wedding day begins brightly. Proceedings soon take a turn when the body of Reverend Julian Aldrich is found. Can Hannah and her Aunt Violet get to the bottom of this mystery?
Having read previous novels in this series, I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for the latest in the Miss Merrill & Aunt Violet mystery series. I do like myself a cosy crime series and this one didn’t disappoint.
I am going to try and review without giving too much away.
by Book Review: War Lord: Scourge of Rome by Adam Lofthouse
It’s a pleasure to welcome Adam Lofthouse back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his latest book, War Lord: Scourge of Rome.
And so we have reached the end of my tale. But what are endings if not new beginnings?
Alaric has been home for a year. He went north and saved the Cimbri, just as he said he would. But the cost has been higher than he ever thought. A shadow of the War Lord he once was, he now trades in amber and dotes on his children.
A simple life. And with it, contentment. But he knew this couldn’t last forever; peace isn’t for someone like him, and sure enough trouble finds him once again. A routine journey south turns into a new and unknown wave of danger as red-cloaked legionaries attack, causing confusion and carnage.
Warriors dressed as Romans have been scouring the country, slaughtering innocent people, and leaving Roman footprints wherever they march. But things are not what they seem, and it falls to Alaric to don his armour once more, and march his Ravensworn in pursuit of a mysterious enemy that could destabilise his world beyond repair.
*****
I have said it before, and no doubt I will say it again; Adam Lofthouse’s love of Roman history really shines through in the way he writes these books.
The characters really pop from the page and it was a real pleasure to see how the protagonist has grown over the course of the series. He has gone from a headstrong young warrior to a headstrong old warrior but his experiences have given him a real depth.
by Book Review: My Rock Star Neighbor by Kathy Strobos
I’m so pleased to be welcoming Kathy Strobos back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, My Rock Star Neighbor.
When a wary rock star and a cynical reporter fake date to bury a scandalous rumor, will true love be exposed as the real story?
Nick: I do my best songwriting while playing my guitar on the fire escape. Unfortunately, my in-bed-at-ten next-door neighbor, Maddie, is not a fan of my music. She clambers out on the fire escape to yell at me about making “noise.” In bunny slippers, no less. But then she trips and falls into my arms.
That photo of Maddie plastered all over me hits the papers, just as my dream recording company wants to sign my band. Which is a problem, because an obsessed fan is claiming that I’m her boyfriend and now the media is blowing up that I’m two-timing them both. Good-bye recording contract, unless….
Maddie: I’m supposed to cover the story. Not be the story! But when Nick begs me to fake date, I can’t resist the chance to be Nick’s girlfriend—even if fake—the opposite of my life as a city desk reporter. But my ex said I’m a terrible kisser, and there’s no way I want Mr. Hot Rock Star saying the same thing. Hence, clause 11 in our contract: There will be absolutely no physical contact.
Nick: When Maddie receives a threatening photo of the two of us with an X over her face, my desire to protect her suddenly feels all too real. It’s either a troll or her undercover investigation has been compromised. With both our careers at stake, is breaking up the only way to keep Maddie safe?
*****
Maddie and Nick are neighbours and have been friends for a while. Each are unaware that the other has feelings. Maddie is on the verge of breaking a big story that would be good for her career as a reporter. Nick is about to make it big with his band.
When circumstances are such that Maddie and Nick end up fake dating, things only get more complicated. Can they keep their feelings at bay or will it reveal more than they bargained for?
by Book Review: The Self-Made Saint by Alexandra Addams
It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Alexandra Addams to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Self-Made Saint.
Judith Drainger has always played life by her own rules. But these days life seems to be playing her right back.
Divorced, orphaned and forcibly retired, 59-year-old Judith is determined to seize the opportunity to leave her broken home in London and move across the world to Australia. Here she reunites with her estranged adult daughter Cassandra – only to land smack bang in the emotional quagmire of her daughter’s anger and abandonment issues. To make matters worse, Judith can see her new granddaughter Emily has a serious health issue, but her offers of help are ignored and rejected.
When an accident knocks her off her feet, Judith is swamped by the kindly care of her nosy new neighbors. Yet, when given a chance to become a part of their community, Judith shocks even herself by making a series of unforgivable blunders. Realizing if she’s to have any hope of reuniting her family, this well-meaning but stubborn curmudgeon must learn the power of saying ‘sorry’ – and what it actually means to be a good person.
A tender and uplifting novel championing the complex realities of family, solidarity and friendship.
*****
Judith is not where she’d thought she’d be at 59 years-old. She’s divorced, recently lost her mother and finds herself retired from the humanitarian work she loved. In an attempt to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Judith moves to Adelaide, Austraila. Will life be any better there?
The premise for this book sounded interesting so I couldn’t wait to get started on it and was pleased to be on the blog tour for, The Self-Made Saint.
The first thing I will say is that I believe this book will be very relatable to many people and it wasn’t hard for me to get invested in this book and the characters within.
Judith…oh Judith. I found in her a person who is sometimes her worst enemy and at times I wanted to hug her and then other tiimes, i wanted to shake her. She is a very good study on generational expectations and guilt and I feel is the product of her environment in some ways. Judith has a belief that she should be where she’s needed – she just doesn’t always make the right decision when it comes to that.
by Book Club
