Category: General Blog Posts

#BookReview #BlogTour #Giveaway Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman @LucyColemanAuth @aria_fiction @rararesources

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#BookReview #BlogTour #Giveaway Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman @LucyColemanAuth @aria_fiction @rararesources

#BookReview #BlogTour #Giveaway Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman @LucyColemanAuth @aria_fiction @rararesources Title: Magic Under the Mistletoe

Author: Lucy Coleman

Published by: Aria on Sep. 5, 2019

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Aria, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Christmas and romance are in the air…

It’s December 23rd and while everyone else is rushing home for the holidays, workaholic Leesa Oliver is dreading switching on her out-of-office for the festive season. And it seems her equally driven boss, Cary Anderson, isn’t relishing spending Christmas at his family’s country estate either.

So together, they draft an unexpected Christmas contract: They’ll spend half of the holidays with each other’s families, pretending to be a couple. Leesa knows the insufferably good-looking Cary will make her Christmas more bearable, but what happens after the last of the mince pies have been eaten…?

Leesa signed off on a sensible business agreement, but somewhere, amongst the fairy lights and carols something seems to have changed… It seems there might just be some magic under the mistletoe this Christmas!

Review:

Heartfelt, festive, and romantic!

Magic Under the Mistletoe is a lovely, character-driven rom-com that sweeps you away to the city of Cardiff and into the lives of the devoted, workaholic Leesa and the arrogant, successful Cary as they discover that there may be more to their relationship than just work, pretend feelings, and fake dating.

The writing is warm and light. The characters are hardworking, complex, and supportive. And the plot is an irresistible, wintery treat bursting with heart, humour, self-discovery, secrets, heat, spirit, chemistry, Christmas cheer, and familial drama.

Overall, Magic Under the Mistletoe is another cosy, uplifting, delightfully enchanting story by Coleman that is the perfect holiday choice for any blustery afternoon read.

 

This book is available now.  

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

 

 

About Lucy Coleman

From interior designer to author, Linn - who also writes under the pen name of Lucy Coleman - says ‘it’s been a fantastic journey!’

Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and is excited to be writing for both Harper Impulse (Harper Collins) and Aria Fiction (Head of Zeus); she’s represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.

When she’s not writing, or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture or working in the garden.

Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award; her novels have been short-listed in the UK's Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards.

Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she freely admits she’s an eternal romantic.

Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love and relationships.

Website | Facebook | Pinterest

 

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

 

Giveaway:

Win a Signed paperback copy of Snowflakes over Holly Cove and Christmas Pamper Pack. (UK only)

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

 

#BookReview The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan

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#BookReview The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @panmacmillan Title: The Sun Sister

Author: Lucinda Riley

Series: The Seven Sisters #6

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Oct. 31, 2019

Genres: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 848

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Pan Macmillan, NetGalley

Book Rating: 8.5/10

To the outside world, Electra D’Aplièse seems to be the woman with everything: as one of the world’s top models, she is beautiful, rich and famous.

Yet beneath the veneer, Electra’s already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe. Struggling to cope, she turns to alcohol and drugs. As those around her fear for her health, Electra receives a letter from a complete stranger who claims to be her grandmother.

In 1939, Cecily Huntley-Morgan arrives in Kenya from New York to nurse a broken heart. Staying with her godmother, a member of the infamous Happy Valley set, on the shores of beautiful Lake Naivasha, she meets Bill Forsythe, a notorious bachelor and cattle farmer with close connections to the proud Maasai tribe. But after a shocking discovery and with war looming, Cecily has few options. Moving up into the Wanjohi Valley, she is isolated and alone. Until she meets a young woman in the woods and makes her a promise that will change the course of her life for ever.

Sweeping from Manhattan to the magnificent wide-open plains of Africa, The Sun Sister is the sixth instalment in Lucinda Riley’s multi-million selling epic series, The Seven Sisters.

Review:

Informative, expressive, and engaging!

The Sun Sister, the sixth instalment in The Seven Sisters series, is set during the 1930s through to 2008 and sweeps you back and forth between the bustling streets of NYC to the beautiful plains of Kenya as Electra, the youngest, most discontent D‘Apliese sets out on a journey with the help of some new friends to overcome her addictions and unravel her parentage.

