Monday 26 March 2018

#TheDate #CoverReveal


Today I am pleased to be part of the cover reveal for Louise Jenson’s new book #TheDate by the wonderful people from Bookouture.

About the Book


#TheDate: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist

Something bad has happened to Alison Taylor. 

Her Saturday night started normally. Recently separated from her husband, Ali has been persuaded by her friends to go on a date with a new man. She is ready, she is nervous, she is excited. She is about to take a step into her new future. 

By Sunday morning, Ali’s life is unrecognisable. She wakes, and she knows that something is wrong. She is home, she is alone, she is hurt and she has no memory of what happened to her. 

Worse still, when she looks in the mirror, Ali doesn’t recognise the face staring back at her. She can’t recognise her friends and family. And she can’t recognise the person who is trying to destroy her… 

From the no. 1 bestselling author of The SisterThe Gift and The Surrogate
#TheDate is a gripping page-turner that will keep you awake until the early hours. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Before I Go To Sleep. 


About the author:


Louise is a USA Today Bestselling Author, and lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, children, madcap dog and a rather naughty cat. 

Louise's first two novels, The Sister and The Gift, were both International No.1 Bestsellers, and have been sold for translation to sixteen countries. The Sister was nominated for The Goodreads Awards Debut of 2016. Louise's third psychological thriller, The Surrogate, is out now.



Louise loves to hear from readers and writers and can be found at www.louisejensen.co.uk, where she regularly blogs flash fiction.

To connect with the author, follow the links below: -


To buy the book – click the Amazon Universal Link here: myBook.to/TDLJSocial

So, without further hesitation, I can reveal that the cover for #TheDate is: -

….





….




....



Well what do you all think.   I think the cover for #TheDate looks a bit more mysterious and not at all like the other covers of Louise’s previous books.  Would you be interested in picking up the book for a closer look or even to buy?   Let me know.

The book is due for release on 21 June 2018, however whilst not pre order it now so you don’t miss out.

Links to Louise's Books are below, click on the title to buy. 








Sunday 25 March 2018

Last Night - Kerry Wilkinson

Last Night - Kerry Wilkinson


Last night is a standalone book by one of my favourite authors Kerry Wilkinson.

About the book

Rose Denton wakes up in her car. She has no memory of how she got there. But she knows something bad happened…               

There’s blood on the windscreen and bonnet – but it’s not hers and there’s no sign of anything or anyone she might have hit. The last thing she remembers is being in a hotel on a business trip but now she’s miles away.

Back home and her daughter’s boyfriend is missing. The last thing he did was argue with Rose over money. He left no note, no text, no clue as to his whereabouts.

The police have questions – and so does Rose’s family. But those are little compared to the ones she has for herself.

What happened last night? And, perhaps more importantly, does she really want to know the answer?

A totally addictive psychological thriller which will keep you turning the pages until the final dramatic twist.

My review

Rose Denton is a married woman with a daughter Olivia. Her marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, with both of them Dan and Rose aware that things are at a bit of a stalemate.

Rose as she wakes up to field behind the wheel of her car. She has no recollection of how she got there or even why she’s there. However, there’s blood on the window screen and bumper. How did this get there, what has happened? Did she hit something / someone?

We follow Rose tries to piece together what happened to her that day / night.  How both Dan, her husband and her are polite to each other, when in the same space. Her on off relationship with her daughter Olivia and the frustration Olivia is dealing with due to her boyfriend going missing.  Rose feels alone and not sure what to do, feeling like she wants to confide in someone about what happened but not to sure who to trust.

We are treated to glimpses of the background of Rose and through the narrator are drip fed snippets which you have wondering where things are leading and I have to say all my guesses where (yeah you guessed) wrong!!

All in all, I enjoyed this book and would like to thank Kerry Wilkinson, the publishers Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. This is my honest unbiased opinion in return.

About the author

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 bestsellers in the UK, Canada, South Africa and Singapore, as well as top-five books in Australia. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry has spent far too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

To connect with Kerry check out his website https://kerrywilkinson.com/ and follow the links to connect. 

Links to buy the book





Barry and The Chronicles - Alun Davies #blog tour # review

Today’s review is from Amelia and I am reviewing Barry and The Chronicles by Alun Barry.

About the Book

Barry encounters an evil force of Witches intent on capturing the minds of young children with a view to making themselves more and more powerful. Barry finds other Spiders along the way to help him stop their plans and together they battle for the upper hand.
Throughout the story there are constant references to The Spider Chronicles because it is a book of instruction, philosophy and meaning whose teachings are to be both followed and believed if good is to prevail over evil. Sometimes the content is easily understood but it cannot always be so and readers of all ages must seek the many messages being delivered.
The way Barry's life evolves is quickly read but hard to forget; there are many threads to follow and weave. This story could stay with you for years to come.



