Book Review: High Tides and Summer Skies by Jennifer Bohnet
I am so pleased to be welcoming Jennifer Bohnet back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, High Tides and Summer Skies.
New beginnings don’t always mean painful endings . . .
A fabulous, timeless story of friendship set in Devon from bestselling author Jennifer Bohnet.
As time ebbs and flows over the summer both Katie Teague and her godmother Mattie Cranford discover their lives are at a crossroads
Mattie shackled to the family wool shop for over 50 years, feels life has passed her by. She dreams of seeing the world and shaking off a lifetime of regrets.
When Katie is made redundant, Mattie seizes the moment and asks Katie to move back to her home town of Dartmouth and breathe new life into the rundown wool shop and to her surprise Katie agrees.
As Katie settles back into the rhythm of Devon life and renovating the shop, Mattie sets off on a luxury cruise.
But the arrival of Katie’s ex-boyfriend with an unexpected dream job offer threatens to unsettle the calm waters.
Will she sacrifice the shop and Mattie’s happiness – or her own career?
*****
Haunted by the past and determined to keep the grief to herself, Mattie has never allowed herself to venture beyond the seaside town she grew up in. Taking over the family business when she was young, she resigned herself to that life.
However, when a need to spread her wings in later life begins to take hold and on hearing that her Goddaughter, Katie is in need of a job, Mattie begins to formulate a plan; one that may change more than just her life.
Having previously read Christmas on the Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet, I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for High Tides and Summer Skies.
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Book Extract and Review: Mysteries at Sea: Peril on the Atlantic by A.M. Howell
I am pleased to be welcoming A.M. Howell to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest novel, Peril on the Atlantic, part of the Mysteries at Sea series.
July, 1936. As the Queen Mary sets sail across the Atlantic, Alice can’t wait for the summer of adventure that lies ahead. She’s excited to explore the huge ship, with its shops, animals and even celebrities on board.
As Alice’s sailor father focuses on winning a prestigious race, she witnesses a shocking attack. Alice and her new friend Sonny start to uncover a dark plot to sabotage the race, and as they investigate gold bars, anonymous notes and lost silk gloves, secrets in their own lives come to the surface.
While fog threatens the boat’s journey, and dangerous enemies show themselves, Alice and Sonny are in their own race to solve all the mysteries unfolding. But what they discover might change both their lives forever…
I have reviewed the book bel0w but first, here is an extract from the book. Enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
A buzz of anticipation and excitement made Alice’s fingers tingle, as she stepped away from the station platform and onto the dock. Grey smoke puffed lazily from the red and black-tipped funnels of the Queen Mary into the hot July air, like three simmering pots preparing to boil. She sucked in a breath of awe. It was the largest vessel she had ever seen, its riveted hull so tall it blotted out the sun. Her father had said that, if the ship was placed vertically from bow to stern, it would even be taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris!
Looking around, Alice saw that the other passengers from the train she had travelled on to Southampton docks had already hurried off to the baggage hall, leaving her alone. She glanced at her watch. Her father had promised to meet her from the train and he was late. As she looked for him, the clamour of noise was like a discordant band as motor cars expelled expectant passengers, and giant cranes with claw-like feet sent packages cocooned in rope nets into the ship’s cavernous hold.
by Book Review: Brothers of the Sword by Peter Gibbons
We are pleased to be welcoming Peter Gibbons to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his novel, Brothers of the Sword.
An epic battle where heroes fight and die to protect a Kingdom from Viking invasion…
991AD
King Aethelred the Unready’s Kingdom of the English is threatened. Olaf Tryggvason and his fleet of Viking warships snap at the coastal edges like ravenous wolves, and Sweyn Forkbeard, King of the Danes, has landed in East Anglia with an army of battle-hardened warriors.
Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex must stand against them faced with overwhelming odds, forging his legend in the blood of his deadly enemies.
By his side, his Thegn, Beornoth, a brutal warrior and savage Saxon fighter is torn between his need to protect his loved ones, and his duty to fight for his Lord.
As the Vikings raid and slaughter, Beornoth is forced to fight for the survival of his oath sworn brothers, his Lord, and the Kingdom itself when all roads lead to the fateful Battle of Maldon.
Can Beornoth protect his people and survive one of the most famous battles of the Viking Age?
A thrilling story, packed with war, vengeance and visceral combat.
*****
Olaf Tryggvason and his vikings have set up along the coast, threatening the way of the life for the Saxons as they go from town to town taking and killing all that they can. Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex, along with his Thegn, Beornoth stands against them but can they withstand the threat or will Olaf triumph?
by Book Review: The Silent Friend by Alison Stockham
I am pleased to be welcoming Alison Stockham to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Silent Friend.
When it comes to saving yourself, who will you betray?
Louise has a shadowy past that she wants to break free from and when she develops an unlikely friendship with Isabelle, her neighbour, she finally finds the family she’s always yearned for.
But Louise knows more about Isabelle than her new friend realises, more specifically about her imprisoned husband – and the circumstances behind his arrest.
Louise is faced with a choice: to continue lying to her only friend or tell the truth and ruin any chance she has of starting over…
*****
When Louise befriends her new neighbour, Isabelle, she sees a chance to break away from her past.
However, Louise is keeping a big secret. One that, if it comes out, could ruin the new life she has found for herself.
This was the first book by Alison Stockham I had read. The premise for the book intrigued me so I couldn’t wait to get started.
This book has unexpected twists and turns that had me reading well into the night. There is a big sense of tension that bubbles under the surface all the way through.
by Book Review: A Killing at Smugglers Cove by Michelle Salter
Please join me in welcoming Michelle Salter back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, A Killing at Smugglers Cove.
Wartime secrets, smugglers’ caves, skeletal remains. And the holiday’s only just begun…
July 1923 – Iris Woodmore travels to Devon with her friends Percy Baverstock and Millicent Nightingale for her father’s wedding to Katherine Keats.
But when Millicent uncovers skeletal remains hidden on the private beach of Katherine’s former home, Iris begins to suspect her future stepmother is not what she seems.
The police reveal the dead man is a smuggler who went missing in 1918, and when a new murder occurs, they realise a killer is in their midst. The link between both murders is Katherine. Could Iris’s own father be in danger?
*****
Iris Woodmore is traveling to Devon to see her father marry Katherine Keats. Iris can’t help but be suspicious of her future Stepmother.
When she and her friends find a skeleton in the caves below the home Katherine used to share with her first husband, this does nothing to soften Iris’s fear that Katherine is keeping secrets.
Can Iris solve the mystery before her father marries Katherine and potentially marries a murderer?
I fast became a fan of Iris and her friends having read the previous novel in the series, The Body at Carnival Bridge. Therefore, I was looking forward to the next in the series, A Killing at Smugglers Cove. If this is the first book in the series for you, don’t worry. I haven’t read all of them yet (I plan to,) and I could keep up well.
by Book Review: Love Quest by Camilla Isley
I am pleased to be welcoming Camilla Isley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Love Quest.
She didn’t go to the jungle to meet the man of her dreams. Luckily, Dr Logan Spencer is NOT the man of her dreams!
As epic meet-cutes go, travel photographer, Winter Knowles thinks finding a gorgeous naked man outside her Thailand villa is pretty perfect. But then she discovers the naked heartthrob is none other than Dr Logan Spencer, her gruff standoffish (but sexy as hell) jungle expedition leader.
Dr Logan is on the mission of a lifetime. There’s a lost city of gold to discover and he doesn’t need any distractions – especially not the stubborn, sassy beautiful photographer type! His reputation is on the line.
These arch rivals get off on the wrong foot. But when the heat rises in the jungle, Winter and Logan are forced together in the face of danger. Is trusting someone with your life the best meet-cute of all?
(This title was originally published as From Thailand With Love.)
*****
Photographer Winter Knowles is about to embark on a jungle expedition. Problem is, her new boss, Logan, is as unfriendly as you can get. Will Winter and Logan get through the expedition in one piece?
This is the first book I’ve read from Camilla Isley and therefore, i’d not read the previous book in the series, The Love Theorem.
This didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this book or my ability to keep up with what’s going on. I will be adding the first book to my TBR pile though.
I really did fall in love and became invested in these characters.
by Book Review: Not So Perfect Strangers by L.S. Stratton
I am so pleased to be welcoming L.S. Stratton to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Not So Perfect Strangers.
Tasha Jenkins has finally found the courage to leave her abusive husband. Taking her teenage son with her, Tasha checks into a hotel the night before their flight out of D.C. and out of Kordell Jenkins’s life forever. But escaping isn’t so easy, and Tasha soon finds herself driving back to her own personal hell. As she is leaving, a white woman pounds on her car window, begging to be let in. Behind the woman, an angry man is in pursuit. Tasha makes a split-second decision that will alter the course of her life: she lets her in and takes off.
Tasha and Madison Gingell may have very different everyday realities, but what they have in common is marriages they need out of. The two women want to help each other, but they have very different ideas of what that means . . .
They are on a collision course that will end in the case files of the D.C. MPD homicide unit. Unraveling the truth of what really happened may be impossible‒and futile. Because what has the truth ever done for women like Tasha and Madison?
*****
Madison and Tasha meet by chance. Tasha wants to leave her abusive husband and Madison has found out her husband might be having an affair.
A plan is hatched. Both husbands must die but will both women follow through with it?
Warning- a few spoilers ahead!
To use the word enjoy to describe how I feel about this book would feel strange considering the themes it explores – domestic violence, child abuse, revenge, affairs, murder.
Compelling would be a better way to put it I think.
Madison is a VERY complicated character and my sympathy for her and the empathy I felt was a bit of a rollercoaster. She has a very intricate history which involves abuse from a parent. This is enough to give anyone a skewed view of the world. It doesn’t excuse her actions but it at least gave me an understanding of them.
by Book Review: An Italian Island Summer by Sue Moorcroft
Please join me in welcoming Sue Moorcroft back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for An Italian Island Summer.
Will one summer in Sicily change her life for ever?
After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once.
At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.
But what with Ursula’s ex-husband on her tail, family secrets surfacing and an unexpected offer that makes Alfio question his whole life, there’s plenty to distract them from one another. Can she face her past and he his future, and together make the most of their Sicilian summer?
*****
I’ve been a fan of Sue Moorcroft’s for years now and was so pleased when this new book, ‘An Italian Island Summer’ landed in my lap.