The prose is sincere and descriptive. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and lonely. And the absorbing, heartfelt plot is an incredibly moving tale of fame, fortune, substance abuse, familial drama, self-discovery, love, loss, grief, friendship, racial segregation, courage, hope, as well as a little insight into life in Kenya during its colonialism by Great Britain.

Overall, The Sun Sister is another epic saga by Riley at just over 800 pages, but with a timely, astute, present tale and a fascinating, immersive, past tale the pages seem to turn themselves. It is truly hard to believe that this series is close to its end, and I think for every reader whether they’ve been a die-hard fan and read them all or merely a part-time connoisseur whose been swept away by only one or two the fact that there is only one more left to come is truly bittersweet.

 

This book is available now in the UK (US/CAN May 19, 2020).

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

                 

 

 

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four.

Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestseller.Lucinda's Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a number one bestseller across the world and is currently in development with a major TV production company.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 Lucinda fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died in June 2021

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview Man Cuffed by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby @SarinaBowen @Blunder_Woman @ninabocci

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#BookReview Man Cuffed by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby @SarinaBowen @Blunder_Woman @ninabocci Title: Man Cuffed

Author: Sarina Bowen, Tanya Eby

Series: Man Hands #4

Published by: Tuxbury Publishing LLC on Nov. 19, 2019

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 254

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Nina Bocci

Book Rating: 9/10

A new comedy from the USA Today bestselling duo!

Mac
A good cop can always spot trouble. That’s why my senses started pinging the moment I met the hottie next door. The neighborhood may never be the same. First she confuses me for a male stripper and tries to remove my uniform. (The guys on the force will never let me live that down.) And then there’s the breaking and entering.
I don’t know what to do with her. My libido has a few ideas of its own, though. Bad, bad ideas.

Meg
Hey, it’s not my fault that Hot Cop’s nightstick gets excited every time we see each other. And I can’t help that someone broke into his apartment.
Fine—that last thing was totally my fault. And I intend to make amends. So when he needs a date for his sister’s wedding, I’m there. This is right up my alley. I’m an actor. By the time it’s over, his entire family will believe we’re a couple.
Even him.

Warning: may cause unrestrained giggling in public. Contains: a bridezilla with a turkey leg, a flash mob, and a growly hero.

Review:

Spirted, sexy, and outrageously funny!

Man Cuffed is a witty, engaging tale featuring the spunky, spontaneous Meg whose determined to enjoy the company of the cop next door, including all the equipment he’s packing, and the well-built, studly Mac who may eventually realize all his efforts to remain just friends with his hot neighbour are futile.

The writing is crisp and whimsical. The characterization is spot on with an incredible cast of characters who are charismatic, quirky, and unpredictable. And the plot is an irresistible blend of family, friendship, light drama, shameless flirting, tricky situations, awkward moments, hilarious hijinks, and steamy romance.

Overall, Man Cuffed is another saucy, humorous, wildly addictive novel by Bowen and Eby that once again proves that when these two authors get together, the result is always exceptionally funny, highly entertaining, and a true guilty pleasure.

This novel is available now.

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

                                       

 

 

 

Thank you to Nina Bocci, Sarina Bowen and Tanya Eby for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

About Sarina Bowen

Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over two dozen contemporary and LGTB romance novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller's list in February, with Brooklynaire. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

About Tanya Eby

Tanya is a starving artist without the starving part. Maybe, then, she's a snacking artist. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her two kids and tiki-obssessed husband and writes quirky fiction.

After writing a gripping, dark, gothic novel IN THE GARDEN ROOM, Tanya decided to switch it up. She's hard at work on a romcom, which doesn't feel like work at all.

She likes to keep things interesting.

She is also an award-winning narrator and audiobook publisher. She has been lucky to narrate some of the best books around...600 and counting! Many of the books she narrates are NY Times bestsellers.

She loves the challenge of narrating and truly adores words. Reading other writers' work encourages her to keep working on her own.
Tanya is a starving artist without the starving part. Maybe, then, she's a snacking artist. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her two kids and tiki-obssessed husband and writes quirky fiction.

After writing a gripping, dark, gothic novel IN THE GARDEN ROOM, Tanya decided to switch it up. She's hard at work on a romcom, which doesn't feel like work at all.

