Book Reviews

Book Review: The Wives by Valerie Keogh

I’m excited to be welcoming Valerie Keogh back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Wives.

Meet The Wives…

Lies, secrets, deadly decisions…

When Natasha meets Daniel, she knows her life is made. Rich, handsome and charming, Daniel will make the perfect husband. Even if she won’t make the perfect wife…

She is thrilled when Daniel suggests an all-expenses paid cruise for Natasha, her friends, Barbara, Tracy Ann and Michelle, and their husbands. What better way to show everyone that Natasha has finally made it?

But as the ship sets sail, she learns that far from being the perfect husband, Daniel has terrible secrets that are about to be revealed. And each of the wives has their own reasons for wanting him dead.

This trip might cost more than any of them ever imagined…

*****

When Natasha marries Daniel, she feels that her life can finally be her own again without having to go back to nursing. 

When Daniel suggests that she and their friends go on a cruise, the secrets and lies reveal themselves one by one and with fatal consequences. 

I always get super excited when Valerie Keogh releases a novel as I know it’s going to be a rollercoaster of a ride. This novel was no exception. 

Continue reading →

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Book Review: The Fortunes Of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson

After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.

Olivia has a sinister reputation. The locals call her the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her tarot readings, and her insistence that she can speak to the dead. Her father, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it.

Determined to prove herself and shake off her own murky history, Julia sets to work trying to help Olivia become a proper young lady. However, as she becomes a fixture at Mistcoate, it is soon clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe – not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of the darkness that Julia desperately hoped she had left behind.

As the danger grows, and the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.

*****

Julia Pearlie has found herself with no job and is trying to run from her past. When she is offered employment by Dr. Richmond, to prepare his daughter, Olivia for her introduction to society, she feels she has no choice.

However, things in this household are not what they seem and soon Julia finds herself being haunted by her past and feeling threatened by her present.

Having read the blurb for this novel, I couldn’t wait to get started and it seriously wasn’t long before I was completely engrossed in Julia’s story. I was completely hooked and didn’t want to stop reading. I am going to try and review without spoilers.

Continue reading →

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Book Review: The Winter Runaway by Katie Flynn

Can you ever escape your past?

Tammy and her mother, Grace, are desperate to escape Tammy’s violent bully of a father.

When an unforeseen tragedy strikes, mother and daughter must flee Scotland in the dead of night, forced to leave behind everything they know and love – including one another.

Under new identities, Tammy and Grace must start afresh. Tammy joins the services, where she meets a dashing officer who begins to break her guard down.

But can the course of love ever run smooth with Tammy unable to reveal her true self?

The Winter Runaway is the first instalment in the brand-new Runaway’s trilogy from the beloved bestselling author.

*****

It’s 1940 in Clydebank. Grace and Tammy Blackwell have more to worry about than the war. Dennis Blackwell thinks nothing of harming his wife and daughter on a daily basis. With the encouragement of Rory, Tammy’s boyfriend, they decide it’s time to leave. However, before they can, something happens that changes their lives forever but the two women never lose hope of seeing each other again.

I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for A Winter Runaway, the latest novel from Katie Flynn and is due to be released on 24th October. Having not read anything from this author before, I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to get started.

Continue reading →

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Book Review: Falling for a Star in the City by Krysten Lindsay Hager

I’m so pleased to be welcoming Krysten Lindsay Hager back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Falling for a Star in the City, book two in the Stars in the City series. 

Paige thought she had it all: a job on a soap opera and a boyfriend who was trying to get discovered as a singer/songwriter. Then her part on the show is reduced to reoccurring status and her family pushes her to leave her acting dreams behind to major in journalism—what they call a “real job.” Her relationship with her wannabe pop star boyfriend ends only for her to find out he signed a recording contract right after their breakup. Then she reads online that his new album is about their relationship.

She gets an internship in the sports department at a TV station where she meets a college hockey player named Viktor who has trust issues from a past relationship. Now with Walker’s pop star dreams taking off, it leaves her questioning her acting career and self-worth.

Paige and Viktor begin to fall for each other, but Paige worries their worlds are too different for them to work as a couple. Plus, there’s the issue of her ex coming back into her life.

Now she must figure out what she really needs to be happy and fulfilled in life. Can Paige find both her purpose & true love?

*****

Paige feels that her life is going pretty well. She’s an actress on Charmed Lives and has a boyfriend trying to make it as a singer/songwriter. Then, just like that, it’s all gone and she doesn’t know what she’s going to do. When she gets an internship as a sports journalist, maybe she can begin to piece her life back together again?

Having read and enjoyed the first novel in this series, Stars in the City, I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for the second novel, Falling For a Star in the City. This latest novel can be read as a standalone if you’re new to the series although I recommend book one. It was nice to see some familiar faces from the previous story. As usual, I am going to try and review without spoilers.

Continue reading →

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Book Review: A Classy Affair in the Country by Margaret Amatt

I’m so happy to be welcoming Margaret Amatt back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, A Classy Affair in the Country – book ten in the Glenbriar series. 

It’s hate at first sight… But he’s about to dismantle her walls brick by brick.

Young heiress Ophelia Chattan-Blythe needs a miracle to save the family estate, and working with Brann – the ruggedly handsome, popular, and extremely irritating local builder – is not it. He may have a smile that can melt diamonds, but when he and Ophelia hit it off on the wrong foot, she starts to hate him with a passion.

Single-dad Brann isn’t all he seems. He’s built up a good business, though it doesn’t stop him from being lonely. Falling for a beautiful but stubborn heiress isn’t part of his master plan. But how can he not find Ophelia’s serene charm and whip-like comebacks irresistible?

As Brann and Ophelia work together, their arguments advance to attraction, and their desires ignite. But it’s more than Brann’s job’s worth to act on his feelings and Ophelia mustn’t, not if she’s to secure a wealthy match and stop her family from going under. A love this intense should be worth the fight, but constructing a happy ending is an almost impossible task without breaking all the rules.

*****

I was very pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for A Classy Affair in the Country by Margaret Amatt. Although we’ve previously featured this author, this is the first novel of hers that I’ve read (I am not sure why it’s taken me this long to read one and for that I can only apologise.)

Being book ten in the Glenbriar series, I was worried that I’d struggle to keep up but as I discovered, this can be read as a standalone.

Continue reading →

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Novel Kicks is a blog for story tellers and book lovers.

Book Club
Novel Kicks Book Club
Archives
Categories