Blog Tour The Light Keeper by Cole Moreton

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Sarah stands on the brink, arms open wide as if to let the wind carry her away.
Her partner Jack is desperate to find her before it is too late. But Sarah doesn’t want to be found. She’s run away to
be alone, to face a moment of truth that will mean life or death.
And someone else is seeking answers up here on the high cliffs near Beachy Head, where the seabirds soar – a man
known only as the Keeper, living in an old lighthouse without a light, right on the cusp of a four-hundred-foot drop.
He is also discovering that sometimes love takes you to the edge

Cole Moreton’s debut novel is a powerful, evocative exploration of grief and longing, heartache and infertility, lost
dreams and long-hidden secrets, and life and death. An award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Cole is available
for interviews, to write articles and to speak at events linked to this rich, multi layered literary tour de force.
Subjects he can explore from personal experience include the male perspective on fertility treatment, the
incredible story of the real-life lighthouse at the centre of The Light Keeper, the landscape of the Seven Sisters
national park where he lives, and the volunteers who patrol the cliff edge day and night, in all weathers.
‘Sarah Bramer, formerly Jones, reported missing March 27 at 10.13pm. Female, 30 years old, born in Birmingham,
United Kingdom. Address 114a Orford Road, Walthamstow, London E17. Married to Jack Bramer, 30, of the same
address. Ethnicity: M1, Scottish and Jamaican. Occupation: teacher at St Joseph’s Community School, Leyton.
Height: 5ft, 10ins. Hair: reddish brown. Distinguishing features: birth mark on left breast, small tattoo of a soul bird
on upper right buttock. Eyes: green like the sea on a hot day. Smile: intoxicating. Laugh: mesmerising. Brightness:
dazzling. Beauty: silencing. Mood swings: infuriating. Sadness: heartbreaking. Whereabouts: unknown.’
‘An absolute
thing of beauty.
Fabulous.’
Jane Fallon,
bestselling novelist
& Bafta nominee
‘Tremendous speed
and pace.
The ending took
me completely
by surprise.’
Jeffrey Archer
‘Beautifully
haunting…
Evocative… and
deeply immersive.’
Rev Kate Bottley,
Radio 2
‘Cole writes with
human warmth
and bittersweet
emotion.
I loved this.’
Matt Haig
About the author: Award-winning interviewer, writer and broadcaster Cole Moreton has covered many of the major
news stories of our time, from 9/11 to the Olympics and the death of Nelson Mandela. He writes, talks and tells stories
about the arts, politics, cultural identity, faith, spirituality and life – and above all, about people. Cole’s previous
book, The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, told the moving true story of a modern medical miracle. His BBC Radio 4
series of the same name won Audio Moment of the Year at the Arias, and Best Writing at the World’s Best Radio
awards. The Light Keeper is Cole’s first novel. Find out more about Cole and his work at https://colemoreton.com/

My Review

I recieved a physical ARC of this book for an honest review

I would first like to note the trigger warnings for this book which includes Infertilly,domestic abuse,rape, depression and suicide. Please beaware that I personally feel that you need to be in the right frame of mind to read this.

This book certainly took myself on an emotionally charged journey with some epic scenary thrown in. It was quite slow paced to start woth put did pick up towards the end of the novel . I think the littlestories within the stories were very interesting and also easy to understand.

Overall the premise is good and through this book does deal with some extremly serious issues as mentioned above. However I did feel the plot was a littleall over the place Having said that I would reccomend and have given it 3 out of 5 stars

Review The Sunset Sisters by Cecillia Lyra

Two sisters. A surprising inheritance. A summer that changes everything.

As children, half-sisters Cassie and Julie were nearly inseparable, bonded through happy, lazy summers playing barefoot in the surf and sleeping out on the porch of their grandmother’s Hamptons beach house. Though from wildly different backgrounds, each magical summer the girls were as close as only best friends, accomplices, sisters can be. But they haven’t spoken in nearly fifteen years—not since the funeral of Cassie’s mother—and now there is only resentment and painful memories between them.

Successful and self-contained, Cassie is shocked to learn the requirements of their nana’s will—that she and Julie spend one final summer together in the Hamptons house in order to inherit. Cassie agrees reluctantly, she needs an excuse to leave Boston and give the growing rumors about her personal life a chance to die down.

And for Julie, who is discovering too late the cracks in her marriage, it is the chance to repair at least one damaged relationship. But for the two sisters to regain what they had, they will have to finally confront what happened the night Cassie lost her mother. With their Nana’s wisdom guiding the way, could this summer bring painful discoveries, and a new direction, for both sisters?