She likes to keep things interesting.

She is also an award-winning narrator and audiobook publisher. She has been lucky to narrate some of the best books around...600 and counting! Many of the books she narrates are NY Times bestsellers.

She loves the challenge of narrating and truly adores words. Reading other writers' work encourages her to keep working on her own.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

It’s Monday (November 18, 2019)! What Are You Reading! #IMWAYR #Books #Reading #TBRList

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Kathryn at Bookdate is a weekly post to share what you’ve recently finished reading, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan on reading this upcoming week.

 

So here is what I just read, am reading, and what I plan to read next:

 

What I Read Last Week:

 

Title: Snowflakes over Moondance Cottage

Authors: Rosie Green

Immediate Thoughts: Encouraging, warm, and emotive!

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: November 15, 2019

 

 

Title: The Little Bookshop on the Seine 

Authors: Rebecca Raisin

Immediate Thoughts: Cosy, heartwarming, and sweet!

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: January 7, 2020

 

 

Title: Instacrush (Rookie Rebels #2)

Authors: Kate Meader

Immediate Thoughts: Spicy, romantic, and downright addictive!

Rating: 10/10

Publication Date: December 10, 2019

 

 

Title: The Room on Rue Amélie

Authors: Kristin Hamel

Immediate Thoughts: Powerful, moving, and inspiring!

Rating: 9/10

Publication Date: March 27, 2018

 

 

What I’m Currently Reading:

 

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same.

Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran–and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl’s life, especially Carl’s valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory. 

Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

 

What I’m Reading Next:

 

An astonishing novel from the acclaimed author of Keepsakethat pushes the boundaries of storytelling. At turns shocking, provocative, and heart-wrenching, and inspired by a true story The Whole Golden World forces us to ask the question “How well do we really know our children?”

To the outside Dinah and Joe have a perfect family-three lovely children, a beautiful home, and a café that’s finally taking off. But their world is rocked when it’s discovered that their oldest daughter, 17-year-old Morgan is having an affair with her married teacher, TJ Hill.

Their town rocks with the scandal. When the case goes to trial, the family is torn further apart when Morgan sides not with her parents-as a manipulated teenage girl; but with TJ himself-as a woman who loves a 30-year-old man.

Told from the perspectives of Morgan, Dinah, and TJ’s wife, Rain, this is an unforgettable story that fully explores the surprising, even shocking, events that change the lives of two families.

 

Have you read any of my upcoming reads? What do you have coming up?

#BookReview Be My Guest by Priya Basil @canongatebooks @PGCBooks

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#BookReview Be My Guest by Priya Basil @canongatebooks @PGCBooks Title: Be My Guest

Author: Priya Basil

Published by: Canongate Books Ltd on Nov. 15, 2019

Pages: 128

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

A meditation on the meaning and limits of hospitality today, from the shortlisted author of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

The dinner table, among friends, is where the best conversations take place⁠—talk about the world, religion, politics, culture and cooking. In the same way, Be My Guest is a conversation about all those things, mediated through the medium of shared food.

We live in a world where some have too much and others not enough, where immigrants and refugees are both welcomed and vilified, and where most of us spend less and less time cooking and eating together. Priya Basil invites us to explore the meaning and limits of hospitality today, and in doing so makes a passionate plea for a kinder, more welcoming realization that we have more in common than divides us.

Review:

Eloquent, pensive, and rich!

Be My Guest is a beautifully written, candid story by Basil that explores the power of being hospitable and the diverse customs and traditions that people use around the world to invite, include, accept, nourish, and share with others.

The writing is informative and moving. And the novel is a generous, welcoming tale that delves into the true meaning of hospitality and emphasizes that the dinner table should not only be a place for nourishment but a place for unification regardless of political ideologies, religion, skin colour, or socioeconomic status.

Overall, I would have to say that Be My Guest is, ultimately, a genuine, impassioned, humourous reminder that breaking bread with family, friends, strangers, and even the diverse community at large is not only good for the body and mind but also a conscientious, important salve for the heart and soul.

