#BookReview
The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner
@JamieLBrenner @littlebrown

categories: Review, Women's Fiction, 10/10, General Fiction

Synopsis:

When a young widow’s reclusive life in a charming beach town is interrupted by a surprise visitor, she is forced to reckon with dark secrets about her family, her late husband, and the past she tried to leave behind.

Lauren Adelman and her high school sweetheart, Rory Kincaid, are a golden couple. They marry just out of college as Rory, a star hockey player, earns a spot in the NHL. Their future could not look brighter when Rory shocks everyone-Lauren most of all-by enlisting in the U.S. Army. When Rory dies in combat, Lauren is left devastated, alone, and under unbearable public scrutiny.

Seeking peace and solitude, Lauren retreats to her family’s old beach house on the Jersey Shore. But this summer she’s forced to share the house with her overbearing mother and competitive sister. Worse, a stranger making a documentary about Rory tracks her down and persuades her to give him just an hour of her time.

One hour with filmmaker Matt Brio turns into a summer of revelations, surprises, and upheaval. As the days grow shorter and her grief changes shape, Lauren begins to understand the past-and to welcome the future.

Book Rating: 10/10

Absorbing, poignant, and incredibly moving!

The Husband Hour is a beautifully written story that delves into the complexities and dynamics of relationships between partners, siblings, and the nuclear family as a whole and reminds us that there’s no perfection in humanity, we are all wonderfully flawed.

The prose is fluid and well turned. The characters are authentic, scarred and lovable. And the story is an exceptionally mesmerizing tale about life, loss, love, grief, forgiveness, familial drama, friendship, courage, community, moving on, happiness, and the enduring physical and psychological effects of sports injuries on professional athletes.

Overall, The Husband Hour is the perfect blend of heart-wrenching emotion, grit, hope, and humour. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it left me smiling, and I absolutely loved it!

 

About the Author:

Jamie Brenner was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia but has called New York City her home for the past twenty years. She graduated from George Washington University with a degree in literature and spent her career in publishing before becoming an author herself. Her books include The Gin Lovers, The Wedding Sisters. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two daughters.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                             

 

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

#BookReview
Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
@ChristinaDodd @HarlequinBooks

categories: Review, Romantic Suspense, 7.5/10

Synopsis:

I have three confessions to make:
1. I’ve got the scar of gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don’t remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams…and that’s half a lie.

Girl running…from a year she can’t remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman’s dead and mutilated body, she’s soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder…then another.

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen’s driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she’s come to call home. Yet she wonders–with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past–could the killer be staring her in the face?

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Perilous, twisty, and sophisticated!

Dead Girl Running is the first novel in a new series by Dodd that introduces us to Kellen Adams, a skilled, determined young woman with a past rife with secrets, violence, and memory loss and a present filled with stolen artifacts, ruthless smugglers, and dead bodies.

The writing style is intricate and intense. The characters, including the hardworking, scarred heroine are multi-layered and mysterious. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine into a compelling tale filled with mixed emotions, red herrings, deception, abuse, manipulation, romance, friendship, and murder.

Dead Girl Running is an intelligent, entertaining, action-packed tale that has all the elements you look for in a romantic suspense novel and is an excellent start for the new Cape Charade series.

 

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd writes “edge-of-the-seat suspense” (Iris Johansen) with “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (ALA Booklist). Her fifty-eight books have been called “scary, sexy, and smartly written” by Booklist and, much to her mother’s delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Google Plus | Bookbub

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                           

 

Thank you to Harlequin Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

#BookReview
Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
@SusannaKearsley @SimonSchusterCA

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Review, 10/10, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Some houses seem to want to hold their secrets.

It’s 1759 and the world is at war, pulling the North American colonies of Britain and France into the conflict. The times are complicated, as are the loyalties of many New York merchants who have secretly been trading with the French for years, defying Britain’s colonial laws in a game growing ever more treacherous.