I loved this cover, it has a lot of detail with the spider’s web all around the edges of the book and the web looked like it was 3D with Barry still working on it.

To purchase a copy of the book follow the links below



About the author


Originating from the South Wales Valleys, Alun Davies had a varied and extensive career including roles in the Civil Service and international trade and accountancy practices before starting his own business.  Now retired he lives in London with his wife and three grown up children. In his spare time he writes music and has written original songs to accompany the release of the animation.

To connect with the author follow the links below



My Review

I am still reading Barry and The Chronicles but, these are my thoughts so far. This book is about a young spider called Barry and throughout the first couple of chapters you will learn how Barry fixes problems. Throughout this book, I have learnt that spiders read a book called ‘The Chronicles’ and there are rules in that book that every spider has to follow. About one in a million have special powers and these special powers are called ‘Secrets’. Barry has a human family and everybody in the family was scared of him.

Throughout this story Barry’s journey progresses and you get to read different chapters of ‘The Chronicles’ and these are some of the rules spiders have to follow.

From what I have read so far, the moral of this story is to not be afraid of the appearance of things. 
       
 Along with my review, I have a short-animated episode of the first chapter from Barry and The Chronicles. To watch this animation just click on the link below.  This is narrated by Alun Davies (who is also the author of the book).

Check out the rest of the blog tour with these fabulous blogs



My thanks to Alan Davies for providing me with a copy of the book and the lovely note that accompanied it, the publishers #ClinkStreetPublishing and also Rachel for my spot on the blog tour.   

Wednesday 21 March 2018

#CoverReveal #TheChosenOnes

Today I am pleased to be able to host the cover reveal for #TheChosenOnes by Carol Wyer and publishers Bookouture.

This is the fifth book in the brilliant Detective Robyn Carter series and the order of the books is as follows: -

1. Little Girl Lost
2. Secrets of the Dead
3. The Missing Girls
4. The Silent Children
5. The Chosen Ones

About the Book 


They had not been forgiven. And they would never be forgotten ….



When a doting young father is murdered and his body discovered in a cornfield for his family to see, it’s a harrowing new case for Detective Robyn Carter. But just as Robyn starts to investigate, a popular local doctor and young mother, is found dead outside her surgery.


As Robyn tries to find the link between the victims, she uncovers a dark web of secrets. Were these much-loved members of the community as innocent as they seemed? 

The killer has a message for Robyn and the carefully chosen victims. Can Robyn get to the truth before she becomes the next target? 


About the Author 



Carol Wyer is the author of gripping bestseller Little Girl Lost, the first in the Detective Robyn Carter series that has earned her acclaim as a crime fiction writer. Rights to the book have been taken up in several countries including: Poland, Israel, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Norway.

There are six further books in the series with The Secrets of the Dead, The Missing Girls and The Silent Children also released in 2017 and two further books due in 2018.

To connect with the author and found out more you can click on the following: -
To pre-order your copy of #TheChosenOnes to be delivered to your kindle on 24 May 2018 click below. 


Amazon.co.uk for the current price of £1.99 or 
Amazon.com for the current price of $2.78

So without further hesitation, I am pleased to show you the cover of #TheChosenOnes is ................






Go and click and pre-order, you know you want to! 


Monday 19 March 2018

#BookPost

Following on from the post regarding My Chronicle Book Box and the lovely prize I won.  I have also recently received some more #BookPost.

A lovely selection of cards, along with my review copy of #DriftStumbleFall by M Jonathan Lee courtesy of Hideaway Fall and some tea bags (which have already been used I'm afraid when I started reading the book) and before I took the pictures.   


 
My copy was even personalised which was a lovely thought. 

 
About this Book
 
Drift Stumble Fall is about Richard  feels  trapped  in  his  hectic  life  of  commitment  and  responsibility.    From  the  daily  mayhem  of  having  young children, an exhausted wife  and pushy in-laws who frequently outstay their welcome, Richard’s existence fills him with panic and resentment.  The only place  he  can escape  the dark cloud descending upon him  is the  bathroom,  where he hides for hours on end, door locked, wondering how on earth he can escape.