My Review

I was gifted this copy by the the publisher via Netgalley in exchnage for an honest review.

A few triggers warning for this book, abuse and infidelity

This book definatly had a summer beachy vibe as some of it is set by the ocean. I could really imagine myself at Nana and house and loved the descriptions of these parts I read this over 2 days and was felt quite drawn to the plot and charctors. However some of it felt clunky were very slow and the temptation was to start skimming through. I am glad I didn’t as it was sprinkled with a few plot twists towards the end

3 of 5 stars

Blog Tour Murder of the Green

 

 Blurb

Murder on the Green

Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake Off in this foodie delight with murder at its heart.

Hampden Green has been a quiet for months, allowing Ben Hunter to concentrate on running The Old Forge Café. That is until celebrity chef Justin McCleish announces he is opening a pop-up restaurant at the local opera festival and wants Ben to help out.

Ben couldn’t prouder or more flattered, until he discovers he hasn’t been hired for his cooking abilities… Justin is being blackmailed and he needs help to crack the case. That is, until extortion turns deadly!

Now Ben must do whatever it takes to find the killer before they strike again…

My Review

This book was read in a few sittings in the garden.   It is a modern cosy mystery with Ben who is a chef as the Main Character. I have to admit I did not warm to him at all

I have to say this was very slow read to start with. I have to admit to skimming a few sections until it picked up  It did pick up some pace with some ok twists and turns along the way.

For me although I enjoyed my time reading the book its not a story or Book  which will stick in my mind if ou asked me the plot in a few weeks time I probably couldn’t tell you

I am undecided on a rating probably a 2 or 3 stars out of 5

If you are looking for a book to read in the garden or by the pool this is your book and if you like a cosy mystery I think you will love this.  Don’t let me put you off picking this up

No Sad Songs Blog Tour. Guest Post

Today I’m joined by Frank Morelli with a Guest Post

Oh, How I Miss the 90s: Why I Set My Novel in the Greatest Decade that Ever Was

When I tell people I wrote a novel for young adults that is set in the 1990s I get a lot of eye rolls and stifled, behind-the-palm laughter and I just don’t get it. Look, I understand how important it is to live in the present. I do it every day. Isn’t that enough? I mean, was it really such a blasphemous decision to set No Sad Songs in the decade in which I felt most equipped to tell the story, back when I was a teen and watching my own grandfather go through the daily struggle of an Alzheimer’s victim? Is it really such a problem for me to not be obsessed with the minute-by-minute, social media soaked lives we’re now entrenched in, or is it just that people have forgotten how awesome it was to live during the 20th Century’s most underrated era? Here are my top five reasons why I miss the decade where “awesomeness” literally became a part of popular vernacular and the place that my novel, No Sad Songs, calls home.

5. Keeping it Fresh With The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Now, this is a story all about how my life…yeah, you know the rest. Don’t lie. I know you have it memorized. We all do. Every single lyric in this most iconic of all sitcom themes is burned into the grey matter of anyone who lived through the 90s or was brave enough to watch reruns. Besides learning how to dance “the Carlton” and how to “get jiggy with it”, Will Smith taught us how to wear a million, neon colors all at once and reminded us that “parents just don’t understand.” Like, anything. At all. But Smith also set the bar for a new awareness built on acceptance, understanding, and equality. And he’s from West Philadelphia (born and raised), which is also a plus-100 in my eyes.

4. Social Media Who?

Every time I fire up a device and spend the next two hours responding to meaningless posts and emails, I’m reminded of a time when the only thing that stood between myself and being entirely off-the-grid was a two-by-two inch square of black plastic clipped to my belt in the form of a pager. If someone wanted to contact me they’d leave their number in tiny, pixelated digits and then it was my choice whether or not I wanted to respond. With an actual phone call. See, nobody can stalk you on a pager. Nobody can steal your identity on a pager. In fact, there’s really not much a pager can do besides vibrate…and free your mind to think about things that are more important than cat videos and political memes.