 

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 in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Priya Basil

Priya grew up in Kenya, returning to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Bristol. She had a career in advertising before becoming a full-time writer. In 2010 Priya, and the journalist Matthias Fredrich-Auf der Horst, initiated Authors for Peace. It is intended to be a platform from which writers can actively use literature in different ways to promote peace. The first event by Authors for Peace took place on 21 September 2010, the UN's International Day of Peace. With the support of the International Literature Festival Berlin, Priya hosted a 24hour-live-online-reading by 80 authors from all over the world. The authors read from their work in a gesture of solidarity with those who are oppressed or caught in conflict. Priya lives in London and Berlin.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

Website | Goodreads

#BlogTour #BookReview The Wicked Lord’s Mistress by Scarlett Jameson @rararesources

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#BlogTour #BookReview The Wicked Lord's Mistress by Scarlett Jameson @rararesources

#BlogTour #BookReview The Wicked Lord’s Mistress by Scarlett Jameson @rararesources Title: The Wicked Lord's Mistress

Author: Scarlett Jameson

Series: The Lord's Seduction #2

Published by: Victorian Lovers on Sep. 9, 2019

Genres: Historical Romance, Erotica

Pages: 200

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Rachel's Random Resources

Book Rating: 7/10

The Wicked Lord’s Mistress is set in the late Victorian period (1886) for fans of upstairs/downstairs dramas such as Downton Abbey and steamy romances. It explores the continuing love story between Lily, a lady’s maid at Torrington Hall, and a handsome, mysterious aristocratic hero called Lord Edgar Wilson.

Lily is surrounded by challenges from all sides. She is being blackmailed by the evil Mallkins, she has a secret past that she is trying to hide, and her forbidden love affair with Lord Wilson grows more risky every day. Can their lusty affair transform into the tender and lasting love that Lily craves? And given the differences in their class, is a happy ending possible for them?

Then a new enemy comes into Lily’s life, someone who is determined to destroy her. Lily finds herself facing the greatest challenge of her life, and hopes that Lord Wilson will be her hero.

Review:

Rousing, mischievous, and suspenseful!

The Wicked Lord’s Mistress is a spirited, regency romance that transports you back to the late 1880s where Lily, a troubled, passionate Lady’s Maid who after surviving the untimely death of her parents and the man she loved is determined to do whatever it takes to protect her young son, escape the hands of a master manipulator, and keep her heart far away from the roguish Lord Wilson.

The prose is amusing and light. The characters are sultry, troubled, and secretive. And the plot is a mysterious tale full of scoundrel behaviour, family drama, desire, yearning, control, manipulation, class stratification, and steamy romance.

Overall, The Wicked Lord’s Mistress is an easy, enjoyable, quick read by Jameson that is entertaining and a little naughty. It’s the second novel in The Lord’s Seduction series and even though it can be enjoyed as a standalone story, I would highly recommend reading The Wicked Lord and the Lady’s Maid first.

.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

    

 

 

Thank you to Scarlett Jameson and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Scarlett Jameson

Scarlett Jameson works in publishing by day and by night enjoys writing steamy historical romances. A lover of all things Victorian, she lives in London with her cat.

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#BlogTour #BookReview Trying to Score by Kendall Ryan @KendallRyan1 #hotjocks

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#BlogTour #BookReview Trying to Score by Kendall Ryan @KendallRyan1 #hotjocks

#BlogTour #BookReview Trying to Score by Kendall Ryan @KendallRyan1 #hotjocks Title: Trying to Score

Author: Kendall Ryan

Series: Hot Jocks #3

Published by: Dream Press on Nov. 12, 2019

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 284

Format: eBook, ARC

Source: Kendall Ryan

Book Rating: 9/10

Teddy King excels at many things. Playing hockey. Check. Scoring on and off the ice. Check. Being stupidly attractive … Double check.

Despite his demanding schedule, he still finds time to annoy me. I knew him way back when. Before he was the guy everyone wanted a piece of, he was just a rebellious college co-ed and one of my more energetic study partners.

But secrets have a way of getting out, and a steamy encounter from our college days (that we probably shouldn’t have filmed) is about to cause a major scandal. Unless we can work together to stop it.

Teddy’s no stranger to hard work … but the thing he wants most?

Is me.

Note: This high-heat standalone is chock-full of scorching banter and steamy good times. He’s a testosterone-dripping hockey player who wants a second chance. She’s a tough as nails attorney intent on making partner. Frienemies to lovers. No cliffhanger. Enjoy!

