Book Review: An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street by Jaimie Admans
I’m so excited to welcome Jaimie Admans back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her latest novel, An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street, book two in the Ever After Street Series.
A picture-perfect town, a place where dreams come true. Welcome to Ever After Street…
A tale as old as time…
Since her mum’s death, Marnie Platt has shut herself away from everyone who cares about her. Worse, her beloved bookshop on Ever After Street is suffering too. With sales down and the shop’s garden falling into disrepair, Marnie risks losing the very last thing she loves. Until a chance encounter with her surly and reclusive neighbour….
Dark and brooding, Darcy O’Connell likes to keep himself to himself. But when he hears Marnie needs help, he can’t turn his back on her. Soon they are spending most evenings together in her enchanted garden and a friendship starts to bloom…
With the help of old and new friends on Ever After Street, Marnie’s bookshop begins to thrive again, and with Darcy’s kindness, she starts to get her sparkle back too. She just can’t understand why Darcy continues to shut himself away – especially from her. Can she convince him it isn’t too late to embrace life, and maybe love, again?
Because every story, even theirs, deserves a happy ending….
*****
Marnie runs the A Tale As Old As Time bookshop on Ever After Street but after the death of her mother, everything feels as though she is simply treading water and even that is hard going.
When she receives a letter threatening to take away the only thing she has left, she doesn’t know what to do. However, a chance conversation with her ‘scary neighbour’ sends her life into a direction she never thought possible.
When a book features a bookshop named A Tale as Old as Time that is themed around Beauty and the Beast and a cat named Mrs Potts, you’ve pretty much drawn me in to be honest.
It’s evident to see how lonely Marnie is and I wanted to make her a cup of tea, give her a big hug and sit and talk books with her. She felt so relatable to me and someone I would be friends with.
by 
Book Review: The Glass Woman by Alice McIIroy
I’m pleased to welcome Alice McIlroy to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Glass Woman.
When you wake up without your memories, who can you really trust?
Pioneering scientist Iris Henderson chose to be her own first test-subject for an experimental therapy, placing a piece of technology into her brain. At least, this is what everyone tells her. Trouble is, Iris is now without her memories so she doesn’t know what the therapy is or why she would ever decide to volunteer for it.
Everyone warns her to leave it alone, but Iris doesn’t know who to trust. As she scratches beneath the surface of her seemingly happy marriage and successful career, a catastrophic chain of events is set in motion. Secrets will be revealed that have the capacity to destroy her whole life, but Iris can’t stop digging.
*****
Iris wakes up in a hospital bed with no idea how she got there. Her memories are gone.
A man named Marcus claims to be her husband. She’s been told that she’s part of a pioneering therapy that inserts a piece of technology into her brain. When she can’t remember anything, who can she trust and who would do this to her?
Wow. That’s the first thing I want to say. It’s going to be hard to talk about this novel without spoilers. I will do my best but proceed with caution.
by Book Review: A Breath of Fresh Air by Jessica Redland
Please join me in welcoming Jessica Redland back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, A Breath of Fresh Air.
Rosie feels like there’s something missing in her life. She loves her job as the manager of Willowdale Hall Riding Stables, caring for the horses and teaching children to ride, and she loves the home she shares with her mother in the beautiful Lake District. But she can’t help wondering how her life might look if things had been different. What if her father had been around to help care for her mother? And what if she’d found someone special herself?
When Hubert Cranleigh – the owner of Willowdale Hall – is taken ill, his son Oliver steps into the breach. Brooding and distant, Rosie is furious when he claims not to know who she is. Especially when they have a history.
Rosie’s life is about to be turned upside down, but with the New Year comes new opportunities. What Rosie feels is missing from her life might be closer than she thinks, and with more significant consequences than she could ever have imagined…
Take a breath of fresh air and escape to the Lake District with million-copy bestseller Jessica Redland, for an uplifting story of family, friendship and love.
*****
Rosie feels she has a pretty good life. She lives with her Mum and runs the Willowdale Hall Riding Stables. She loves teaching children to ride horses. However, when her boss, the mostly grumpy Hubert Cranleigh has an accident, she finds herself facing the one person she had never wanted to see again and their arrival threatens not only her livelihood but also her home.
I have quickly grown to love the worlds that Jessica Redland creates. There is something a little magical about them. A Breath of Fresh Air is the second in the Escape to the Lakes series. I have not read the first book (not sure how this happened,) and if you find yourself in the same situation, A Breath of Fresh Air can be read as a standalone.
by Book Review: Clash of Kings by MJ Porter
We are so pleased to be welcoming MJ Porter back to Novel Kicks with the blog tour to their novel, Clash of Kings.
The next bloody and thrilling instalment in MJ Porter’s The Brunanburh Series.
Can the Norse and the Scots exact their revenge over the mighty King Athelstan of the English?
AD937
After the slaughter field of Brunanburh, a defeated Olaf Gothfrithson of the Dublin Norse and Constantin of the Scots narrowly escaped with their lives. In their kingdoms, failure has left them demoralised and weak.
Olaf licks his wounds in Dublin, whilst Constantin and the Welsh kingdoms who defied King Athelstan, are once more forced to bend the knee. As Athelstan’s reputation grows stronger day by day, their need to exact revenge on the overmighty and triumphant Athelstan has never been greater.
Olaf sets his sights on reclaiming the lost kingdom of Jorvik only for tragedy to strike at the heart of England and a reluctant new King, Edmund steps in the fray.
While England mourns the death of their warrior King, her enemies gather on her borders and England stands alone against the might of the Norse, Welsh and Scots.
Can the new King be victorious and banish her enemies once and for all or will England, and its king lose all that’s been gained and succumb to a new pretender?
An epic tale of kinsmanship, greed and power, perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom series.
*****
After the battle of Brunanburh there exists an uneasy period of in-activity – not peace as such, but a time for repairs to be made and wounds to heal.
King Athelstan presides over England until his sudden death, bringing Edmund reluctantly to power.
by NK Chats To… Ryan Haidar from Your Paper Quest – A Self Published Book Subscription Service
Ryan
Hello Ryan. Thank you for joining me. How about we start by you introducing yourselves and telling us a bit about your fantastic sounding book subscription box, Your Paper Quest.
Where did the idea for this service come from and what makes your box unique?
The idea actually began during Covid. I had started a Bookstagram account and quickly realised that the Bookstagram community were all frequently posting about the same few books. I was always looking to include different voices from the mainstream and that’s when a few self-published authors had actually reached out to me about reading and featuring their stories. From there, an idea had formed, and I began brainstorming how to best connect these indie and self-published authors with curious readers, and Your Paper Quest was born!
YPQ is unique in that we’re the only subscription box that exclusively features self-published and indie stories. We also include notes from the authors that complement each story, as well as have a virtual book club where subscribers can discuss the stories with each other as well as ask our featured authors questions for the end of the month interviews that they participate in!
What challenges did you face setting it up?
Steve
There have been so many challenges along the way that it’s hard to choose. I would have to say that the hardest part was genuinely getting started. It felt like (and turned out to be) such an endeavour that most of the time I didn’t even know where to begin. Breaking everything up into baby-steps and taking it one day at a time made a massive difference though. Whether it was the packaging, the website, the contracts, there was so much that I had to learn throughout the process. The current, and constant, struggle is marketing, getting the word out about who we are and what we’re doing! That all being said, I’d easily do it all again, this has been such a rewarding experience and the positive response we’ve received from the community has been nothing short of amazing.
The service is for indie authors. How important do you think a service like this is to them?
by Book Club