As always, Sue doesn’t shy away from telling a romance with added grit. Ursula is coming out of a bad marriage and her family believes she’s a lot more ‘vulnerable’ than she believes she is, for reasons I’ll let you find out. In need of a change of scenery as well as of job, she plans on going off to Italy to learn about ceramic decoration.
by Book Review: The House in the Olive Grove by Emma Cowell
Will one week in Greece change their lives for ever?
Chef Maria is running a successful cookery school in her home village of Petalidi, Greece – but she is also running from the secrets of her past.
Food journalist Kayla thought this was going to be just another work trip. But right before she leaves for Greece, she discovers that her whole life is built on a lie.
Jewellery-maker Alessandra has always lived according to her own rules – despite what it has cost her to do so. But she has just had some devastating news.
As these three very different women come together at the house in the olive grove, unlikely friendships blossom and a season of self-discovery begins. Will the sumptuous flavours, sapphire waters and golden sands of Greece give each of them the answers they so desperately seek?
*****
Three women, all facing their own demons.
Maria has been running her cooking school in Greece for ten years, having come back from New York with both physical and emotional scars. However, the village she grew up in is not very keen to have her back.
Kayla is a celebrity chef who has come to Greece to interview Maria. However, secrets and past trauma threatens to bring her perfect life down around her.
Alessandra is bold and doesn’t hold back but behind the bravado lies heartbreak.
Can these three women hold each other up when outside forces want to see them fall?
by Book Review: The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
Meet Detective Miller: unique, unconventional, and criminally underestimated…
He’s a detective, a dancer, he has no respect for authority - and he’s the best hope Blackpool has for keeping criminals off the streets. Meet Detective Declan Miller.
A double murder in a seaside hotel sees a grieving Miller return to work to solve what appears to be a case of mistaken identity. Just why were two completely unconnected men taken out?
Despite a somewhat dubious relationship with both reality and his new partner, can the eccentric, offbeat Miller find answers where his colleagues have found only an impossible puzzle?
*****
DS Declan Miller is back to work following the murder of his wife.
His first case is a double murder. Can Declan cope with a new partner, a complicated case and his continuing need to go against authority?
The first detective series in 20 years from author, Mark Billingham – you bet I’m excited.
I am a big fan of the Tom Thorne novels so I was intrigued to see if Declan Miller could immediately step out of Thorne’s shadow. Short answer… YES.
by Book Review: Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks by Sally Fetouh
I am so pleased to be welcoming Sally Fetouh to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks.
Cheerful text and whimsical illustrations bring alive this heart-warming story of kindness and inclusion featuring a character with Down syndrome.
When young Jana receives heaps of beautiful socks from her parents after learning how to put on socks all by herself, she can’t wait to show her friends at school. They are always kind and patient with Jana when they play together. Jana decides to share a pair of her new socks with each and every friend. This calls for a school sock parade! All of the children had so much fun showing off their colourful socks together that they gave a very special and huge gift for their kind and generous friend, Jana, a box of more socks!
Author Sally Fetouh was inspired to write this touching story by her own daughter who has Down syndrome, feeling it was important for her and other children like her to be able to see themselves in literature. Two years ago, after reading a different story about a girl with Down syndrome to her daughter’s preschool class, Sally says, “The children were so engaged in the story and asked questions. They were very accepting and loving of their friend—my daughter. I left with a heart overflowing with emotion and that inspired me to write my story.”
*****
Jana loves her colourful socks and has just learnt to put them on by herself.
She wants to share this love with her school friends.
This book is so wonderful. I am honoured to be part of the Book Birthday Blitz.
Jana is such a sweet, loveable character and you can’t help but warm to her. Also, I want her sock collection.
by Book Review: A Mother’s War by Helen Parusel
I am so pleased to be welcoming Helen Parusel to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, A Mother’s War.
A forbidden romance in occupied Norway…
Narvik, 1940. After Laila awakens to the sight of warships in the fjord, it isn’t long before she turns resistor to the brutal Nazi regime. She is horrified when local girls begin affairs with enemy soldiers, yet against her own principles, she finds herself falling in love with German soldier, Josef.
Josef is not like the others. He becomes involved in helping her and the locals with resistance activities, risking his life on more than one occasion.
But then Laila finds out she is pregnant. With Josef sent to the Russian front, and Laila cast out by her family, she turns to a home for women which promises to care for her and her unborn child. But instead, she finds herself caught in a system of evil far beyond what she thought possible…
*****
Laila has watched her hometown of Narvik in Norway fall under German occupation. As the locals adjust to the new rules, Laila meets Josef, a German solider. He seems different to the others, but she’s determined not to get close to him. Instead, she wants to do what she can for the resistance.
However, she is pulled to Josef and soon they are in love but with what consequences?
This novel. Wow.
by Book Review: The Body at Carnival Bridge by Michelle Salter
I am pleased to be welcoming Michelle Salter to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Body at Carnival Bridge – book three in the Iris Woodmore Mysteries series.
How deadly is the fight for equality?
It’s 1922, and after spending a year travelling through Europe, Iris Woodmore returns home to find a changed Walden. Wealthy businesswoman Constance Timpson has introduced equal pay in her factories and allows women to retain their jobs after they marry.
But these radical new working practices have made her deadly enemies.
A mysterious sniper fires a single shot at Constance – is it a warning, or did they shoot to kill? When one of her female employees is murdered, it’s clear the threat is all too real – and it’s not just Constance in danger.
As amateur sleuth Iris investigates, she realises the sniper isn’t the only hidden enemy preying on women.
*****
Iris has just returned from Europe and in 1920’s Britain, she knows her trip will have raised some eyebrows. She is soon kept busy when someone attempts to shoot local business owner, Constance Timpson.
When one of Constance’s employees is found murdered, Iris finds herself unravelling another mystery. Can she find the answers before someone else gets hurt?
This was the first book I have read in the Iris Woodmore Mysteries series. I could keep up with what was going on but reading the first two books would enrich the knowledge around these very established characters if you wanted to read those prior to reading The Body at Carnival Bridge.
by Book Review: Love in the Wings by Ellie White
I am pleased to be welcoming Ellie White to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Love in the Wings.
Harriet Adams was a West End rising star until a lapse in judgement cost her: her dream job, her boyfriend and so-called friends.
She packs up her life and moves back to Sunderland where she gets a rare second chance at a career she thrives in. As she’s about open a shiny new musical in front of a home audience, she vows that this time, nothing is going to get in her way. With everything riding on this, she’ll play it safe, work hard and most importantly, stay away from theatre guys.
Cue Liam Wright, Assistant Stage Manager.
Liam is everything Harriet didn’t know she needed in her life, but he also has a secret. One that could advance his own career if he cashes it in. The only catch? It will ruin any chance of happiness with Harriet if she finds out.
Harriet and Liam share a love like no other, but will that be enough to save their budding relationship when the time comes?
*****
Harriet has returned to her home town of Sunderland, after leaving her job in the West End. She now has a chance to return to the stage at a theatre she has loved since she was a child. All she wants to do is work hard and do the best she can as she tries to put her past mistakes behind her.
Enter from the wings – Assistant Stage Manager, Liam. Sparks immediately fly. Can they find their way to the happy ending or will forces conspire against them?
I love stories like these – ones that just pull you in from the beginning and just give you happy vibes as you hope the main characters get their happily ever after. I wanted that a lot for Harriet and Liam.
Harriet has a lot on her shoulders and I wanted to give her a big hug. I wanted things to work out for her.
by Book Review: The Ex Wife by Sally Rigby and Amanda Ashby
It is my pleasure to welcome Sally Rigby and Amanda Ashby to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for their novel, The Ex Wife.
My life was perfect until she came along. Norah.
Younger, prettier and about to marry my own ex-husband, they are a walking cliché.
I hate her. I hate them both.
She’s taken everything from me – my husband, my life, my home – but I refuse to allow her to take Cassie, my beautiful daughter. That’s a step too far.
Now I’ve discovered that Norah plans to have a baby of her own and that causes me no end of problems. She could destroy everything and reveal my deepest, darkest secrets.
That can never be allowed to happen.
No matter what it costs…
*****
Norah is about to marry Alice’s ex husband, Mark. Now Norah is dead. Did Alice kill her?
It’s going to be so hard to talk about this book without giving things away but I am going to give it a go.
I love stories like these – the kind that draw you in from page one and keep you hooked right up until the last.
These are all believable characters. All have secrets and flaws and at one point, I suspected everyone! The discord is threaded through this story so well and the tension and suspense builds nicely.
by Book Review: The Visitors by Owen Knight
The Great Reset has begun.
Fourteen years ago, Peter saved the world. Now, his sister Emily and two strangers receive coded invitations to return to the hidden village of Templewood, where Peter faces a new, terrifying threat.
Templewood is home to the Sect, a secretive organisation intent on global power. They have infiltrated many Governments and are collaborating with the Visitors: alien invaders who have brought gifts of advanced scientific and genetic discoveries. These gifts will potentially provide enormous benefits for humanity and facilitate the Sect’s bid for power.
But at what cost and what is the Visitors’ motive? Why are they taking, then retuning, increasing numbers of the local population? Peter, Emily, and their friends must uncover the truth before their worst fears are confirmed.
*****
The Sect secretly run the world.
This organisation has covert bases located around the globe – the town of Templewood being one of them.
When the ‘Visitors’ arrive, they take an interest in two bases in particular, including Templewood.
The only communication from them have been in the form of gifts.
Then people start going missing.
This book is aimed at a YA audience so I am definitely not the target demographic.
by Book Review: One Last Summer at Seabreeze Farm by Jo Bartlett
I am really pleased to welcome Jo Bartlett to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, One Last Summer at Seabreeze Farm, formally published as One Last Summer at Channel View Farm.
A summer to remember…
Georgia Banks knows she’s living on borrowed time. So, when doctors tell her she’s got one last summer to make all her dreams come true, she’s determined to make every day count.
The one thing that’s never in doubt, is that she wants her best friend, Gabe, to be with her every step of the way. And so, Georgia draws up her not-a-bucket list with all the things she’s determined to tick off before she goes – number one of which is to spend one last summer by the sea.
Seabreeze Farm perched high on the cliffs above the English Channel is the perfect spot, and surrounded by the antics of its menagerie of rescued animals and the warmth of the friendship she’s offered there, Georgia starts to believe she can live out all her dreams before it’s too late.
And just when she thinks there’s nothing left to wish for, Georgia gets another chance at life. But taking it might mean losing the one person she cares about the most.
As she faces her biggest challenge yet, Georgia wonders if her last summer at Seabreeze Farm will mean the end of her biggest dream of all.
This book was previously published as One Last Summer at Channel View Farm
*****
Georgia knows she doesn’t really have that much time left. She’s been told that this could be her last summer. She wants to make every moment count and make sure the people she loves will be ok.
She’s made a not-a-bucket list and she wants her best friend Gabe by her side as she makes her way through it, starting with living by the sea.
Enter Seabreeze Farm.
Can Georgia get out of her own way and admit what’s really in her heart?
I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for One Last Summer at Seabreeze Farm as it sounded great.
Although this is book three in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I didn’t think I was missing any key information. However, book one and two are being added to my TBR list as I have fallen in love with these characters.
This book’s focus is Georgia as she battles with kidney failure. I really felt a lot of warmth and empathy with Georgia. Yes, she is a stubborn character but with so little in her control in terms of her illness, I can understand why she craves normality. Jo Bartlett shines light on organ donation in a great way.
Gabe, oh lovely Gabe. I did want to bang his and Georgia’s heads together at times but I rooted for them both so much. I love it when a novel can really make you feel invested in the characters like it did with this one. This book also sees the return of Ellie, Ben and Freya.
by Book Review: Summer Nights at the Starfish Café by Jessica Redland
I am so pleased to be welcoming Jessica Redland back to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new novel, Summer Nights at the Starfish Café.
Welcome back to The Starfish Café for a glorious summer, but with a few dark clouds on the horizon…
A new beginning…
As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.
A fragile heart….
Single mum, Kerry, loves her job at The Starfish Café, but behind the brave smiles and laughter with customers there is a sadness deep within. So when someone from her past re-appears in her life, Kerry can either hide away or face her demons and try to finally move on from her heartbreak.
A summer to remember…
For Hollie and Kerry it promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of a summer, but the community at The Starfish Café will always be there to help them through – after all, with courage nothing is impossible…
*****
Hollie’s wedding to Jake is approaching and she can’t wait. However, the reappearance of an unwanted visitor and some devastating news threatens to derail their happily ever after.
Kerry is single and raising four children. She loves her job at the Starfish Café. There’s even the chance of love. Then her ex reappears.
Can Hollie and Kerry get through the summer or will things get in their way?
Oh it’s so good to be back with the residents of Whitsborough Bay and the Starfish Café. It’s like catching up with old friends.
This is book three of The Starfish Café series and although I throughly recommend reading the first two books in the series as they are amazing and give you a richer backstory, I feel that you can read this book as a standalone.
by Book Review: Odin’s Betrayal by Donovan Cook
Please join me in welcoming Donovan Cook to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his novel, Odin’s Betrayal.
Two kingdoms destined for war, one boy caught in the eye of the storm…
Francia AD853
After a failed Viking raid on the Frankish coast over 20-years-ago, Jarl Sven the Boar is forced to leave his only son, Torkel, as a hostage and warned never to raid Francia again or his son will die.
In Hügelburg, a small town in East Francia, Torkel and his 9-year-old son Charles are ambushed at home.
Before dying, Torkel thrusts a package into young Charles’s hands and tells him to flee Francia for Denmark in search of his grandfather Sven the Boar’s protection.
But the man Charles eventually finds is not who he expects, and Charles must put his fate in the hands of a man betrayed by Odin.
Together they must uncover the significance of the package and why the Kings of Francia want Charles dead.
*****
When Charles loses his father, the nine-year-old must find his way to Denmark and locate his grandfather whilst avoiding trackers and traitors.
Before I started reading, I had an expectation that this was going to be a little heavy on the history. However, once I passed the prologue, I discovered it’s led very much by the story and the characters.
You can’t help but feel for young Charles, a boy of danish decent raised in Francia as a Christian, having to turn to those he’s been taught are heathens for his own safety.
He is faced with trials that very much go against his world view and he is forced to learn some hard lessons.
by Book Review: Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash
I am so excited to be welcoming Kim Nash to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her new book, Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove.
A perfect new start in Cornwall…
Meredith’s life is at a standstill. She’s stuck in a dead-end job, approaching fifty, and her dating life is a string of disasters. But one evening, while browsing the internet, she sees an ad for a lighthouse, and in a moment of impulsiveness, she makes a ridiculous bid for it.
With the help of local handyman Clem, she sets about renovating. And as they work together, a bond begins to form. But when Meredith finds out that Clem is keeping a secret from her, it changes everything. Will they find a way to build something more meaningful together?
*****
After a drunken evening post divorce, Meredith wakes up to find that she’s bought a lighthouse in the Cornish village of Driftwood Bay. Throwing caution to the wind, she decides to move down to Cornwall. The worst that happens is that she sells the lighthouse.
What she doesn’t count on is a dilapidated lighthouse and a chance encounter with a handsome local.
Can Driftwood Bay be the new start Meredith is looking for?
To say that I immediately fell into this book would be an understatement. It drew me in from page one and Meredith is very easy to root for. She’s so much stronger and braver than she realises. I loved seeing how she developed over the course of the novel.
Clem is also an endearing character with a mysterious air to him. I loved the scenes that he and Meredith shared. Like Vi, I wanted to bang their heads together. Speaking of Vi, she, as well as Gabby, Lucy, James and Gemma are wonderful supporting characters.
by Book Extract: The Starlight Stables Gang by Esme Higgs and Jo Cotterill
I am so happy be welcoming Esme Higgs and Jo Cotterill to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for The Starlight Stables Gang – book one in a brand new series.
Summer has always loved horses but she never thought she’d be able to learn how to ride them – not with money being so tight at home. Then she discovers the Starlight Stables where she meets a new gang of friends and learns how to ride in return for helping-out with the horses. It’s a dream come true!
Summer falls in love with life at the stables and especially with Luna, a beautiful dapple-grey pony. But one day, Summer arrives at the stables to find that Luna has been stolen in the night. It’s up to the Starlight Stables Gang to follow the clues and rescue Luna before it’s too late!
Full of fun, friendship and and mystery, this is the first book in the brand-new Starlight Stables Gang series. Beautifully illustrated by Hannah George.
*****
I’ve reviewed the novel below but first, Esme and Jo have shared an extract from The Starlight Stables Gang with us today. Enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
I start to wash my hands, scanning the row of basins. I can’t see two girls talking to each other about horses. Have they already gone? My heart is beating fast. I wonder if I should dash out into the corridor to search for them. And then I get a grip of myself. For goodness’ sake, Summer! What would you do, anyway? Throw yourself on them and sob, ‘I love horses too, can I come rind ride yours?’
And then, while I’m standing there, soap on my hands, paralysed with indecision and embarrassment — a couple of girls are looking at me weirdly — I hear the second voice again. ‘Jessie? You still in here?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Me too.’
They giggle. And then two cubicle doors open at the same time and the girls come out, and I know instantly which one is Jessie because I’ve seen her in assembly. She has long black hair and she sometimes wears lip gloss, which is totally illegal in school but I think she gets away with it.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but my heart sinks a little because Jessie looks exactly like the kind of girl who would have her own pony.
The other girl is short and stocky and has a cloud of orange hair. I don’t know her name. My school is so big. ‘Are you going there again after school today?’ she asks Jessie as they come over to the basins and plonk down their bags.
by Book Review: Let Your Lips Twitch by R.A. Clarke
I am pleased to be welcoming R.A. Clarke to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her collection of short stories, Let Your Lips Twitch.
Comedy is everywhere if you allow yourself to see it—to feel it. It can be subtle or overt, dark or joyous, adorable or cheeky. Such ageless versatility is beyond compare. Curated with that in mind, author R.A. Clarke proudly presents sixteen humorous stories to the world.
Between these covers, you’ll find short fiction in several genres. Each tale is infused with unique characters and comical situations, some rooted in reality, others certainly not. Flip the page and join a jewel heist executed by bumbling thieves at a gastronomy party, meet a lowly soul gifted the fantastical chance to redo an all-consuming moment of regret, or sweat alongside a father as he realizes his daughter is growing up too fast. Turn another page and you’ll enjoy clowning around while meeting Mr. Right, then zoom in on a perfectly focused meet cute, or feel Mother Nature’s wrath as a rebellious fishing excursion goes all kinds of wrong. There is something in this collection for everyone to enjoy, including eight never-before-seen stories.
Allow yourself to be entertained and whisked away. Let humour in all its glorious forms tempt your lips to move. Don’t fight the urge. Embrace it. Go ahead and let your lips twitch.
*****
Let Your Lips Twitch is sixteen short stories and as I had not read anything by R.A. Clarke before, I didn’t know what to expect.
What happened is that I raced through these stories. Some I liked more than others but each one was different and interesting and for me, there were many moments where I laughed out loud.
There is something to suit a variety of readers and what I like is that you can read them in order, it’s not a long read at two hundred pages long, but you can also dip in and out if you just wanted to fill a couple of minutes.
by Book Review: The Kill by Evie Hunter
I am pleased to be welcoming Evie Hunter to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her novel, The Kill.
Secrets can’t stay hidden forever…
After six years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Sebastian Carter is out and determined to get answers about who set him up. He knows it’s someone close to him and Sebastian will make sure they pay.
Ava Harper is living a lie. Although she loves her job caring for young Lily Carter, her real reason for being in the Carter household is to get answers of her own – from none other than convicted murderer Sebastian.
Sebastian hates liars, but he’s intrigued by Ava. As he gets to know more about her, he wonders if the answers she’s looking for could solve his mystery too.
Or will getting too close to Ava risk them both getting killed…?
*****
Sebastian Carter has just been released from prison for a murder he did not commit.
He is looking for answers, as is Ava. Could they work together to find the truth or will it put them in more danger?
Oh I love a good book with intrigue and that is what you get with The Kill.
From the beginning, questions hang in the air, suspense and tension is built and I had a desperate need to find out what was going on and how this novel was going to end. It’s a rollercoaster.
by Book Review: No More Lies by Rachel Abbott
Recently life has been good for Mallory Hansen: a great job, a lovely home, and a wonderful man, Nathan, to share it with.
But now she must ask herself: is it all built on lies?