When captured French officers are brought to Long Island to be billeted in private homes on their parole of honour, it upends the lives of the Wilde family—deeply involved in the treasonous trade and already divided by war.

Lydia Wilde, struggling to keep the peace in her fracturing family following her mother’s death, has little time or kindness to spare for her unwanted guests. French-Canadian lieutenant Jean-Philippe de Sabran has little desire to be there. But by the war’s end they’ll both learn love, honour, and duty can form tangled bonds that are not broken easily.

Their doomed romance becomes a local legend, told and re-told through the years until the present day, when conflict of a different kind brings Charley Van Hoek to Long Island to be the new curator of the Wilde House Museum.

Charley doesn’t believe in ghosts. But as she starts to delve into the history of Lydia and her French officer, it becomes clear that the Wilde House holds more than just secrets, and Charley discovers the legend might not have been telling the whole story…or the whole truth.

Book Rating: 10/10

Powerful, absorbing, and incredibly fascinating!

Bellewether is an enthralling tale set on the eastern shores of Long Island during the late 1750s, as well as present day, and is told from three different perspectives. Lydia, a strong, hardworking young woman struggling to care and support those she loves in a time of uncertainty and upheaval. Jean-Philippe, a French-Canadian soldier who finds himself captured and a parole of honour in the final pivotal days of the Seven Years’ War. And Charley, an intelligent, independent woman determined to discover all the skeletons hidden inside the Wilde House, as well as her own.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are alluring, sympathetic, multi-layered, and authentic. And the plot is a sweeping saga filled with familial drama, introspection, love, loss, grief, mystique, heartbreak, romance, secrets, passion, loyalty, as well as a little peek into a war that had a tremendous impact on the culture and history of Canada as we know it today.

Bellewether is a beautifully written, exceptionally atmospheric novel that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters you never want it to end. It is without a doubt one of my favourite novels of the year that once again highlights Kearsley’s extraordinary imagination and talent as a masterful storyteller and researcher.

 

About the Author:

 

© Jacques du Toit

A former museum curator, Susanna Kearsley brings her passion for research and travel to her novels, weaving modern-day and historical intrigue. She won the prestigious Catherine Cookson Fiction Award for her novel Mariana, the 2010 Romantic Times Book Review’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction novel for The Winter Sea, was shortlisted for a 2012 RITA Award for The Rose Garden, and was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel from the Crime Writers of Canada for Every Secret Thing. 🍁

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / PINTEREST / BLOG

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

An Important Day for Literature Lovers
World Book Day
April 23!

categories: World Book Day, General Blog Posts

 

April 23rd is an important day for literature lovers!

 

This day is significant because it is the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and death, and also because it’s World Book Day.

 

To celebrate these two great occasions, Invaluable created a unique Shakespearean insult generator.

 

They’ve compiled the playwright’s best insults across his most famous works and organized them for every necessary occasion. Whether you need to insult a friend, lover, or enemy, they’ve got you covered. The next time you need to put someone in their place, you’ll definitely be reaching for one of these hilarious Shakespearean insults!

 

Happy World Book Day! Enjoy!

 

 

#BlogTour & #BookReview
Killing Time by Mark Roberts
@MR_CrimeWriter @Aria_Fiction @HoZ_Books

categories: Blog Tour, Review, Mystery/Suspense, 7/10

Synopsis:

Before night falls, someone will die…

A young Czech girl, missing for eight days, is found in a deserted playground. Starving and terrified, she may be alive but the horrors she’s survived have left her mute.

DCI Eve Clay is on her way to try and interview the girl, when another case is called in. Two Polish migrant workers have been found dead in their burnt out flat. But this is no normal house fire. The men’s bodies had been doused in petrol.

Then Clay uncovers a sinister message at the scene: killing time is here, embrace it. It’s clear this is only the beginning, but how long does Eve have before another life is taken?  

Book Rating: 7/10

Disturbing, menacing, and tortuous!