 Your favorite hot jocks are back with an all new stand-alone novel. If you like sexy, confident men who know how to handle a stick (on and off the ice), and smart women who are strong enough to keep all those big egos in check, this series is perfect for you!

Review:

Sensual, sassy, and seductive!

Trying to Score is a playful, second-chance romance that features the lively, intelligent Sara who’s content to be single and completely focused on making partner, and the cocky, hard-bodied Teddy who’s unfortunately become embroiled in a scandal and in need of some lawyerly advice from an old flame.

The writing is witty and smooth. The characters are charismatic, amusing, and endearing. And the plot told from alternating POVs is a lighthearted, funny tale filled with tricky situations, sizzling tension, sexual innuendoes, blistering chemistry, flirty banter, friendship, and steamy romance.

Overall, Trying to Score is another sweet, humorous, sexy read by Ryan with characters you can’t help but fall in love with and a happy-ever-after ending that will make you swoon.

This book is available now.

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

 

                                       

 

 

 

 

About Kendall Ryan

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Pinterest | Newsletter

 

Thank you to Kendall Ryan for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

#BookReview Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada

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#BookReview Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada Title: Nothing More Dangerous

Author: Allen Eskens

Published by: Mulholland Books on Nov. 12, 2019

Genres: General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

In a small town where loyalty to family and to “your people” carries the weight of a sacred oath, defying those unspoken rules can be a deadly proposition.

After fifteen years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, high-school freshman Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. He dreams of glass towers and cityscapes, driven by his desire to be anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. The new kid at St. Ignatius High School, if he isn’t being pushed around, he is being completely ignored. Even his beloved woods, his playground as a child and his sanctuary as he grew older, seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him.

Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady’s life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins-a black family settling into a community where notions of “us” and “them” carry the weight of history-forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he’s taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold: the mother who wraps herself in the loss of her husband, the neighbor who carries the wounds of a mysterious past that he holds close, the quiet boss who is fighting his own hidden battle.

But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.

As the mystery of her fate plays out, Boady begins to see the stark lines of race and class that both bind and divide this small town, and he is forced to choose sides.

Review:

Impactful, atmospheric, and hauntingly realistic!

In this latest novel by Eskens, Nothing More Dangerous, he transports us to Jessup, Missouri, a small, midwestern town that suddenly finds itself turned upside down when an unsolved case of embezzlement, a missing, young, African-American employee, depressing economics, and a strong underlying racist mentality tests and unearths all the hidden, longstanding alliances, relationships, and friendships within it.

The prose is gritty and descriptive. The characters are vulnerable, raw, and impulsive. And the plot is an immersive journey of life, loss, poverty, coming-of-age, familial drama, friendship, courage, morality, loyalty, community, self-preservation, racism, and violence.

Overall, Nothing More Dangerous is a sincere, pensive, ominous tale that not only highlights the ugliness and weakness of group mentality and the ease with which it allows one to behave with ignorance, intolerance, and even participate in the most unforgivable of crimes, but also reminds us that kindness and compassion is the base of humanity that should ultimately transcend skin colour and socioeconomic status.

This book is available now.

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

                                          

 

 

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

 

About Allen Eskens

Allen Eskens is the USA Today-bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, the Deep Dark Descending and The Shadows We Hide. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Rosebud Award, Minnesota Book Award, and the Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, Thriller Award, and Anthony Award. His work had been published in 21 languages and his debut novel, The Life We Bury is being developed for a feature film.

Allen lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota and is represented by Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron and Associates, and is published by both Seventh Street Books and Mulholland/Little Brown.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

It’s Monday (November 11, 2019)! What Are You Reading! #IMWAYR #Books #Reading #TBRList

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? hosted by Kathryn at Bookdate is a weekly post to share what you’ve recently finished reading, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan on reading this upcoming week.

 

So here is what I just read, am reading, and what I plan to read next:

 

What I Read Last Week:

 

Title: Crushed

Authors: Kate Hamer

Immediate Thoughts: Gloomy, tragic, and consuming!