Often staring out of his window, Richard enviously observes the tranquil life of Bill, his neighbour living in the bungalow across the road.  From the outside,  Bill’s  world  appears filled with comfort  and peace.    Yet underneath the  apparent domestic  bliss  of  both  lives  are  lies, secrets,  imperfections,  sadness  and  suffering  far  greater  than  either  could have imagined.    Beneath  the surface,  a family tragedy has left  Bill  frozen in time  and unable to move on.    As he  waits for a daughter who may never return, Bill  watches Richard’s bustling  family life and yearns for  the joy  it  brings.    As the two men watch each other from afar, it soon becomes apparent that other people’s lives are not always what they seem.

 
I am pleased to confirm that I have read Drift Stumble Fall and my review will be posted very soon.
 
Watch this space. 
 
The book however can be pre-ordered here and is due for release on 12 April 2018. 
 
*****************
 
I was also lucky enough to be sent a copy of Come and Find Me by Sarah Hilary and publishers Headline who can be found on by clicking this link to Twitter.  
 

I love this cover, looks really intriguing and inviting. 

 
About the Book
 
On the surface, Lara Chorley and Ruth Hull have nothing in common, other than their infatuation with Michael Vokey. Each is writing to a sadistic inmate, sharing her secrets, whispering her worst fears, craving his attention.
 
DI Marnie Rome understands obsession. She's finding it hard to give up her own addiction to a dangerous man: her foster brother, Stephen Keele. She wasn't able to save her parents from Stephen. She lives with that guilt every day.
 
As the hunt for Vokey gathers pace, Marnie fears one of the women may have found him - and is about to pay the ultimate price.
 
The book however can be pre-ordered here and is due for release on 22 March 2018. 


This book is currently sat in my TBR pile and is slowly working itself to the top of the list.  Once I have read this book my review will be posted.  Another one to watch this space for. 
 
 

 

Sunday 18 March 2018

#Bookpost #MyChronicleBookBox #CompetitionWin

Hi Readers

I was lucky enough to win a competition through My Chronicle Bookbox and I would like to share what was received with you. 

The prize came in a lovely blue box which was presented beautifully and had me all giddy and excited to open and see what was in there.

 
 
Inside the box as I opened it was a lovely envelope with the My Chronicle Book Box seal on it and on opening was a lovely letter addressed to me personally advising of the contents that I had won.
 
 
They were as follows (and yes I have pictures to show you further down): -
 
Crow Tree ground coffee by Dark Woods Coffee.  The coffee is described as quality coffee which has chocolate flavours, clean with a hint of fruit, is roasted in Yorkshire and won a gold star at this year's Great Taste Awards.  Dark Wood coffee is served all around the UK including Louise's (My Chronicle Book Box's) local farm shop.
 
I am not a big coffee drinker, generally only having a coffee if I have been out for dinner somewhere and want to finish off the evening.  However, my husband loves coffee and is looking forward to checking this one out shortly. 
 

Next there was a beautiful tea and books print from the new autumnal range designed and produced by Miss Bohemia (www.missbohemia.com).  Louise didn't feel she could include coffee without something for the tea lovers (which I am most certainly one of them) and she also adores these prints.  Louise I can understand why they are gorgeous, and look forward to getting a nice frame for this and putting up in the office so when I am working on my blog I can see this.


There was also a unique bookish pocket mirror produced by JenThePieceMaker(https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/jenthepiecemaker) which was exclusively produced for My Chornicle Book Box.  This has already been placed in my bag and is used and always gets great comments when people see it.
 
How gorgeous is the back of the mirror?



Next is one of my favourite pieces and what I am forever buying - candles.
 
This one is an organic, soy based and beautiful scented candle tin from Northumbrian Candleworks.  This is a green apple scented candle and is describes as being of their best sellers and one which I am looking forward to lighting at some stage.
 

As a lovely final gift, Louise advised that she couldn't send one of their distinctive blue boxes and not include a book, so as a bonus to the prize that was advertised which is gorgeous in every detail.  I received a proof copy of A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne M Harris along with an exclusive interview that Joanne gave My Chronicle Book Box.





What a beautiful, most thoughtful competition prize.  I am honoured to have received this and cannot thank My Chronicle Book Box enough.   Below is a photograph of all the prizes together to show how gorgeous they all look.




 
 



























Friday 16 March 2018

The Dog Ate My Homework #BlogTour #Review


Today I hand my blog over to my mini me – Amelia who is kindly reviewing The Dog Ate My Homework.
 
 
 
The Dog Ate My Homework: and other poems for children

The Dog Ate My Homework by Aaron James is a collection of short poems that will capture your imagination. Filled with fun stories that make you think, laugh and tell your friends. Do you remember your first day at school? Or when you tried to convince your teacher you actually done your homework? Or the excitement you felt when you bought your new pair of trainers? In The Dog Ate My Homework you will get a chance to read all these stories and many more!
 