Killing Time is a complex tale that immerses you into the hunt, evidence collection, and investigation of a serial killer with a penchant for fire.

The prose is dark and eerie. The characters are devout, fanatical, and manipulative. And the plot is an incredibly twisty tale that delves into a world filled with deception, mental illness, obsession, malice, hatred, religious indoctrination, violence, and murder.

Killing Time is the fourth novel in the DCI Eve Clay series, and even though I found a few parts a little hard to follow in the early part of the story and could never pinpoint why it was set in the future rather than present day, it was still an entertaining, fast-paced, gripping read that fans of police procedurals will certainly enjoy.

 

About the Author:

Mark Roberts was born and raised in Liverpool. He was a teacher for twenty years and now works with children with severe learning difficulties. He is the author of What She Saw, which was longlisted for a CWA Gold Dagger.

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER

 

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                                      

 

 

Thank you to Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

ARIA WEBSITE / ARIA FACEBOOK / ARIA TWITTER / NETGALLEY / ARIA INSTAGRAM

 

 

#BlogTour #Excerpt #Giveaway
Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager
@KrystenLindsay @NeverlandBT

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Guest Post, Excerpt, Young Adult

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Cecily has always had a huge crush on singer Andrew Holiday and she wants to be an actress, so she tags along when her friend auditions for his new video. However, the director isn’t looking for an actress, but rather the girl next door—and so is Andrew. Cecily gets a part in the video and all of Andrew’s attention on the set. Her friend begins to see red and Cecily’s boyfriend is seeing green—as in major jealousy. A misunderstanding leaves Cecily and her boyfriend on the outs and Andrew hopes to pick up the pieces as he’s looking for someone more stable in his life than the models he’s dated. Soon Cecily begins to realize Andrew understands her more than her small-town boyfriend—but can her perfect love match really be her favorite rock star?

 

Excerpt:

Andrew sat back and nodded. “Well, Dimitri got the song, you know? He understood what I was looking for—a relationship where two people understand each other on a spiritual level. You know, where their souls connect. Make sense?” 

“Yeah, is that what you have with your girlfriend?” I asked hoping it didn’t look like I as phishing for info on who he was dating. 

He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve never had anything like that before. But it’s the ultimate idea though, you know? How about you?”

“No, never,” I said and then I felt guilt wash over me. “I mean, I’ve had deep connections with people—just not what you’re talking about or what Dimitri said—the whole deep mystical thing.” 

Andrew stared at me and I felt like he was looking into my soul. “Sometimes it feels like it’s impossible to get that connection with anybody. Or you think you’re halfway there and they say they get you, but then something happens and you know they weren’t as deep into it as you were—or at least as deep as you were hoping. That’s the inspiration for next song I’m working on. It’s about when you want to believe so badly that you have a soul connection, then something happens and you realize it was just another superficial relationship. That’s the title: Just Another Superficial Relationship.” 

“Wow, I can’t wait to hear it.” 

“I can sing you the chorus if you want,” he said. 

Holding my breath, I tried to be cool and not squeal with delight that my favorite singer was about to not only sing for me, but let me hear an unreleased song. This was like a dream come true and it made me question if I hadn’t indeed fallen into the water and hit my head on some rocks, and was now either dreaming this in a coma somewhere or this was my own personal version of heaven. I felt guilty for inwardly gushing over Andrew when I had a boyfriend. But this wasn’t about me being interested in going out with Andrew. It would never happen anyway. This was just me meeting my crush who happened to be a singer, who I felt understood my feelings more than anyone else. 

Andrew sang the chorus and a warmth washed over me. The song was perfect—the yearning, the longing—I had experienced all of it myself. It was like he had taken all my innermost thoughts and somehow put them into words. 

“Amazing,” I said. My whole body was warm as my mind raced. Was I actually sitting here with him and having him trust me enough to share a new song? This was beyond anything I had dreamt of happening today.