Rating: 8/10

Publication Date: June 7, 2019

 

 

Title: A Madness of Sunshine 

Authors: Nalini Singh

Immediate Thoughts: Tender, charming, and sweetly romantic!

Rating: 8/10

Publication Date: October 22, 2019

 

 

Title: The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6)

Authors: Lucinda Riley

Immediate Thoughts: Informative, expressive, and engaging!

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: October 31, 2019

 

 

Title: Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1)

Authors: Evie Dunmore

Immediate Thoughts: Lighthearted, charming, and fun!

Rating: 8/10

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

 

 

Title: The Artist and the Soldier

Authors: Angelle Petta

Immediate Thoughts: Compelling, poignant, and emotional!

Rating: 9/10

Publication Date: May 1, 2018

 

 

Title: Tough Guy (Game Changers #3)

Authors: Rachel Reid

Immediate Thoughts: Sensitive, alluring, and heartfelt!

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: January 13, 2020

 

 

Title: Rancher’s Wild Secret & Hold Me, Cowboy

Author: Maisey Yates

Immediate Thoughts: Spicy, engaging, and downright steamy

Rating: 8.5/10

Publication Date: October 22, 2019

 

 

What I’m Currently Reading:

 

It’s The Holiday on the Champs-Élysées in a great big love letter to Paris, charming old bookstores and happily-ever-afters!

When bookshop owner Sarah Smith is offered the opportunity for a job exchange with her Parisian friend Sophie, saying yes is a no-brainer—after all, what kind of romantic would turn down six months in Paris? Sarah is sure she’s in for the experience of a lifetime—days spent surrounded by literature in a gorgeous bookshop, and the chance to watch the snowfall on the Eiffel Tower. Plus, now she can meet up with her journalist boyfriend, Ridge, when his job takes him around the globe.

But her expectations cool faster than her café au lait soon after she lands in the City of Light—she’s a fish out of water in Paris. The customers are rude, her new coworkers suspicious and her relationship with Ridge has been reduced to a long-distance game of phone tag, leaving Sarah to wonder if he’ll ever put her first over his busy career. As Christmas approaches, Sarah is determined to get the shop—and her life—back in order…and make her dreams of a Parisian happily-ever-after come true.

 

What I’m Reading Next:

 

When Jess Rigby lost her dad, the family coped in different ways, alone in their grief. Now, her mum seems to be going off the rails and her sister, Isla, who moved to France, is now back and determined to get the old family home on the market. But the last thing Jess wants this Christmas is for renovations to start on the house. It’s sure to stir up old memories she’s desperate to forget. And to make things worse, Isla seems to have hired the most obnoxious builder in the world to do the work. Jess could ignore the fact that women seem to be putty in his hands. But what she finds harder to ignore is the frisson she gets every time she squeezes past him in the mess that is now their beloved family home! Soon, the house begins to give up its secrets, some of them shocking. Can the family finally start talking and find a way to move on from the past this Christmas?

 

Have you read any of my upcoming reads? What do you have coming up?

 

#BookReview The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA

Published on by Zoe1 Comment
#BookReview The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA Title: The Family Upstairs

Author: Lisa Jewell

Series: The Family Upstairs #1

Published by: Atria Books on Nov. 5, 2019

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

From the New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone and Watching You comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

Review:

Creepy, dark, and unsettling!

The Family Upstairs is a well-crafted, gritty novel that takes you into the lives of the Lamb family, specifically Lucy, a mother of two scrounging to make ends meet, Harry, a middle-aged man with a chilling, childhood story to tell, and Libby Jones, a young woman who suddenly finds herself the inheritor of a Chelsea mansion with a wicked past.

The writing is intense and intricate. The characters are troubled, vulnerable, and deceptive. And the plot told from multiple perspectives and alternating between timelines quickly unfolds into a complex story full of mind games, manipulation, obsession, jealousy, abuse, unforeseen twists, well-timed surprises, violence, and pure evil.

Overall, The Family Upstairs is a disturbing, gripping, eerie tale by Jewell that once again highlights that when it comes to writing menacing, intelligent, tortuous, psychological thrillers she’s one of the best.

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.

 

About Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone, as well as I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. In total, her novels have sold more than two million copies across the English-speaking world and her work has also been translated into sixteen languages so far. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Photograph by Andrew Whitton.

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