3. Cartoon Heaven

Recently, I flipped on the TV on a Saturday morning and was gravely disappointed. Gone were the zany and predictable scenes of Acme safes and anvils flattening unsuspecting animated characters. Gone were the tough, Brooklyn accents and the silly cat and mouse tactics set to the oddly fitting crescendos of Mozart and Bach. In their places were sad, sappy space creatures and wimpy, pseudo-toddlers designed to gently caress self esteem levels and eradicate the subtle art of comedic delivery. Nothing like the 90s, where Bugs and the gang ruled the weekend morn and where staples of the newly-rising adult cartoon genre such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, and Beavis & Butthead filled the weekdays with animated glory. Quite frankly, I haven’t been able to enjoy a bowl of Cookie Crisp since.

2. The Video Game Sweet Spot

Don’t get me wrong, game systems in the present day are mind-blowing. I’m flabbergasted every time I see the crystal clear graphics and the fast-paced action of today’s video games. They are all technological feats that mimic real life to such levels it’s downright scary. When you compare a game like “Horizon Zero Dawn” to “Pong” from Atari, well, there’s not much of a comparison at all. But, then again, the one thing that’s lacking from today’s games is a balance between complexity and simplicity. That’s why I miss games like Nintendo’s Tecmo Super Bowl and Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. That’s why I long for the days of watching an animated hedgehog spin wildly through outlandish environments that wouldn’t make sense on any planet in our solar system. Games like these were just complex enough to keep you interested, but simple enough that you didn’t have to spend six weeks holed up in your basement to play them. You could actually see the outside world once in a while, which was nice.

1. Music

Kurt Cobain. Tupac Shakur. Notorious B.I.G. All still alive and producing music in the 90s. There was an avalanche of grunge spilling across the nation from Seattle and LA. The hip-hop scene in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, and DC brought us legendary acts like The Roots, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, NAS, and A Tribe Called Quest while gangsta rap ruled the West Coast and made Snoop, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Warren G household names. Did I mention the 90s also gave birth to legendary bands like Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and so many more that I dare not list them in this post for fear of burning the entire internet to a crisp. Oh, 1990s, please take me away!

Blurb: Following a family tragedy, 18-year-old Gabe LoScuda suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of caregiver for his ailing grandfather. Between the shopping trips and the doctor visits with Grandpa, Gabe and his friend John try to salvage their senior year, meet girls, and make the varsity baseball team. It doesn’t take long for Gabe to realize that going to school and looking after a grandfather with Alzheimer’s is more work than he ever imagined.

And when long-lost Uncle Nick appears on the scene, Gabe soon finds that living with Nick and Grandpa is like babysitting two grown men. Aside from John, the only person who truly understands Gabe is Sofia, a punk-rocking rebel he meets at the veteran’s hospital. When these three unlikely friends are faced with a serious dilemma, will they do what it takes to save Grandpa? If there’s a chance of preserving the final shreds of Grandpa’s dignity, Gabe may have to make the most gut-wrenching decision of his life—and there’s no way out.

Goodreads; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36377669-no-sad-songs?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0989908747/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989908747/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0989908747&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

 

About Frank Morelli: FRANK MORELLI has been a teacher, a coach, a bagel builder, a stock boy, a pretzel salesman, a bus driver, a postal employee, a JC Penney model (see: clerk), an actual clerk (like in the movie of the same name), a camp counselor, a roving sports reporter, and a nuclear physicist (okay, maybe that’s not true). At heart, he’s a writer, and that’s all he’s ever been. His fiction and essays have appeared in more than thirty publications, including The Saturday Evening Post, Cobalt Review, Philadelphia Stories, Jersey Devil Press, and Indiana Voice Journal. His sports-themed column—“Peanuts & Crackerjacks”—appears monthly at Change Seven Magazine. A Philadelphia native, Frank now lives near Greensboro, NC in a tiny house under the trees with his best friend and muse, their obnoxious alley cats, and two hundred pounds worth of dog.

Website: https://frankmorelliwrites.com/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@frankmoewriter

Review THE GOOD SON By You-Jeong Jeong

Blurb

YOU WAKE UP COVERED IN BLOOD
THERE’S A BODY DOWNSTAIRS
YOUR MOTHER’S BODY

YOU DIDN’T DO IT. DID YOU?
HOW COULD YOU, YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN THE GOOD SON

THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION FROM KOREA’S MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR YOU-JEONG JEONG.

When Yu-jin wakes up covered in blood, and finds the body of his mother downstairs, he decides to hide the evidence and pursue the killer himself. 

Then young women start disappearing in his South Korean town. Who is he hunting? And why does the answer take him back to his brother and father who lost their lives many years ago.

For a thriller this is a very slow burner It is told in a very subtle way. If you are used to having your thrillers dished up on a plate and then washed up for you. I think you will be very disappointed!! But if you don’t mind working at the book you will be pleasantly surprised.