A shocking accusation has been made against Nathan, and Mallory doesn’t know who to believe. He denies everything, but all the signs point to his guilt. She has learned to trust Nathan, but she also remembers the boy he used to be.
As teenagers, Mallory and Nathan were part of a close-knit group of six friends until a vicious argument drove them apart. Now, fifteen years later, they are back in touch – only to find themselves drawn into a web of mutual distrust, one by one…
The attacks on their lives are skilfully targeted, designed to hit them where they hurt the most, and when a young woman disappears and a baby is abducted, DCI Tom Douglas must try to unravel the past and discover who is the architect of their misery.
*****
Mallory feels as though her life is pretty much together. She and Nathan have known each other since University and things are perfect. However, a conversation with a woman at a book club sends her life upside down. Nathan has accused of sexual harassment.
Things are made worse when Nathan’s accuser goes missing.
Oh Tom and Becky. I’ve missed you. I am always so excited when Rachel Abbott releases a new DCI Tom Douglas thriller as I know I’m going to be in for a brilliant rollercoaster of a time.
I was so pleased to catch up once again with Tom and Becky. The case is an intricate one and had me guessing from page one right up until the last page. The pace is fast and there are so many twists and turns.
Of course, with a series of this nature, I always have a worry that the new book isn’t going to be as gripping as previous novels but, in my opinion, there’s no issue with that here.
by Book Review: Never Too Late by T.A. Williams
Happy publication day to T.A. Williams. His novel, Never Too Late was released today.
A second chance to realise her dreams…
A classically trained pianist, Steph works as a recording engineer for a small studio when she’s offered the job of a lifetime – travel to the Italian Riviera to help world-famous band, Royalty, record their reunion album after a decades-long hiatus.
Steph could definitely do with the distraction. Her boyfriend – who also happens to be her boss – is increasingly unreliable and erratic, and she’s awaiting news from her doctor after a recent biopsy. So an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy is the perfect escape.
What she doesn’t expect is an instant connection with Rob, the son of Royalty’s lead singer. With her career – and her heart – at a crossroads, what path will Steph follow?
*****
Steph is a classically trained pianist but currently finds herself working for her boyfriend, Ethan as a recording engineer.
When she is given a chance to work on a comeback album for a successful rock band, she can’t believe her luck as she and Ethan jet off to Italy.
This job also puts her in the path of Rob. Where will her heart lead her?
There was so much to immediately fall in love with when reading this novel.
First, the setting! When do we leave?! Haha.
by Book Review: Gone by Ruby Speechley
Please join me in saying hello to Ruby Speechley who is here with the blog tour for her novel, Gone.
My son is missing, and everyone is lying to me.
Last night my son, Shay, sneaked out of the house and didn’t come home. He promised not to go to the illegal party in the woods. But someone’s been attacked and Shay has gone missing. The police want to know if he saw what happened. I’m worried he could be involved.
After all the trouble he’s been in lately, mixing with the wrong crowd, coming home beaten up and scared, I thought we’d put it all behind us. Trouble is, Shay resents me moving my new boyfriend into the family home. I found all sorts on his laptop, including a half-written email warning me not to trust David. What does he know that I don’t?
I’m beginning to fear for his safety. What is David hiding from me? Who have I let into our lives?
I don’t know who I can trust. Will I ever see my son alive again?
*****
Rachel’s son is missing and she’s increasingly questioning who she can trust.
As the days go by, she starts to question the man she loves and what he had to do with her son’s disappearance.
OK, so I seriously could not put this book down, even when I was meant to be sleeping. From page one, it had me hooked as I tried to figure out what was going on.
Hmm, what can I say about this novel without giving too much away?
by Book Review: The Ragged Orphan by Lindsey Hutchinson
I am pleased to be welcoming Lindsey Hutchinson to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Ragged Orphan
When 12 year-old Jared Johnson’s little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own.
Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags.
Jared loves driving his horse Bess, shouting ‘any old rags’ as loud as he can, and it’s not long before he’s thriving. But being successful can bring you enemies as well as friends. Toby knows that Jared is destined for bigger things – provided his big mouth doesn’t get him hurt first…
*****
When Jared loses his mother and sister, he is alone and has nowhere to go. However, Jared soon finds his will to survive and it puts him in the path of some unexpected people.
From page one, I became as protective of a fictional character than it’s possible to be. I wanted to know he was going to be ok. So much happens to him but he shows strength and resourcefulness and a head for business that is beyond his age.
by Book Review: The Lumberjills by M W Arnold
We are so pleased to be welcoming M W Arnold back to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his new novel, The Lumberjills.
Berry Chambers and her co-workers have joined the Women’s Timber Corps—known as the Lumberjills—to do their bit for Britain. On their first day felling trees, they rescue an RAF pilot and become entangled in the loveless marriage of their new landlords.
Danger is never far away, be it an ill-timed axe swing or the occasional activity of the Luftwaffe overhead. Add a psychotic farm cat, a couple of young runaway evacuees, a spate of malicious packages, and the jealousy of the Land Girls next door, and life for Berry and her friends is never boring.
Can the girls find the balance between their vital war work and the natural pull of love?
*****
I am such a big fan of Mick Arnold’s Broken Wings series and therefore was so excited to read what I hope is book one of a new series.
Beryl ‘Berry’ Chambers has joined the Women’s Timber Corps, known as The Lumberjills. Along with Vicki, Sophie and gaffer, Marcy, can they settle into life in a small village during World War II?
Mick Arnold has such a talent for creating relatable, likeable characters and bringing them to life.
I got very attached to all of these characters. I want to adopt the cats although I think the ones I already have might have something to say about it.
by Book Review: Nobody Puts Romcoms in the Corner by Kathryn Freeman
I’m pleased to be welcoming Kathryn Freeman to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for Nobody Puts Romcoms In The Corner.
Not an expert, not even close, not in any of this. But nobody will try harder than me to make you happy.
Sally is a classic romantic and Harry is a classic cynic, but when a drunken bet leads the new flatmates to (badly) recreate ‘the lift’ from Dirty Dancing, and the video goes viral (#EpicRomcomReenactmentFailure), they both realise there’s potential financial benefit in blundering their way through the romcom lexicon for their suddenly vast social media following.
Now, as Harry and Sally bring major romcom moments to new life – including recreating that classic diner scene – their faking it turns to making…out and suddenly they’re living a real life romcom of their own! But like all the greatest love stories, the road to happily ever after is paved with unexpected challenges for this hero and heroine…
*****
Sally doesn’t quite know what to make of her new lodger, Harry. He’s mysterious and yet, there is something about him. She reasons to herself that it’s only a crush and that it will pass….won’t it?
Harry is annoyed that he’s had to find somewhere to live despite the fact that he has a perfectly good house. If only his cheating girlfriend would move out of it.
When a re-enactment of Sally and Harry doing the Dirty Dancing lift goes viral, they decide to film more iconic movie moments but can real life really be like a good rom-com?
With the greatest chance of being cheesy, this novel had me at hello! See what I did there? Haha.
From page one, I was hooked. I immediately fell in love with Sally. She’s a wonderful character who tries her best for the people she loves. I seriously want to visit her cafe.
by Book Review: Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
Love is messy. Love can make us feel alive. It can also bring us down. Sometimes we look for it in all the wrong places. This is a novel about longing, desire and dreams; about passion and risk and all the places in between.
Maggie is pregnant with Circus Palmer’s child. This may be her last chance, but she craves her freedom.
Pia is Circus’s ex-wife, still in love with the fantasy of the man who conjured jazz tunes for her into the night, but who left many years before.
Koko, Circus’s daughter, is lost in the maelstrom of teenage years, the confusion of awakening desire and yearning for the father she barely knows.
Peach is a barmaid who just wants someone to see the person she is inside.
Odessa is on the run from a mistake that can’t be undone.
And then there’s Circus, Circus Palmer, a jazz trumpeter whose moment of glory is fading. Selfish, damaged, scared, perhaps the only person Circus is fooling is himself.
Delivered in a lush orchestration of diverse female voices, Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is a provocative and gripping novel about the desire to be loved, and the need to belong.
*****
Circus Palmer seems to be at the centre of the lives of many women.
His ex wife, Pia, is trying to navigate being a parent to a teenager without much help from Circus.
Peach is wanting someone to see her and she had hoped Circus would be it.
Koko, Circus’s daughter is trying to discover the world without her Dad.
Odessa is trying to forget about a mistake she made.
Maggie is pregnant and she is not sure what her next move will be or whether she will see Circus again.
The premise of this novel intrigued me and I was pleased to have the opportunity to read Laura Warrell’s debut novel.
by Book Review: One Down by Diana Wilkinson
I am pleased to be welcoming Diana Wilkinson to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, One Down.
I’m not being paranoid! It’s all there in the crossword clues…in black and white. There’s no doubt the threat is real. Today, the answers spell out my murder.
May Third. Amanda. Silver Birch. Noontime. Assassination.
Is Nathan, my estranged crossword-setter husband, really planning to kill me? Or is it someone closer to home?
I check the door is bolted, slither to the ground, and count down the seconds to noon. There’s nothing left to do, and no one I can call. Who’d believe me anyway? The lady on the ground floor has already left the building, and my new boyfriend is on holiday. Or is he?
A tread of footsteps. A rap at the door, and I close my eyes, hold my breath…
*****
Completing the crossword puzzle is a part of Amanda’s daily routine, a thing she does to distract herself from temptation.
However, when she starts to see clues that are meant for her, anxiety and need for alcohol increases.
Is it her ex husband setting the clues? A man who blames her for a horrible accident? Whoever it is, they mean to cause paranoia or even worse, her death.
I was intrigued by this novel and so was pleased to be on the blog tour for One Down.
Having not read anything by Diana Wilkinson before, I didn’t fully know what to expect so was keen to get started.
by Book Review: Daisy Does It Herself by Gracie Player
I am pleased to be welcoming Gracie Player to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Daisy Does it Herself.
Sometimes, the Last Place You Intended to Go is Exactly Where You Need to Be.
When 26-year-old Daisy’s life in London comes crashing down around her, the only thing she can think of is getting away – far away. That’s how she found herself stumbling off a train in England’s picturesque Peak District – 150 miles from home, with no idea why she’d gone there and even less idea how she intended to get home.