 

About Krysten Lindsay Hager:

Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends…Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star (The Star Series: Book 2) and Dating the It Guy. True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist.

Krysten’s work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on the talk show Living Dayton.

WEBSITE / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / AMAZON BIO / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST

 

 

International Giveaway:

 

£5 (or equivalent in dollars) Amazon gift card

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you to Krysten Lindsay Hager for allowing me to be part of the blog tour today! It was truly an honour!

 

Pick up a copy of this novel from your favourite retailer or from the following link!

#BookReview
Squared Away by Annabeth Albert
@AnnabethAlbert @CarinaPress #NetGalley

categories: Review, LGBTQIA, Contemporary Romance, 8.5/10

Synopsis:

In the wake of tragedy, SEAL Mark Whitley rushed stateside to act as guardian to his sister’s three young children. But a conflicting will could give custody to someone else—someone Mark remembers as a too young, too hot, wild party boy. Even after six years, Mark can’t shake the memory of his close encounter with Isaiah James, or face up to what it says about his own sexuality.

Isaiah’s totally over the crush that made him proposition Mark all those years ago. In fact, he’s done with crushing on the wrong men altogether. For now, he’s throwing himself into proving he’s the best person to care for his cousin’s kids. But there’s no denying there’s something sexy about a big, tough military man with a baby in his arms.

As the legal details get sorted out, their long-buried attraction resurfaces, leading to intimate evenings after the kids are tucked in. A forever future is within reach for all of them, if only Mark can find the courage he needs to trust Isaiah with his secrets—and his heart.

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Sensuous, intimate, and sensitive!

Squared Away is a heartfelt story that takes us into the lives of Mark and Isaiah as they each must learn to cope with the loss of a sibling, their new status as guardians to three children, and a budding relationship that will require a lot of trust and understanding.

The writing is generous and compassionate. The characters are sorrowful, supportive, and flawed. And the plot told from two different points of view nicely unravels to reveal a tale about life, loss, grief, responsibility, friendship, family, support, and the importance of communication.

Squared Away is another beautifully written tale about finding unconditional love by Albert that not only touches on the struggles encountered by same-sex and interracial relationships, but also the challenges faced by those who are grey ace on the asexual spectrum.

If you haven’t had a chance to read my reviews of the previous novels in the Out of Uniform series, be sure to check them out here:

 

About the Author:

Frequent tweeter, professional grammar nerd, and obsessive reader, Annabeth Albert is also a Pacific Northwest romance writer in a variety of subgenres.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST / YOUTUBE

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                

 

Thank you to Carina Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

#BookReview
The Cursed Wife by Pamela Hartshorne
@PamHartshorne @PGCBooks @panmacmillan

categories: Review, Mystery/Suspense, Historical Fiction, 7.5/10

 

Synopsis:

She is living a lie, And lies can be deadly.

Mary is content with her life as wife to Gabriel Thorne, a wealthy merchant in Elizabethan London. She loves her husband and her family, is a kind mistress to the household and is well-respected in the neighbourhood. She does her best to forget that as a small girl she was cursed for causing the death of a vagrant child, a curse that predicts that she will hang. She tells herself that she is safe.

But Mary’s whole life is based on a lie. She is not the woman her husband believes her to be, and when one rainy day she ventures to Cheapside, the past catches up with her and sets her on a path that leads her to the gibbet and the fulfilment of the curse.

The Cursed Wife is a page-turning, psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London.

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Atmospheric, gritty, and haunting!

The Cursed Wife is a well-paced, historical thriller set in England in the late 1600s that’s told from two different perspectives. Mary, a considerate, helpful, young woman with a past steeped in misfortune and deception. And Cat, a selfish, unscrupulous young lady driven by impulsiveness and jealousy.

The writing is immersive and eerie. The characters are tormented, hardened, and resourceful. And the plot, using a back-and-forth style is evocative, taut, and twisty from the very first page until the spine-chilling ending you won’t see coming.