The narrator Yu-jin doesn’t give much away you have to be patient while you are told what has happened to his mother through a series of  flash backs.   The further you get into this novel  the more you are taken on a a dark and sinister path. Which was terrifying.

I would recommend this book for those who like a slow paced thriller which is nearly as good as the Woman in the Window

This book was sent to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

3 out of 5 stars

 

Cover Reveal Deep Blue by Jane O’Reilly

Blurb:

Date: 27th September 2188. Vessel: The Alcatraz 2. Prison Ship Location: UNKNOWN

Jinnifer Blue opens her eyes to find herself in a ship that is the source of her darkest nightmares. Her plan to expose the horrific truth behind the government’s secret Second Species programme has failed, and now she’s being turned into a weapon by her worst enemy . . . her mother.

At the other end of the galaxy Caspian Dax, ferocious space pirate and Jinn’s sometime lover, is facing an even more terrifying fate. He’s being forced to fight in the arena on Sittan, a pitiless, ruthless alien landscape where blood is the only prize that matters. They will use him, destroy him, change him.

Jinn has only one chance – to go to Sittan and find Dax before his mind is completely destroyed. She must rely on her friends and one old enemy, leave her beloved ship the Mutant behind, and travel to a hostile planet. But hardest of all, she must keep faith that when she finds Dax, there will be something left of the man she knew.

One thing’s for sure: the fight has only just begun.

‘I was addicted from the first page! An intriguing story line with interesting characters and a different view of the future and of space travel.’ Amazon reviewer

‘This is one fabulous sci-fi story with a brilliantly well realised futuristic world’ Reading Revelations

Website: http://www.janeoreilly.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/janeoreilly Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janeoreillyauthor Instagram: https://instagram.com/janeoreilly2032

Blog Tour Guest Post A Mother’s Sacrifice By Gemma Metcalfe

Infertility as the basis for a Thriller

When conjuring up a storyline, I always try to ´write what I know.´ Not only am I lazy, and therefore reluctant to do heaps of research, I also feel that the more personal I can make a storyline, the better. This is especially true when writing from a first person point of view, as I am able to easily become the character I am portraying.

My debut novel Trust Me was loosely based on my experiences as a telemarketer. I felt that because I understand how strangers interact over the phone, as well as the call centre set up, I was able to create a believable narrative.

When bouncing around ideas for my second novel, I knew pretty early on that I wanted to use infertility as the basis for the story. Infertility is something my husband and I have struggled with for many years. We have undergone several rounds of IVF treatment as well as a miscarriage. I don’t think it is something a person can fully understand unless they have experienced it. Although heart-breaking, I knew the subject would make the basis for an excellent psychological thriller, especially once I injected other secondary issues such as depression, jealousy and a touch of psychosis! The twist came to me during the planning process and I knew I was on to something. I also knew that because I was living through infertility I would do the subject justice.

As the early reviews for A Mother´s Sacrifice came flooding in, I was eager to see how the subject had been received. Fortunately readers fully empathised with my main character Louisa, and understood that although I was writing fiction, and indeed a thriller with numerous twists and turns, the heart of the story was always a mother´s love for her desperately wanted child.

Choosing to talk about my own journey hasn’t been easy. However, I believe attitudes need to change and women (and indeed men) should feel that they are able to talk about such issues. As a writer I do have somewhat of a platform and therefore I feel it is my duty to bring issues such as infertility, depression, anxiety etc. into the open.

Finally, if you are dealing with infertility of any kind, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You´re not alone and you don’t have to suffer in silence.

Gemma Metcalfe is a Manchester born author who now lives in sunny Tenerife with her husband Danny and two crazy rescue dogs Dora and Diego. By day, Gemma can be found working as a Primary school teacher, but as the sun sets, she ditches the glitter and glue and becomes a writer of psychological thrillers. An established drama queen, she admits to having a rather warped imagination, and loves writing original plots with shocking twists. The plot for her debut novel ´Trust Me,´ is loosely based on her experiences as a call centre operative, where she was never quite sure who would answer the phone..

Blurb: God ensured she crossed my path. And that is why I chose her. The day Louisa and James bring their newborn son home from the hospital marks a new beginning for all of them. To hold their child in their arms, makes all the stress and trauma of fertility treatment worth it. Little Cory is theirs and theirs alone. Or so they think… After her mother’s suicide when she was a child, Louisa’s life took an even darker turn. But meeting James changed everything. She can trust him to protect her, and to never leave her. Even if deep down, she worries that she has never told him the full truth about her past, or the truth about their baby. But someone knows all her secrets – and that person is watching and waiting, with a twisted game that will try to take everything Louisa holds dear.