Amelia’s thoughts on the book
 
This book is a short book of about 10 pages and is aimed at children of between 5 and 8 and was a very short book.
The poems related to school days and were fun to read.  My favourite if I had to pick one would be My New Pair of Trainers.     
I told my mum that the illustrations were creative and funny.
The poems relate to school life and what can happen in school. 
 
My Review
The book is aimed at children younger than Amelia and I would say of between nursery age (i.e. about 3 to reception age of 4 - 5 years old). 
I particularly like the illustrations which were created and drawn by Nick Roberts and each illustration was appropriately matched to the poem that the author had written.
There are some good poems which describe every day life at school and these would be really good for children to read who are nervous about starting school for the first time.   
All in all the book was a quick read for both of us and normally after reading a book we can discuss it and expand upon the tale / story.  With this book there wasn't much that we could discuss further. 
We were both quite disappointed to note that there was quite a few blank pages at the end of the book as the blurb on the back of the book stated "Well in The Dog Ate My Homework you will get a chance to read all of these stories and many more!" which didn't really materialise.   
 
To purchase the book click on the link below.  


 
About the author:
 
Born and raised in Tottenham, North London and today living in Bromley, South London with his wife, Aaron James works as a poet and spoken word artist. The Dog Ate My Homework is his first children’s poetry book.

 

Check out the rest of the blog tour with these fabulous blogs: 

 

My thanks to Aaron James for providing this excerpt, the publishers #ClinkStreetPublishing and also Rachel @ Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the blog tour.  

 

 

Thursday 15 March 2018

The Best Bloomerville Hotel - #BlogTour #Extract


The Best Bloomerville Hotel

 

Today on my blog I have an extract of The Best Bloomerville Hotel by Caroline James.  I was lucky enough to be able to reveal the cover for this book back in January 2018.

 
 
 

 


About the Book

 
Let the shenanigans begin at the Boomerville hotel …

 
Jo Docherty and Hattie Contaldo have a vision – a holiday retreat in the heart of the Lake District exclusively for guests of ‘a certain age’ wishing to stimulate both mind and body with new creative experiences. One hotel refurbishment later and the Best Boomerville Hotel is open for business!

 
Perhaps not surprisingly Boomerville attracts more than it’s fair share of eccentric clientele: there’s fun loving Sir Henry Mulberry and his brother Hugo; Lucinda Brown, an impoverished artist with more ego than talent; Andy Mack, a charming Porsche-driving James Bond lookalike, as well as Kate Simmons, a woman who made her fortune from an internet dating agency but still hasn’t found ‘the One’ herself.
 

With such an array of colourful individuals there’s bound to be laughs aplenty, but could there be tears and heartbreak too and will the residents get more than they bargained for at Boomerville?

 
‘Britain’s answer to the Best Marigold Hotel! Book me in for Sharing with the Shaman and Clairvoyance in mid-life – this book is fabulous!’

Nikki Ashton, Amazon best-selling author
 

 

Now before I go on to provide a sneaky look at the inside of this book with my excerpt, let me tell you a little bit more about the author.

 




Caroline James has owned and run businesses encompassing all aspects of the hospitality industry, a subject that features in her novels. She is based in the UK but has a great fondness for travel and escapes whenever she can. A public speaker, consultant and food writer, Caroline is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association and writes articles and short stories and contributes to many publications.

 

Her debut novel, Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy & Me is set in North West England, at the time of a famous gypsy horse fair.  The book went straight to number three on Amazon and was E-book of the Week in The Sun.

 

So, You Think You're ACelebrity...Chef? was runner up the Winchester Writers festival for best TV Drama and takes a light-hearted look at the world of celebrity chefs as they battle it out for fame and fortune. Coffee,Tea, The Caribbean & Me was runner up at The Write Stuff, LBF, 2015 and is an Amazon best-seller and top recommended read by Thomson Holidays. Jungle Rock, a romcom novella set in Australia, revolves around a TV game show.

 

In her spare time, Caroline can be found trekking up a mountain or relaxing with her head in a book and hand in a box of chocolates.

 

To connect with the author and find out more, links to Caroline James are below.

 


 


 


 

So without putting this off anymore, as I know some of you will be looking forward to this excerpt ……….

 

Hattie raced down the path and as she turned the handle on the wrought iron gates that led to the meadow, she saw that the canvas flap on the tepee had been flung to one side.

  Bob skipped out.

  He glanced around then leant down to grab a handful of wild flowers, which he began to toss, one by one, into the air.