As Daisy explores the gorgeous village of Upper Finlay, she glimpses the possibility of a different life. The Derbyshire Dales offer up new friends, new opportunities, and a distractingly dishy object of attraction in the form of local bookstore owner Alex (and his bumbling Great Dane.) When Daisy discovers Alex’s business is in trouble she steps in to save the day.
But London’s Calling – literally. The life Daisy ran away from is calling her back. Why then, is she so reluctant to heed its call?
Daisy’s got a decision to make: Will she play it safe, and return to what she knew? Or is she brave enough to take a leap of faith and create a bold, new life for herself in the last place she’d ever expected?
Daisy Does it Herself is a sweet, uplifting romantic comedy about the power of self-confidence, friendship and of course love! Fans of warm and witty romantic comedies with a guaranteed happily-ever-after will be entranced.
*****
In one day, Daisy finds herself out of a job and out of a home. To make it worse, she walks in on her boyfriend kissing another woman. She leaves, just wanting to get away.
In her attempt to escape London, she finds herself on a train and eventually in Upper Finlay in Derbyshire.
Taken in by Alex, the handsome and friendly owner of the local bookshop, Daisy slowly starts to potentially see another life for herself. Will she go back to the familiar or jump into the unknown?
by Book Review: Because You Loved Me by Beth Moran
I am so excited to be welcoming Beth Moran back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Because You Loved Me.
Marion Miller needs a fresh start.
Her childhood in Northern Ireland wasn’t easy, with a father who passed away when she was young and a mother who got lost in grief. Now grown-up and with family relations as tense as ever, Marion heads to England, to find out the truth about her father’s mysterious past – and hopefully an extended family who will love her as much as he did.
Scarlett Obermann runs a holiday park in Sherwood Forest with her daughter Grace, but what’s she’s best at is making people feel like they belong. With her merry band of waifs and strays, Scarlett welcomes Marion with open arms, and it isn’t long before Marion finally understands what it means to find a home.
As she tries to uncover her father’s story, Marion slowly blossoms, even daring to indulge in her crush on Reuben, the son of the Lord of the Manor, but she hasn’t quite out-run her past. And as Scarlett faces her own tragedy, it’s Marion’s turn to take care of everyone.
Because you can’t choose your family, but you can make your friends the family you choose.
This novel was first published as Making Marion.
*****
Marion has not had an easy life. She lost her father at a young age and became the focus of her mother’s need for blame.
Marion flees her hometown and goes to England looking for answers. Who was her father prior to her birth? Why did he move to Northern Ireland from England and can she, after all these years, find peace with her mother and herself?
I am a huge fan of Beth Moran’s novels and so jumped at the chance to be part of the blog tour for Because You Loved Me.
I love a good book cover and the one for this novel is beautiful and very dreamy.
I have to admit, this one took me a couple of chapters to settle into but before long, I couldn’t stop reading, continuing through to the early hours, wanting to know what became of these characters. I very much became invested.
by Book Review: Heading Home To Lavender Cottage by Alison Sherlock
I am so excited to be welcoming Alison Sherlock back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Heading Home to Lavender Cottage.
With nowhere else to go, Harriet Colgan has returned to the sleepy village of Cranfield to sell her beloved aunt and uncle’s cottage, the only place she ever called home.
When she arrives at Lavender Cottage, Harriet discovers plans to replace the beautiful lavender fields, her uncle’s pride and joy, with an industrial warehouse.
With time on her hands, she realises she must fight to protect her family’s legacy and the village of Cranfield as well.
Workaholic businessman Joe Randall was expecting an easy purchase of the lavender fields. But suddenly his quiet life is disrupted by protests from angry locals, organised by Harriet.
Can Harriet show Joe that there’s more to life than just business? And can Joe change his mind and help Harriet save the lavender fields?
Over a long, hot summer, and with the help of a stray dog, perhaps Harriet and Joe can find their way home too.
*****
Having had to close her beauty salon in an expensive part of London, Harriet just wants to get back to Cranfield and Lavender Cottage, left to her by her late Aunt and Uncle.
Faced with having to sell the only place she’s ever called home, Harriet is struggling to stay positive. Can she and the community come together to bring the village back to life or will visitor Joe Randall ruin everything?
I have become such a fan of Alison Sherlock’s books. There is such a warmth about them. Heading Home to Lavender Cottage is the start of a new series and I couldn’t wait to get started.
First, the cover – just stunning.
by Book Review: Patches Through Time by Sian Turner
I am very pleased to be welcoming Sian Turner to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her book, Patches through Time.
Casual antique dealer Jake Patch picks up an unusual object and can’t put it down. Literally. His find is a time travel device, and he hatches a bold plan to acquire objects from the past and sell them at modern day prices. But when the mysterious Infinity Glass leaves Patch stranded in a dangerous past, it falls to his teen daughter Cass to save him.
With hints of The Time Traveller’s Wife and Back to the Future and a smattering of Lovejoy, Patches through Time will send you spinning headlong into the past, then spit you back into the twenty-first century.
This book contains occasional profanities. Trigger warning: bereavement (parent, spouse).
*****
When Jake Patch finds an unusual object gathering dust in an antique shop, what he thinks is a money maker soon turns into something he had not bargained for.
He soon finds himself with the ability to travel through time. However, this soon turns into danger when he finds himself stranded. Can his daughter save him?
I found the premise for this novel extremely interesting but really didn’t know what to expect having previously not read any of Sian Turner’s books. I am now a fan.
This book has been marketed as YA but I feel that adults will get a lot from it. I certainly did. Right from the beginning, I was hooked.
I felt that the time travel element was handled well and with a ‘realistic’ set of rules. Well, as realistic as a story about time travel can get. I got a bit of a Bill and Ted vibe about this novel.
by Book Review: Local Girl Missing by J.A. Baker
I am so pleased to be welcoming J.A. Baker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Local Girl Missing
Missing without trace…
When local woman Deborah goes missing, her colleagues Adrian, Yvonne and Merriel are all left in shock. Gossip around the office begins to swirl – what could have happened to Deborah? Is she dead or alive? And who could be responsible for her disappearance?
Everyone is terrified that they could be next…except the one person who has all the answers. The last person people expect.
Because Deborah is being held captive by a monster, a psychopath. But not a stranger… it’s someone she knows all too well…
*****
Deborah is being held against her will by a monster. However, this monster isn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows well.
Whilst her work colleagues are reeling from her disappearance, someone knows the truth.
This was the first novel I’d read by this author. The premise of this book really caught my attention so I was happy to be invited onto the blog tour for Local Girl Missing.
Seriously, I know this term is banded about a lot but this book had me hooked from page one. I had to know more. I needed to know what becomes of these characters so one more page became one more chapter and before I knew it, I’d read it in one sitting.
by 12 Days of Clink Street: Stars and Waves by Roberto Maiolino
Laura is a student in Astronomy at the University of Cambridge. Her work on exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars – is largely unnoticed by the scientific community. However, it attracts the interest of a secluded elderly Russian astronomer, Professor Kasparov, on the basis of his own research thirty years ago. He tries to contact Laura and her supervisor, Julia, but dies in mysterious circumstances.
In the attempt to find out more about Kasparov’s old data, Laura and Julia travel across the globe. During their journey, science becomes entangled with poetry, while astronomy gets embroiled with mystery. They face a dark pattern of strange accidents and deaths. Their quest for clues gradually becomes a frantic pursuit through some of the most fascinating and deadly environments.
Will Laura and Julia uncover the truth? The whole truth? And… will they survive to tell the world?
*****
Laura is a PhD student in Astrophysics. Whilst observing some stars, she discovers something important.
However, it isn’t long before she realises that someone doesn’t want this data analysed and when she finds out someone has already mysteriously died, the more in danger she feels she’s in.
Can she get to the truth before she loses her life?
The premise for this book intrigued me and so I was happy to be invited onto the 12 Days of Clink Street to review Stars and Waves.
Laura is a strong, female character. She’s intelligent, compassionate, and easy to like.
by Book Review: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Aimee Brown
I am so pleased to be welcoming Aimee Brown back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
Dax Hartley has made flowers his entire life, just like his late father did.
When his dad’s old florist’s shop is up for sale, he has to have it. Only problem is, he’d need to sell a kidney to afford it. The reality show Battle of the Blossoms is the perfect opportunity to win the money he needs, but when his childhood crush blows back into his life, distractions risk taking his eyes off the prize. He needs his head and heart to start working together to ensure he doesn’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
Hollyn Matthews has made some colossal mistakes in life.
When she’s dumped just as she’s expecting an engagement ring, she knows she’s put her heart into the wrong man. Hoping for a second chance at being a grown-up, she moves home to stay with her brother and his best friend Dax, a boy whose memory faded as she ran away from her past. Facing the hurt she left behind means facing some home truths about herself, but there’s one boy who has always loved her, if only she’d take the time to notice him.
*****
Having spent eight years with her boyfriend, Hollyn is expecting a proposal. When he dumps her instead, she finds herself having to go back home. She ends up in her brother’s apartment, spending time with Dax. As Hollyn helps Dax win a flower competition, will they be able to keep their feelings at bay?
This is the first book I’ve read by Aimee Brown. The premise intrigued me so I was pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
I did feel a little sorry for Hollyn. She has a horrible thing happen to her and I wanted to give her a hug. She did come across as a little shut down but when you learn more about background, you find out why.
I did get a little frustrated with her parents and you don’t get to know too much about the other supporting characters like River and Mercy (possible future books maybe?) I hope so as it’s not the last I want to see of these characters.
by Book Review: Christmas on the Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet
I am happy to be welcoming Jennifer Bohnet to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her book, Christmas on the Riviera
As a toddler Elodie Jacques was abandoned by her mother and left in the care of her French grandmother, Gabriella in Dartmouth, Devon.
Now 24 years old, Elodie struggles to reconcile the deep anger for the mother she has never since seen.
When Gabriella unexpectedly announces she wants the two of them to spend Christmas and her 70th birthday in her home town of Juan-les-Pins in the South of France Elodie is thrilled.
Gabriella meanwhile has her own ulterior motives for wanting to return after 40 years, a daunting homecoming potentially filled with memories, secrets and recriminations.
With Juan-les-Pins pulsing with lights, decorations and the festive spirit, Christmas promises to be filled with fun. But when Elodie learns there is the possibility that her long absent mother may join them she hides her feelings behind a show of indifference and animosity.
Will there be the reconciliation that Gabriella longs for – or will the spirit of Christmas fail to work its magic?
*****
It’s been many years since Gabriella has visited the place where she grew up in the South of France. Now, as her 70th birthday and Christmas approach, she has reason to return.
Her granddaughter, Elodie is nursing her own anger and hurt. Can this trip work its Christmas magic and they both find something they are looking for?
it didn’t take me long to fall into this story. Gabriella and Elodie are great, likeable characters. The supporting cast is wonderful and I wanted everything to work out well.
by Book Review: Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver
I am so pleased to be welcoming Kelly Oliver to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her book, Chaos at Carnegie Hall.
Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey in the Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery series opener.
Can Fiona catch a killer and find a decent cup of tea before her mustache wax melts?
- New York.
Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. It’s an opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperon duties for Captain Hall’s niece. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter?
From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s. Fiona sees something—or someone—thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in German with one of her own countrymen!
And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison.
When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy.
But all the evidence points to his innocence. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby . . .
If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart.
*****
It’s 1917 and Fiona Figg finds herself in New York. She’s been invited by spy, Fredrick Fredricks to Carnegie Hall, to watch a famous soprano. However, on top of her duties for the war office, she’s also having to chaperone Eliza, her boss’s niece.
From the moment they board the ship for America, there is mystery and potential crimes.
The plot thickens when Fiona’s prime suspect is found dead.
Can Fiona solve the mystery?
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel. I love mysteries and so this seemed right up my street and it didn’t disappoint.
by Book Review: The Coming Darkness by Greg Mosse
We are pleased to be welcoming Greg Mosse to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his new novel, The Coming Darkness.
Paris, 2037. Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.
In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing THE COMING DARKNESS . . .
*****
Alexandre is in the French external security service, hunting for eco-terrorists.
He doesn’t know who to trust, not even his lover or his former mentor.
However, he can’t give up his search for the truth.
This book really hooked me from the first page. It’s fast paced and has multiple story lines running throughout. I wondered how they were all going to converge and couldn’t wait to find out.
Even though this is the first of his novels, you can tell that Greg Mosse is a seasoned writer. This book, in my opinion is very well written.
It offers short pieces of information that skilfully drive the plot forward which meant that I wanted to keep reading to find out how it was going to end.
by Book Review: A White Christmas on Winter Street by Sue Moorcroft
We are very pleased to be welcoming Sue Moorcroft back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, A White Christmas on Winter Street.
When Sky Terran returns to the village of Middledip after losing the job she loves, she anticipates a quiet Christmas getting used to her new life. However, the annual street decoration competition is coming up and this year, the residents of Winter Street are determined to win.
As she is pulled into the preparations, Sky quickly grows to love the quirky, tight-knit community she is now part of. Including the extremely handsome Daz, who soon becomes more than just a friendly neighbour.
But when Daz’s ex turns up determined to win him back and it seems he might not be the man Sky thought he was, she remembers how much allowing people into her life – and heart – can hurt. As the snow falls, will she and Daz find a way through – and help win a Christmas victory for Winter Street?
*****
Let me give you a definition of a pointless exercise – finding fault in a Sue Moorcroft novel.
For her Christmas story this year, we’re back in the welcoming fold of Middledip, Sue’s fictional village where quite a few of her stories are set, or touch upon. Warm, welcoming, A White Christmas on Winter Street delivers exactly what is says on the tin and instantly finds itself on my list of books to reread at that time of year from now on.
Principally the tale of Sky and Daz who don’t get off to the best of starts, so far as their relationship goes as they go head to head over the same item at an auction.
Sky’s in need of a new start and it turns out that finding herself in the middle of such a close community is exactly what she needs. Gradually, she warms to those around her as, without intending to, she discovers a warm, giving side to her personality she hadn’t been aware of.
A multi-generational tale, A White Christmas on Winter Street cracks along at just the right pace and, indeed, I found this a very hard book to put down. The characters, in this readers opinion, are beautifully written and Middledip has never been more enticing.
by Book Review: The Twelve Wishes of Christmas by Ruby Basu
I am pleased to welcoming Ruby Basu to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the book birthday blitz tour for her novel, The Twelve Wishes of Christmas.
She’s here for the perfect Christmas escape…
When Sharmila discovers her late friend, Thomas, has gifted her the holiday of her dreams, she can’t pack her bags fast enough. Arriving in Pineford, it’s everything she’d ever hoped for and more.
But she’s in for another surprise, because Thomas has left her with one last request: if she completes his Christmas wish list of festive activities, her chosen charity will receive a big donation. Or so Sharmila thinks.
…He’s there to reclaim his family’s legacy
Little does she know, she’s set to inherit Thomas’s estate too, much to his nephew Zach’s disbelief. Determined not to see his family’s legacy left to a stranger, he’s come to Pineford to do whatever it takes to stop Sharmila from fulfilling that list.
When Sharmila and Zach meet, neither are prepared for sparks to fly. For Sharmila’s sworn off love, and Zach doesn’t trust her. But with every passing wish they find themselves growing closer. And amongst the twinkling town lights and fallen snow, Sharmila can feel her heart opening up to Zach. But when she learns he’s been keeping a secret from her, can Sharmila forgive him and get the happy-ever-after she’s always wished for this Christmas?
****
When Sharmila finds out that she’s been gifted a holiday by her late friend, Thomas, she can’t wait to pack her bags and experience an American Christmas. Thomas has set her festive themed challenges. If she completes them, she gets money to donate to charity. What she doesn’t know is that she is also set to inherit Thomas’s estate, something his nephew Zach wants to stop. Can Christmas work its magic and bring a happy ending?
I was so pleased to be invited onto the tour for The Twelve Wishes of Christmas.
I really fell in love with the premise of this novel. It felt so romantic plus the cover is so lovely.
As I adore Christmas, I want to be Sharmila in this novel in that, I want to be able to experience a Christmas with all these activities and experiences. It sounds like a dream.
by Book Review: The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper by Zoë Folbigg
I am pleased to be welcoming Zoë Folbigg to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her new novel, The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper.
As the crowds gather for charming and charismatic Seb Cooper’s funeral, three women sit in the congregation, mourning his loss.
First there is Clair, Seb’s wife and partner of twenty years, and mother of his two children. Furious at Seb for dying and leaving their children without a father, Clair isn’t sure of her place, and has been left baffled and bemused by the conflicting stories of Seb’s last days.
Then there’s Desiree, the woman Seb left Clair for. Heartbroken, self-conscious, and wondering if she made a mistake coming today.
And the third and noisiest mourner of all is Noemie – Seb’s lover and the last woman to see him alive.
Three women who loved Seb in their own different ways.
Three women whose lives have changed forever.
But only one woman knows what really happened at the end…and only one truly had his heart…
*****
People gather at the funeral of Sebastian Cooper.
Three women in particular mourn for him.
Clair, the woman he had known since childhood, the mother of his children.
Desiree, the woman he left Clair for.
Noemie, the last woman to see him alive.
The premise for this novel intrigued me. Three women who had loved one man. The story packs a punch from the first page, starting with the funeral. How did they all get to that point? I just had to know. As a result, I couldn’t put the book down.
All the main characters are interesting in their own ways. All are complicated and flawed.
by Book Review: When The Children Fight Back by Barry Kirwan
I am so pleased to welcome Barry Kirwan back to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his book, When the Children Fight Back.
In the near future, Artificial Intelligences will be smarter than us. Is that a good thing?
“Really entertaining, a brilliant balance between action and emotion.”
“A wonderful story. So much imagination!”
A mega-AI known as the Eye is intent on purifying the galaxy, by annihilating all ‘organics’. Humanity, itself already decimated after an attack by the Eye, must join eleven other species in the final battle at Orion’s Gate to stop their nemesis. Led by Sally, humans have a secret weapon: Ares, the last AI from a dead alien race. But can they really trust Ares? And as the battle rages in the heart of a star nursery nebula, Sally realises that one of the other species is about to betray them all…
The thrilling climax to the Children of the Eye series…
*****
The eye is intent on wiping out all ‘organics’ from the galaxy. What is left of humanity must join other species in the final battle against their nemesis.
Sally must lead them into battle. Plus, they still have Ares but can they trust him? Is someone about to betray them all?
I had enjoyed the first two books in this series so I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for When the Children Fight Back.
As I have said in previous reviews of this series, I’m not always the one to immediately gravitate to novels in this genre but there is something about this series that draws me in. These novels are not just sci-fi, they have a high thriller theme and this book packs quite an emotional punch.
As with its predecessors, I was completely drawn in from page one.
I like that it’s told from the point of view of multiple characters. It gives you a real, well-rounded idea of what everyone is feeling and thinking.
by Book Review: Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall by Victoria Walters
I am pleased to be welcoming Victoria Walters to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Dreams Come True at Glendale Hall.
Lorna is following her dreams. But can she follow her heart?
Lorna Ferguson has dreamt of opening her own bed and breakfast in the village of Glendale for as long as she’d pictured falling in love. While her love life remains frankly hopeless, Lorna is determined to secure Dove House – the home she imagined living in as a child – to start this new venture with her family.
Along with brother Adam, Lorna starts restoring the house to its Art Deco glory, but faced with a whole host of renovation problems and their money fast running out, they worry that Dove House will never be ready to open in the New Year.
When a mystery man turns up, needing to fulfil a promise he made to his dying father and find the object he left at Dove House many years ago, Lorna’s heart goes out to him. But what they find there is going to change both of their lives forever.
Facing problems at every turn, and distracted by her heart, Lorna is going to need all the magic that her beloved Glendale can supply to make all her dreams come true..
*****
Lorna and her brother, Adam have always dreamed of buying Dove House in Glendale, restoring it to its former glory and making it into a B&B.
When it comes up for sale, they decide that now is the time to try and make their dream into a reality. When their bid is successful, that is when the hard work begins.
Can Glendale once again work its magic? Can they finally make their dream into a reality?
Having previously read Always and Forever at Glendale Hall I was looking forward to heading back to Glendale in the Scottish Highlands. Even though this is book five of the Glendale series, this can be read as a standalone. I am hoping to read the others in the series though as these books and the characters within are just wonderful. It was a delight to catch up with everyone.
This novel focuses on Lorna as she and her brother renovate Dove House and from the get go, I wanted them to succeed.
Lorna is a relatable, likeable character who is an inspiration. Despite the fact that she’s scared at making this big change and commitment, she goes for it and I admire that.
Adam is also wonderful and I wanted him to succeed just as much. I wanted to jump into the page and tell him and Grace that they belonged together.
by Book Review: In The Mood by M W Arnold
I am so excited to be welcoming M W Arnold back to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his new novel, In the Mood.
During a hectic couple of weeks in February 1944, the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club must face devastating personal loss amongst their number. A member of an illegal faction blackmails Betty, whilst a mystery at Mary’s ancestral home threatens to cause more trouble than anyone thought possible.
In the midst of what should be the happiest of times, the portents seem to be catching up and little is what it seems to be.
Can the girls find the strength to battle forces both internal and external, yet still maintain their dignity and friendship?
*****
It’s 1944 and after loosing one of their own, another member of the ATA mystery club finds herself being blackmailed whilst another finds herself in a mystery surrounding her honeymoon. Can these ladies solve the puzzles and keep themselves out of danger?
I was so pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for In The Mood, the latest book in the Broken Wings series as it meant I was reunited once again with the ladies from the ATA.
Four books in and it really feels like I’m catching up with old friends. There is not one of these characters I don’t like but I do have a soft spot for Doris and with what Bobby the dog goes through, I wanted to jump into the book and hurt the villains responsible and I’m not usually a violent person.
This fourth instalment is just as gripping as its three predecessors. Although there were some heartbreaking moments in this book, overall there is such a wonderful feeling of warmth, friendship, love and humour weaved into the heart of this novel. The characters really feel like one big family.
by Book Review: Just Date and See by Portia MacIntosh
I am so pleased to be welcoming Portia MacIntosh back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Just Date and See.
Billie is looking forward to a quiet, man-free Christmas. It’s just a shame her family doesn’t feel the same way…
With a house full of unexpected (and unwanted) guests, Billie needs to find the perfect escape to get away from the chaos.
So when her dating app recommends a week of singles nights in her area, Billie decides that braving these events has to be better than making conversation with her dad’s new wife, dealing with her mum’s mid-life crisis or witnessing her sister flirting with her insufferably arrogant next-door neighbour.
While this is definitely not the festive season she had planned, between disco bowling and boozy bingo, little does Billie know that she may find love this year after all – she’ll just have to date and see…
*****
Having had a year where her boyfriend left her and having to face renovating her house, Billie just wants a quiet Christmas.
However, it’s not long before her family descend on her along with some not so welcome houseguests.
In an attempt to escape the chaos, Billie signs up to some singles nights but will these just cause more trouble?
I have become such a big fan of Portia MacIntosh and so was looking forward to reading Just Date and See, especially when I found out it was set over Christmas.
Billie is a wonderful character. She seems comfortable enough in her own skin but seems real at the same time. I want to be her friend.
Rocco is the best kind of male lead. He’s a gentleman. I loved him.
Kate and Jess are brilliant too and bring much humour to the story.
by Book Review: Sometimes People Die by Simon Stephenson
The year is 1999. Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young Scottish doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a senior house officer in the struggling east London hospital of St Luke’s.
Amid the maelstrom of sick patients, over-worked staff and underfunded wards a darker secret soon declares itself: too many patients are dying.
Which of the medical professionals our protagonist has encountered is behind the murders? And can our unnamed narrator’s version of the events be trusted?
*****
It’s the 1990s. Our narrator has a new job as as a senior house officer at an East London hospital after a suspension for stealing opioids.
When suspicious and unexplained deaths start to plague the hospital, who is responsible? Can we even trust our main character?
I’d not read any of Simon Stephenson’s previous books so I didn’t know what to expect. The premise however intrigued me so I was eager to get started.
I have to admit, it did take me a couple of chapters to settle into this novel as I got to know the main protagonist. Once this had happened though, I found I couldn’t put the novel down as I became completely invested in this story.
by Book Review: The Santa Killer by Ross Greenwood
I am so pleased to be welcoming Ross Greenwood back to Novel Kicks. He’s here with the blog tour for his novel, The Santa Killer.
The Santa Killer is coming to town…
One night less than two weeks before Christmas, a single mother is violently assaulted. It’s a brutal crime at the time of year when there should be goodwill to all. When DI Barton begins his investigation, he’s surprised to find the victim is a woman with nothing to hide and no reason for anyone to hurt her.
A few days later, the mother of the woman attacked rings the police station. Her granddaughter has drawn a shocking picture. It seems she was looking out of the window when her mother was attacked. And when her grandmother asks the young girl who the person with the weapon is, she whispers two words.
Bad Santa.
The rumours start spreading, and none of the city’s women feel safe – which one of them will be next?
He’s got a list. It’s quite precise. It won’t matter even if you’re nice.
*****
A woman is violently attacked two weeks before Christmas. When DI Barton and his team begin to investigate, there seems to be no motive for the attack.
The daughter of the victim produces a drawing whilst whispering two words ‘Bad Santa.’
Can they find the Santa Killer before he attacks the next person on his list?
I have become such a fan of the DI Barton series that I couldn’t wait to get started on the latest book, The Santa Killer.
As with previous novels, it didn’t take long for me to be completely enthralled in this story. Ross has a great skill in getting you completely invested in the plot quickly and before you know it, it’s the early hours of the morning and you realise you’ve read the whole book in one session.
I love DI Barton. He is one of my favourite fictional detectives. In a lot of ways, he is uncomplicated. He’s simply a family man who is struggling with the commitment to his job whilst balancing family life, something a lot of us can relate to. He also has a great, strong team around him and there isn’t one of them I don’t like.
by Book Review: The Lost Notebook by Louise Douglas
I am so pleased to be welcoming Louise Douglas back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her latest novel, The Lost Notebook.
A notebook full of secrets, two untimely deaths – something sinister is stirring in the perfect seaside town of Morranez…
It’s summer and holidaymakers are flocking to the idyllic Brittany coast. But when first an old traveller woman dies in suspicious circumstances, and then a campaign of hate seemingly drives another victim to take his own life, events take a very dark turn.
Mila Shepherd has come to France to look after her niece, Ani, following the accident in which both Ani’s parents were lost at sea. Mila has moved into their family holiday home, as well as taken her sister Sophie’s place in an agency which specialises in tracking down missing people, until new recruit Carter Jackson starts.
It’s clear that malevolent forces are at work in Morranez, but the local police are choosing to look the other way. Only Mila and Carter can uncover the truth about what’s really going on in this beautiful, but mysterious place before anyone else suffers. But someone is desperate to protect a terrible truth, at any cost…
*****
It’s summer in Morranez on the Brittany coast but for Mila, the anniversary of her sisters death casts a deep shadow.
There to look after her orphaned niece, Mila is counting the days until she can be back in England. However, when there are two mysterious deaths, Mila is desperate to reveal the truth… but at what cost?
I loved Louise’s previous novel, The Room in the Attic so I was very eager to read the The Lost Notebook.
The cover is beautiful.
This book pulled me in from page one. The mystery and puzzles immediately make it hard to put this book down once I’d begun.
Mila is an interesting character. She’s guarded and a little broken due to her sister’s death. Saying that, she comes through for the people she loves when it counts.
by Novel Kicks Book Club: Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
September is here. Autumn is in the air and the book I’ve picked for this month is one that has just been released as a motion picture with a song by Taylor Swift.
I am talking about Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.
I have been wanting to read this book for ages. It sounds very intriguing and I can’t wait to start. I also would like to read the book before I see the movie. Anyone else have the need to do this?
Our book club is online so you can take part from the comfort of your armchair. It’s open to all, whether you’re in the middle of reading it, not started yet or have read it and want to talk about it.
I’ve posted a question below in the comments to get the discussion going. I’m looking forward to chatting about this book with you.
About the book:
For years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl.
by Book Review: Let it Snow by Beth Moran
I am so happy to be welcoming Beth Moran back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Let It Snow.
When your heart’s broken, all roads lead home…
After the end of a long-term relationship, local weather girl Bea Armstrong has been avoiding her family, and their inevitable ‘I-told-you-sos.’ But with Christmas fast approaching, she is finally on her way home to Charis House, the school in Sherwood Forest that her mum and dad run in their old family home. And to top it all off, the insufferable Henry Fairfax – who her parents have always wanted her to marry – has also been invited.
Relief comes in the shape of a last minute interview for her dream job. There are just a few minor problems… The interview is in Scotland, Bea has no car, and the snow is falling already. The only solution is for Henry to drive her – could this Christmas get any worse…
But during an unforgettable two day interview, a stay in a log cabin and a nightmare journey through the snow, Henry turns out to be nothing like she thought. And when Bea’s first love and recent ex shows up, Bea has a difficult choice to make…
*****
Bea Armstrong’s on and off again relationship with boyfriend Adam is once again off and although she wants to avoid her family’s chimes of ‘I told you so,’ she finds herself heading back to the family home for Christmas. Once there, she also realises that her childhood nemesis, Henry, will also be joining the Armstrongs for the festive season.
When Bea is invited to a two day interview in Scotland just before Christmas, she jumps at the chance even if it means she has to share a car with Henry.
I loved Take A Chance on Me so I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for Let it Snow.
First of all, the cover for this book has to be one of my favourites. It’s beautiful. It’s just stunning.
It really didn’t take me long to get engrossed in this book. To say I devoured it would be a better description.
I’m always up for a Christmas novel and this one really built up a festive atmosphere. I read this at the end of August and felt Christmassy.
by Book Review: Coming Home To Puddleduck Farm by Della Galton
I am pleased to be welcoming Della Galton to Novel Kicks today. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Coming Home to Puddleduck Farm
When your heart’s broken, all roads lead home…
London City Vet, Phoebe Dashwood, finds her partner Hugh and their boss in a passionate clinch beneath the mistletoe at their works Christmas party.
Heartbroken, she bolts to the New Forest, her childhood home to regroup and soul search.
Being home gives Phoebe the chance to reconnect with friends and family and especially with her fiercely independent gran, widower Maggie Crowther, owner of Puddleduck Farm, and makeshift animal shelter New Forest Neddies.
Deciding not to return to London, Phoebe hunts for work locally, hoping she can also help Maggie, who’s clearly swamped and not coping. But will Maggie accept Phoebe’s help?
Her quest is hampered by stubborn grandmothers, meddling mums, an attractive childhood friend, a real-life Lord, a remorseful ex, and a best friend who’s determined to play matchmaker.
Can Phoebe find happiness professionally and personally in the place she calls home, surrounded by those she loves or does fate have other plans for Phoebe?
*****
Coming Home to Puddleduck Farm is the first in a brand new series from author Della Galton.
After seeing the man she loves kissing their boss at the Christmas party, Phoebe retreats from London to her childhood home in the New Forest.
Can Phoebe, who feels so lost, find herself again in the place where she grew up?
From the beginning, this book had such a warm, inviting feel to it that I immediately fell into Phoebe and Sam’s story. I wanted to know what happened. I wanted them to be ok.
Phoebe is, despite everything, a strong woman. She leaves London and, following advice from her grandmother, decides not to go back to her life in the city and that takes bravery, even if she didn’t feel like it was. I liked her very much.
by Book Review: Meet Me on Platform 3 by Zara Stoneley
I’m very happy to be welcoming Zara Stoneley back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Meet Me on Platform 3.
Two people. One journey…
Millie loves her city life, her city friends and writing her true(ish) confessions column – but she’s starting to wonder if the grass really is greener on the other side, or if her heart really belongs back in Northumberland, with her mum who is struggling after the death of Millie’s dad.
Joe is happy doing what he does, writing games. He could do it anywhere, but since leaving home he’s lived believing that looking back means you’ve failed, and life is about taking chances and seeing the world.
So when the two meet up surely it can never work, their lives are moving in opposite directions. On different tracks…
*****
Millie loves her job and living in London. When she bumps into her perfect man on Platform 3, she finds she has a crush and a subject for her column. When fate throws them together, have they really found the one or will they end up taking different tracks?
I have really loved previous novels from Zara Stoneley so I was excited to get going on this novel as I really liked the premise.
The style of writing is almost conversational as it’s told from the point of view of both Mille and Joe. I like these duel narratives as it really gives you an insight into the mind of both characters.
by A Moment With… Liz Taylorson (and Harry Brand.)
I am very happy to be welcoming Liz Taylorson to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Summer Showers at Elder Fell Farm.
A simple holiday just got complicated …
Single mum Amy has been struggling since her mother’s death and now her son, Harry, has been accused of bullying schoolmate Oliver — giving Amy’s dictatorial ex-husband yet another reason to criticise her parenting.
All Amy wants is the chance to spend time with her son. Where better to escape all her troubles than camping at the remote but beautiful Lake District farm where she spent idyllic summers with her mother when she was a little girl?
Her tranquil escape seems doomed when Oliver, and his widowed dad, Matt, turn up on the neighbouring pitch — but at Elder Fell Farm, unlikely friendships can be forged. Are Matt and Amy ready to fall in love again? And will their boys bring them together – or drive them apart?
*****
To celebrate the release of Summer Showers at Elder Fell Farm, Harry, the heroine’s son, having been asked to write a book review for school, has written about this novel. Over to you, Harry.
My Book Review of ‘Summer Showers at Elder Fell Farm’
By Harry Brand, aged 8 and 2 months.
I chose this book to write about because Summer Showers at Elder Fell Farm is all about me and my best friend, Oliver and what happened when we went on our summer holidays. Okay, it’s a bit about my mam, Amy, and Ollie’s dad, Matt, because they were there too, but all they did was, like, snogging and stuff which is gross, so mainly I’m going to write about the other things in the book.
My favourite character in the book is Harry, aka me! He does lots of cool stuff in the book, he finds a den and plays in the beck quite a lot with his best friend Oliver, but he isn’t allowed to go skinny dipping, which is the same thing as swimming in the nuddy, which means with NO CLOTHES ON. But Mam wouldn’t let me … I mean, him. The boys also make up an awesome game called ‘bonky, bonky’ and an air bed got burst, but it definitely wasn’t Harry that burst it, honestly.
by Book Review: The Little Theatre on Halfpenny Lane by Clodagh Murphy
It is my pleasure to welcome Clodagh Murphy to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, The Little Theatre on Halfpenny Lane.
Aoife and her sisters know exactly what to do when they inherit their Great-aunt Detta’s theatre on Halfpenny Lane:
- Restore the dilapidated building to its former glory.
- Perform together on its stage to packed houses and rapturous applause.
- Live happily ever after.
But they didn’t count on Detta leaving a share in the theatre to her godson, Jonathan. Now they’ll have to persuade him to buy into their vision of stardust and magic – or find the money to buy him out.
As they fight to save the theatre, Aoife also battles her growing feelings for Jonathan. Because she can’t let herself fall for the man who’s about to bring the curtain down on their dreams.
*****
Aoife, Mimi and Sive have always had the impression that they’d inherit their Great-Aunt Detta’s theatre on Halfpenny Lane. However, they had not counted on Jonathan, Detta’s Godson inheriting a share.
Now, in order to save their beloved theatre and restore it to its former glory, they either have to convince Jonathan to remain a willing investor or buy him out.
Can they save their theatre or will they lose their dream?
This book was my introduction to Clodagh Murphy and I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for the Little Theatre on Halfpenny Lane.
I read this novel in one sitting. I couldn’t stop reading. I instantly fell in love with these characters and the setting. I could picture The Halfpenny Theatre and the charm it holds. I could see the stage, the rows of chairs and the overall atmosphere. I wanted it saved.
The plot moves well and Clodagh Murphy’s writing style makes it easy to fall into this novel and get invested in the story. Will they or won’t they save the theatre?
by Book Review: The Split by Amanda Brookfield
I am pleased to be welcoming Amanda Brookfield to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, The Split.
Two decades on from a passionate courtship and marriage, Lucas and Esther are getting divorced.
For Esther, it’s proving hard not to feel bitter watching Lucas enjoying his successful career, not to mention the attentions of his gorgeous, intelligent, and predictably younger lover. She meanwhile is struggling to forge a new life for herself, navigating the pitfalls of modern dating, while trying not to despair at the cost of living as a single woman of a certain age.
Then Lucas faces a shattering accusation at the same time as their children Dylan and Lily, start to implode. When Dylan runs away, and as his father fights to save his reputation, Lucas and Esther find themselves back in each other’s lives, whether they like it or not.
Has too much water passed under the bridge, or will long-forgotten loyalties and feelings bring the family back together, just when they need each other the most?
*****
After a twenty year marriage, Esther and Lucas are divorced. They, and the two children they share, now have to adjust to the new normal.
Esther is finding it difficult to witness her ex-husband’s new life. With a great job and a fiancée, he’s flying high. She knows that she has to find her new place in the world.
However, when Lucas’s life is derailed and their son, Dylan runs away, Lucas and Esther have to communicate, whether they want to or not.
Having previously not read any of Amanda Brookfield’s previous books, I didn’t know what type of novel this was going to be.
The Spilt is a slow burner and it did take me a while to get into it. To begin with, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I was very pleased I persevered. What I found was that this was a very interesting and detailed look into relationships between ordinary people. There are many twists and turns. Sometimes I loved the characters, other times I disliked their behaviour but as I progressed through the book, I became invested in them. Oh, and I want to adopt the cat.
by Book Review: The Highland Hens by Judy Leigh
I am very excited to be welcoming Judy Leigh back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, The Highland Hens.
In the imposing Glen Carrick House overlooking Scotland’s famous Loch Ness, lives eighty-eight-year-old Mimi McKinlay, cared for by her three adult sons. Hamish has inherited his mother’s musical talents, Fin is the responsible brother, and Angus has the complicated and brooding personality to match his dashing good looks.
But what all the brothers share is a concern that their beloved mother is living in her memories of her days on stage, while letting her present days pass her by.
Jess Oliver is at a turning point. Amicably divorced after years of being married, this trip to the Highlands is a first taste of independence. It isn’t long before the beauty and hospitality of Scotland captures her heart.
When Mimi and Jess’s paths cross, a friendship is formed that will change both women’s lives. And as together they find ways to look forward instead of to the past, long forgotten dreams are within reach, and every new day is fresh with possibilities.
Take a trip to the Highlands with Judy Leigh for an unforgettable story of glorious pasts and fabulous futures, of love, friendship, family and fun.
*****
Jess has come to Scotland for a holiday and has instantly fallen in love. When circumstances mean she can’t immediately return to her home, she replies to an ad for a companion to an elderly lady. She has a few months before she can return home. Why not?
It’s here she meets Mimi. As the women become close, Jess starts to see life in a new way and when she meets Mimi’s three sons, maybe love won’t be too far behind?
I am a big fan of Judy Leigh’s novels having previously read and enjoyed A Year of Mr Maybes and Lil’s Bus trip. Therefore, I was excited to be invited onto the blog tour for her latest novel, The Highland Hens.
I visited Scotland a few times as a child (I’d really love to go back,) so I adored the setting for this novel. I could picture myself standing at Mimi’s window looking out at the beautiful scenery of Loch Ness.
It’s not hard to fall in love with the ladies in this novel.
by Book Review: The Lodger by Valerie Keogh
I am pleased to be welcoming Valerie Keogh to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, The Lodger.
She’s in your home…
Leigh Simons can’t say for sure what made her do it. A moment of madness, perhaps, but when the young, loud and gorgeous waitress at her favorite coffee shop reveals she is homeless, Leigh offers her the empty room in her house.
In your head…
Gina is the perfect lodger; Leigh, lonely and frustrated with her life, becomes infatuated with the woman – her boldness, her zeal. If only Leigh could be more like Gina…
And missing without trace.
So when Leigh returns from a work trip she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone…and why?
Leigh fears that something terrible has happened – why else would Gina leave her?
But as she sets out to find her missing lodger, what Leigh discovers changes everything she knows about Gina….and her own life, too.
*****
When Leigh discovers that a waitress in her favourite coffee shop is becoming homeless, she offers up her spare room, a decision she instantly regrets.
However, when Leigh gets back from a week away, Gina has gone. Vanished without a trace.
This was my introduction to Valerie Keogh’s novels and the idea for this book really intrigued me so I was excited to get started.
It’s going to be quite hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers but I’m going to try. Here goes…
Leigh is an interesting character. I got the feeling that she held a lot of herself back, being the person her boyfriend, Matt wanted her to be.
She is a lot braver than she thinks, especially when she eventually decides to speak up against a well liked male colleague. She is someone to admire in that respect.
by Book Club