Click here for a giveaway

Blog Tour(Guest Post) The Little Wedding Island by Jaimie Adams

December 2016.

I’ve just finished the first draft of The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters. I’m convinced that was my last great idea. Even though I feel like this after every book – what if that was the last one? What if I’ll never come up with any more ideas? What if I’ll never write anything again? – this time (like every other time!) I’m convinced my well of writing ideas really has run dry for the last time.

However! In my two weeks off over Christmas, inspiration strikes. From reading a name in a book I got for Christmas, a whole story sparks in my head, and by Boxing Day, I’ve gone from worrying about having no ideas to having written a full synopsis.

January 2017.

Realise my fantastic synopsis is missing something. No clue what that something is. After a few days, inspiration strikes again. Find the missing ‘something’. Rewrite synopsis to include the missing something. Now synopsis is too convoluted. Try to shave it down. Now it’s an unintelligible mess. Work out that the missing something is actually the main point of the story and the initial idea is now unnecessary. Take out initial idea and rewrite synopsis including only the missing something.

If I didn’t already hate writing synopsises, I would by now.

Convinced the idea is fresh and original and exciting, I send the synopsis to my editor, mainly to stop myself rewriting the thing another six times.

February 2017.

As I haven’t heard back from my editor about the synopsis, I start writing the book anyway, convinced she will love my genius idea and I’ll be ahead of the game by already having chapters to show her when she undoubtedly gives me the go ahead.

April 2017.

Hear from editor. The story is awful and needs a complete rethink. The characters are unlikeable and have got to be changed. On plus side, she likes the setting so I can keep that. Pretend I haven’t just written the first 20,000 words and agree to her changes. Overjoyed to sign another contract with HQ, while internally screaming that I have no flipping idea what to do. I am never going to come up with something that fits in with my new guidelines.

May 2017.

Okay, after a week or so of panicking, I say ‘sod it’ and just start writing. Somehow, the story tells itself as I type and I blaze through the first four chapters in a week. Send them to my editor. Tell myself not to write any more until I have her approval because we know how well it went last time.

June 2017.

Editor loves chapters. I have full approval to carry on. I have ages left on my deadline. I spend lazy afternoons in the garden telling myself that if I write 2000 words a day, I’ll have plenty of time to spare. I roll my sleeves up, excited to get back in, and… stall. The ease of the first four chapters does not return. I stare at a blank screen and force words out only to immediately delete them because they are so awful. 2000 words a day? I’m lucky if I write 20. I wanted this book finished by the end of July, and at the rate I’m going, it will be – by the end of July 2021.

July 2017.

My deadline isn’t until August 31st, but August is booked up with family visiting and holidays, and I always need time to fix my first drafts before I submit them. Realise I have less than a month until I need to finish this book. I’m only 30,000 words in. Book needs to be 80-100k. No longer have the luxury of staring at a blank screen and have to force myself to write like the clappers. I completely miss the summer outside as I am chained to my computer, trying to do 5-6k a day. Exist on extremely healthy diet of Solero ice creams, frozen grapes, and several bags of out-of-date funsize Milky Ways I found in the back of a cupboard from last Halloween.

August 2017.

Finish first draft, missing a few scenes and in a huge mess. Have two weeks off for family stuff. It’s now mid-August and I have two weeks left before I have to hand this book in. Draft is an absolute muddle of bits that don’t make sense, things I need to look up, and words I couldn’t think of at the time and still can’t. And those scenes I struggled with two weeks ago? I’m still struggling with them now. Write the last one at 1am on August 31st. How’s that for cutting it fine?

September 2017.

Research next book. Try not to think about the fact my editor will hate The Little Wedding Island so much that there clearly won’t be a next book.

As next book is a Christmas book, if I’m going to write it, I want to write it between now and Christmas, so I write out a quick synopsis and send it in, convinced it will be weeks before I hear anything, and the Christmas idea is so stupid that the only thing I will hear is my editor’s groans of despair. Have heart attack when she emails within a couple of hours, offering me another two book deal.

October 2017.