  Grinning foolishly, he started to dance.

  ‘Bleedin’ hell,’ Hattie muttered. ‘He’s smacked off his face.’

  She watched Bob prance up the steps of the gypsy caravan before pausing at the top. Placing the last of his flowers between his teeth, he pirouetted on one foot then flung out his arms and started to tap dance down the steps.

  Curtains parted on the windows of the caravan and several faces peered out. A woman wearing a headscarf and hoops of gold in her ears, smiled and waved at Hattie. Her skin was bright orange and as Hattie stared at the apparition she wondered if Hair and Beauty had a spray-tan offer that week. ‘Nothing to worry about, Queenie,’ Hattie called out. ‘Carry on with your session.’

  Hattie found Bob dancing around the meadow. Jo was going to have a fit and Hattie couldn’t let Bob go back to the hotel in this condition. Damn the Shaman and his herbs. She must do something.

  ‘Oi!’ Hattie called out. ‘Fred Astaire! Get your dancing feet over here.’

  ‘I’m singing in the rain.’ Bob sang as he twirled over to Hattie.

  ‘And I’ll be singing in the sin bin if you don’t get your act together.’ Hattie shoved one arm under Bob’s shoulder and tried to head him off and away from the caravan. But Bob was not to be stopped and, pushing Hattie to one side, broke into a repertoire of song and dance from all his favourite shows. Kicking his legs in the air and striding across the meadow, he belted out a medley.

  ‘And all that jazz!’ Bob sang.

  ‘You’re in bleedin’ Marland not Chicago.’ Hattie tried to grab Bob but he twirled away.

  ‘Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.’ Bob held up a finger and Hattie looked around. He clearly thought that he had an audience. ‘Bright copper kettles and warm coloured mittens …’

  ‘Look, Bob.’ Hattie grabbed his arms. ‘There are no brown paper packages tied up with string and these may all be a collection of your favourite things,’ she waved her arms vaguely, ‘but it’s time to get you safely back to your room.’

  Bob shrugged Hattie away and ran to the gate.

  Bursting through, he hooked his thumbs around a pair of imaginary braces and line-danced down the garden. ‘Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.’ Bob arrived at the top of the steps and his chorus reached a climax. ‘I gotta beautiful feelin’ …’

  A group of guests enjoying a game of croquet on the lawn, looked up as Bob achieved full throttle. They held mallets and one struck a ball in the direction of the hoop nearest the pond. But the player, distracted by Bob, miss-hit and sent the heavy ball speeding across the path where it hit a stone and bounced up. Hattie heard a whoosh as it sped in Bob’s direction.

  In a split second, she pushed Bob out of the way.

  Bob heard the players call out and as Hattie lunged, he turned and missed his footing and fell headlong into the pond. Hattie skidded to a halt and gravel flew in all directions, pebble-dashing the guests.

  Time seemed to stand still as Bob started to sink into the water.

 

Well, what do you all reckon to that, sounds like a great book and one that would be perfect to curl up with on a spring evening (if we ever get a spring) or even a nice beach holiday.  If this is the book for you then the links below will help you purchase the same.   

 

The Best Boomerville Hotel Links:

 


Ibooks/Google:  https://goo.gl/2aq7sz


 

Publication date for this book was 13 March 2018 so you can buy and read now.

 

Contemporary / Romantic Comedy by Caroline James  and published by Choc Lit.   

 

Check out some of the advance praise for this book below.

 

The Best Boomerville Hotel – Comments from advance readers

 

‘A lovely addictive read and one that I would recommend.’ Stephanie O’Neill, Ireland

 

‘Caroline’s characters shone their magic brightly and kept me hooked, evoking strong emotions. A triumph, I absolutely loved this book.’ Nicky Clifford, Author.

 

‘I really wish I could check into Boomerville and participate in the courses. I loved this book, it is a great read. Thanks to the author for bringing the crazy characters to life - I can’t wait for the next book.’ Ronnie Montgomory, London.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good to read about middle-aged people falling in love and reinventing themselves. Highly recommended.’ Tracey Owen, Cumbria.

 

‘Boomerville gripped me from the start with twists and laugh out loud moments. I loved it and hope we see more adventures in the future.’ Lisa Stewart, Southampton.

 

‘Caroline’s best book yet. I loved the characters and the Lake District setting was gorgeous. Boomerville is a wonderful journey.’  Amanda Williams, Wales.

 

Check out the rest of the blog tour with these fabulous blogs: 

 



 

My thanks to Caroline James for providing this excerpt, the publishers Choc Lit and also Rachel @ Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the blog tour.