The Cursed Wife is an intriguingly dark and sinister novel that sweeps you back in time and transports you from the opulent manor houses found in the English countryside to the dingy, dangerous London docks in an engrossing tale rife with desperation, survival, manipulation, abuse, deviance, violence, class disparity, and murder.

 

About the Author:

Pamela Hartshorne is a historian as well as an award-winning romance author. She lives in York, England and continues to draw inspiration from her PhD research to write about the 16th century, in fact or fiction. Time’s Echo, her first  novel written under her real name, was shortlisted for awards on both sides of the Atlantic

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / GOOGLE

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                        

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

  

#BookReview
The First Family by Michael Palmer & Daniel Palmer
@danielpalmer @StMartinsPress

categories: Review, Mystery/Suspense, 7.5/10

Synopsis:

A riveting new medical thriller from the critically acclaimed novelists.

Cam Hilliard is, in addition to being the President’s sixteen-year-old son, a chess prodigy. A year into President Hilliard’s second term Cam inexplicably stops playing the game he loved and becomes withdrawn. The First Lady is convinced that the senior White House physician is wrong in diagnosing Cam’s issue as a psychological one, and she demands that Dr. Lee Blackwood be brought on to provide a second opinion. Lee’s opinion is dismissed, until Cam’s spleen ruptures and it becomes obvious that something is horribly wrong.

Lee informs the President and First Lady that to make a diagnosis they need to find other people with the same symptoms to conduct additional testing. From there, it’s possible to identify the gene defects and correlate those to the missing enzymes. Only then can a diagnosis be made and treatment begun. For now, they must face the harsh reality that Cam’s genes are producing a mutation that appears to be entirely new to science.

As Lee delves into this medical mystery, he comes to believe Cam is not the first case of this presentation of an inborn error of metabolism. But when two young people Lee has found, each with exceptional gifts, are murdered, Cam’s condition suddenly takes on a terrifyingly new dimension. Is someone out to murder the President’s son? If so, why? As Lee searches for answers he will uncover unimaginable secrets and dark betrayals that breach the highest levels of security.

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Descriptive, entertaining, and action packed!

The First Family is a scientifically intriguing medical thriller that takes you into the heart of the White House and delves into the effects of alternative medicine, training, and practice on higher-level cognitive skills.

The writing is crisp. The characters are intelligent, protective, and relentless. And the plot is an engaging tale about greed, corruption, friendship, politics, mysterious illnesses, violence, and murder.

The First Family doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat or feature a lot of suspense, but it’s still a compelling read that fans of stories filled with Secret Service drama, medical analysis and scientific jargon will definitely enjoy.

 

About the Authors:

Michael Palmer, M.D., 1942-2013, was the author of Political Suicide, Oath of Office, A Heartbeat Away, The Last Surgeon, The Second Opinion, The First Patient, The Fifth Vial, The Society, Fatal, The Patient, Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment, Silent Treatment, Natural Causes, Extreme Measures, Flashback, Side Effects, and The Sisterhood. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages.

He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals, spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine, and served as an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s physician health program.

 

Daniel Palmer is the author of four critically-acclaimed suspense novels. After receiving his master’s degree from Boston University, he spent a decade as an e-commerce pioneer. A recording artist, accomplished blues harmonica player, and lifelong Red Sox fan, Daniel lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two children where he is currently at work on his next novel.

Website | Twitter

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                                            

 

#BlogTour #GuestPost #Giveaway
The Curse of Time by M. J. Mallon
@Marjorie_Mallon @NeverlandBT

categories: Noteworthy Book Releases, Guest Post, Young Adult, Fantasy

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.

With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.

 

 

About Marjorie Mallon:

I am a debut author who has been blogging for three years at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write Fantasy YA, middle grade fiction and micro poetry – haiku and Tanka. I love to read and have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/

My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheroes! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to my proud parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald. My parents dragged me away from my exotic childhood and my much-loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. In bonnie Edinburgh I mastered Scottish country dancing, and a whole new Och Aye lingo.