Write one page of the Christmas book before my email pings with the revisions for The Little Wedding Island. Put it aside to do them instead. Revisions are never fun but I know these could be worse. Sulk and comfort eat funsize Maltesers that were meant to be for Halloween trick-or-treaters. Everyone agrees that if you eat five bags of funsize Maltesers, only the calories in the first bag count, right?

Bio:

Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.

She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.

She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters, The Little Wedding Island, and Kismetology, and she has also written young-adult romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform School.

Author links:

http://www.jaimieadmans.com
http://twitter.com/be_the_spark
http://facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks

The Little Wedding Island:

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074SD3RKH

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SD3RKH

Kobo: http://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-little-wedding-island

Also available from all other ebook retailers.

Blurb:

 

‘Will you… pretend to marry me?’

Bonnie Haskett loves everything about weddings. She loves her job at a national bridal magazine and even has a deposit down on her dream dress. The only problem? She doesn’t have a fiancé!

So when Bonnie is sent to Edelweiss Island, known as ‘The Little Wedding Island’, it’s a dream come true. She’s heard the rumours, every wedding that takes place in the tiny chapel ends in a happy-ever-after.

But there’s a catch! Investigating the story, Bonnie needs to pose as a blushing bride – and the only man up for posing as her groom is her arch rival (and far too handsome for his own good) journalist Rohan Carter…

A gorgeously uplifting summer romance. Perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Caroline Roberts.

Giveaway: [pic attached]

The Little Wedding Island themed goodie bag:

• The Little Wedding Island notebook
• The Little Wedding Island fridge magnet
• A signed postcard
• In honour of Puffin the dog, a pug fountain pen
• In honour of Edelweiss Island, a copy of The Sound of Music on DVD
• A ‘grow your own’ Edelweiss flower kit in a tin

Click here for a giveaway

Review The Night Child by Anna Quinn

Blurb

Nora Brown teaches high school English and lives a quiet life in Seattle with her husband and six-year-old daughter. But one November day, moments after dismissing her class, a girl’s face appears above the students’ desks — ”a wild numinous face with startling blue eyes, a face floating on top of shapeless drapes of purples and blues where arms and legs should have been. Terror rushes through Nora’s body — the kind of raw terror you feel when there’s no way out, when every cell in your body, your entire body, is on fire — when you think you might die.”

Twenty-four hours later, while on Thanksgiving vacation, the face appears again. Shaken and unsteady, Nora meets with neurologists and eventually, a psychiatrist. As the story progresses, a terrible secret is discovered — a secret that pushes Nora toward an even deeper psychological breakdown. 

My Review

This book really grabbed my attention and kept it there until the last page. It explored the mind  middle aged woman called Nora. 

It is a very dark novel so please note  this deals with some  very upsetting topics and at points is a very uncomfortable and emotionally draining read. I also want to stress that these topics may also be triggers for some people.

Having read that this is based on the authors own personal experiences. I am very impressed by the courage this  took for Anna Quinn to write.

The Night Child is a beautifully written very quick but fascinating read.

Thank you to the publisher and Net galley for sending me an advanced copy for an honest review

4 of 5 stars

 

 

 

Blog Tour And a Sixpence for Luck by Lilac Mills

Blurb

Daisy Jones has hit rock bottom. Or so she believes.

A cheating boyfriend, trouble at work, having to move back in with her mother, and being forced to compare her brother’s loved-up, newly-wed status and brand-new shiny house with her own dire lack of prospects, isn’t what she imagined her life was going to be like at thirty. To top it all off, Christmas is just around the corner!

Daisy, bless her, thinks things can’t possibly get any worse, but when her ancient great-grandmother persuades her to plant a silver sixpence in the Christmas pud for luck, Daisy is about to discover that they most definitely can.

Bio

Lilac spends all her time writing, or reading, or thinking about writing or reading, often to the detriment of her day job, her family, and the housework. She apologises to her employer and her loved ones, but the house will simply have to deal with it! She calls Worcester home, though she would prefer to call somewhere hot and sunny home, somewhere with a beach and cocktails and endless opportunities for snoozing in the sun… When she isn’t hunched over a computer or dreaming about foreign shores, she enjoys creating strange, inedible dishes in the kitchen, accusing her daughter of stealing (she meant to say “borrowing”) her clothes, and fighting with her husband over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher. Website: http://www.lilacmills.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilacmills

Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/LilacMills/

Purchase links

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752XTPHB Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0752XTPHB

And a Sixpence for Luck Giveaway

Prize: Signed copy of the book and a silver sixpence necklace

International

a Rafflecopter giveaway