As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations to visit my abacus wielding wayfarer dad. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six-foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. After such an upbringing my author’s mind has taken total leave of its senses! When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.

WEBSITE / COLLABORATIVE BLOG / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / GOODREADS / FACEBOOK / TUMBLR

 

 

And now Marjorie Mallon:

 

My motto is to do what you love! Stay true to your heart’s desires, remain young at heart, and inspire others to do so, even if the odds are stacked against you like black-hearted shadows.

Recently, I had a conversation with my eldest daughter which really struck a chord with me. She is working in South Korea teaching English as a Foreign Language, following her dream to travel, teach and live abroad. I so admire her adventurous spirit. During this conversation she mentioned that studying English Literature at degree level had almost killed her love of reading. Can you imagine? How could this be? The course had been so analytical that it had dissected the pleasurable aspect of reading; emotion had been hung, drawn and quartered. Reading and writing should be about expressing our deepest emotions and passions. There have been countless occasions when I have cried when reading a book. The emotional response should be paramount, whether we respond by laughing, crying, exclaiming, or screwing up our faces in horror or disgust.

I am so thrilled to say my daughter has now re-discovered her love of reading. Thank heavens! A love of creativity is both a popular pastime and a career choice in my family. My youngest daughter Georgina is a keen photographer, following in her great uncle’s and her grandfather’s footsteps. (They ran the successful photographic business Ingram & Co in Edinburgh before the Second World War.)

Georgina’s wonderful photographic portrait of Elise Hackney, portraying my main character, Amelina. Interview with my character: https://mjmallon.com/2017/08/20/mj-interviews-amelina-the-curse-of-time-bloodstone-sundayblogshare/

Samantha Murdoch, https://samanthamurdochblog.wordpress.com kindly gave me permission to use her son Alex’s photography to promote my black cat character Shadow:

And here’s a close up of the wonderful Bloodstone crystal photography which appears on the spine of my paperback, via Samantha too.

Dr John C Taylor OBE gave me permission to use his wonderful images of The Corpus Christi Chronopage in my book. http://www.johnctaylor.com/the-chronophage/

 

When I read I enter a precious world, the domain of the author’s imagination. What a wonder and privilege it is to enter that realm. It has been a delight to read extensively and to review too. To date I have written over a hundred reviews. Now that I am a debut author the boot is on the other foot. Not, that I was ever a hard-nosed reviewer! It is the strangest experience reading reviews written about my book! Some of which fill me full of delight, some less so. But, that is the price an author pays. Not everyone will love an author’s book, whether their current novel is a bestseller or not. Even best-selling books are blighted by reviews which tumble mercilessly below four stars! Reading is and always should be a personal and subjective affair.

Recently, I received a review which said: ‘Enjoyable novel’ ‘This book has a complex mix of themes running through it, and at times my head did spin as I tried to keep up.’ Another reviewer remarked that: ‘This is a brilliant book for young adults interested in magic, supernatural, paranormal, fantasy and myth. I found it highly readable and the author’s imagination is phenomenal, as is the fluency of her language and the dazzling way she describes the curious events and characters in her story.’

Readers’ opinions will differ and that’s what makes reading and writing so unique, special and wonderful. I urge you to support a debut author by reading and reviewing The Curse of Time – Book 1 – Bloodstone. It is (as one reviewer states,) ‘a clear labour of love.’

 

International Giveaway:

 

A £35 Amazon Gift Card

(or equivalent to £35 for an International winner either by gift card or if not possible and if it’s  not possible the cash equivalent.)

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank you to Marjorie Mallon for being a guest on my blog today! It was truly an honour!

 

Pick up a copy of this novel from your favourite retailer or from the following link!

%d bloggers like this: