Publisher: Pan Macmillan

#BookReview The Villa by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheVilla #RuthKelly #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Villa by Ruth Kelly @ruthywriter @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheVilla #RuthKelly #PGCBooks Title: The Villa

Author: Ruth Kelly

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 15, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 432

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

A Villa in Paradise

It’s destined to be the ultimate reality show: Ten contestants. A luxurious villa on a stunning private island. Every moment streamed live to a global audience who have unprecedented control over those competing for the cash prize.

The Journalist

Coerced by her callous editor to enter the show undercover, Laura is a journalist told to get the inside scoop on her fellow contestants. But once the games begin, she soon finds herself out of her depth and at the mercy of a ruthless producer – a woman willing to do anything to increase viewer numbers.

Reality TV to Die For

There is more to every contestant than meets the eye, including Laura. They all have secrets they’d like to keep buried, and the pressure in paradise quickly reaches boiling point. How far will the contestants go to secure audience votes? How far will Laura herself go? And would somebody really kill to win?


Review:

Seductive, sinister, and captivating!

The Villa is a scheming, disturbing tale that sweeps you away to a secluded island and onto the set of the latest reality TV show where a varied cast of characters have gathered, tensions are high, money is coveted, deception is rife, everyone has a hidden agenda, and sex, violence, despicable behaviour, and death are definitely not out of the question.

The writing is crisp and edgy. The characters are self-obsessed, ambitious, sleazy, and competitive. And the plot, using a mix of narration, police interviews, and viewer feedback, is an enticing, suspenseful mix of twists, turns, secrets, deception, manipulation, obsession, greed, jealousy, voyeurism, gossip-mongering, red herrings, malicious intentions, and murder.

Overall, The Villa is a cunning, entertaining, satisfying read by Kelly that is a eerie reminder of just how low people are willing to go for their five minutes of fame and fortune.

 

This novel is available September 25, 2023.

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

         

 

  

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller. She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show Big Brother.

#BookReview The Raging Storm (Two Rivers #3) by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @panmacmillan #TheRagingStorm #AnnCleeves #TwoRiversSeries #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Raging Storm (Two Rivers #3) by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @panmacmillan #TheRagingStorm #AnnCleeves #TwoRiversSeries #PGCBooks Title: The Raging Storm

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: Two Rivers #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Sep. 5, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 383

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.

When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Matthew finds his judgment clouded. As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.


Review:

Shrewd, intricate, and gripping!

In this complex third instalment in the Two Rivers series, The Raging Storm, Cleeves has written a sinuous, menacing thriller that has DI Venn and his team immersed in the investigation into the brutal murder of a famous adventurer who seems to have received more than just a celebratory welcome home by the residents of the small town where he grew up, learned to sail, and seemingly had no problem turning his back on.

The prose is sharp and tight. The characters are impulsive, secretive, and deceitful. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into an ominous tale full of deception, manipulation, jealousy, misdirection, mayhem, violence, small-town coastal living, love triangles, and murder.

Overall, The Raging Storm is another engrossing, pacey, action-packed thrill ride by Cleeves that once again has just the right amount of suspense, creative storyline, and well-drawn characterization to make it a highly entertaining, satisfying read for any lover of the police procedural genre.

 

This book 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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.

#BookReview The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse @KateMosse @PGCBooks #TheGhostShip #KateMosse #TheJoubertFamilyChronicles #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse @KateMosse @PGCBooks #TheGhostShip #KateMosse #TheJoubertFamilyChronicles #PGCBooks Title: The Ghost Ship

Author: Kate Mosse

Series: The Joubert Family Chronicles #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jul. 11, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Piracy. Romance. Revenge. Across the seas of the seventeenth century, two seafarers are forced to fight for their lives. The sequel to The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship is the third novel in The Joubert Family Chronicles from bestselling author Kate Mosse.

The Barbary Coast, 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months it has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved by corsairs, manned by a courageous crew of mariners from Italy and France, Holland and the Canary Islands.

But the bravest men on board are not who they seem. And the stakes could not be higher. If arrested, they will be hanged for their crimes. Can they survive the journey and escape their fate?

A sweeping and epic love story, ranging from France in 1610 to Amsterdam and the Canary Islands in the 1620s, The Ghost Ship is a thrilling novel of adventure and buccaneering, love and revenge, stolen fortunes and hidden secrets on the high seas.


Review:

Action-packed, alluring, and exceptionally atmospheric!

The Ghost Ship is a rich, informative tale that picks up a few years after The City of Tears left off, sweeping us from France to the Canary Islands in the early 1600s and into the life of the independent, bold Louise Reydon-Joubert who, after dreaming of life on the high seas forever, finally gets her chance when she sets sail on her aunt’s merchant ship the Old Moon with a motley crew, a young Huguenot man accused of murder, and a determination to rid the waters of the Barbary pirates who enjoy nothing more than raping, pillaging and overindulging.

The prose is eloquent and vivid. The characters are stubborn, selfless, and courageous. And the plot is an immersive, fascinating tale of life, loss, love, bravery, survival, tragedy, romance, adventure, religion, politics, war, gender fluidity, sacrifice, revenge, the roles of women in 17th century Europe, and the ins and outs of living on a ship.

Overall, The Ghost Ship is another beautifully written, incredibly enthralling third addition to The Joubert Family Chronicles by Mosse that grabs you from the very first page and does an outstanding job of blending historical facts with fiction that is both enlightening, romantic, and wonderfully compelling.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Kate Mosse

KATE MOSSE is a multiple New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author with sales of more than eight million copies in thirty-eight languages. Her previous novels include Labyrinth, Sepulchre, The Winter Ghosts, Citadel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter, and The Burning Chambers. Kate is the founder director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a visiting professor at the University of Chichester, and in June 2013, was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature. She divides her time between Chichester in the United Kingdom and Carcassonne in France.

Photo Credit: Ruth Crafer

#BookReview The Playground by Michelle Frances @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #ThePlayground #MichelleFrances #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Playground by Michelle Frances @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #ThePlayground #MichelleFrances #PGCBooks Title: The Playground

Author: Michelle Frances

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 15, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Looking to escape her old life, Nancy and her ten-year-old daughter Lara move to Ripton. A quiet, picturesque village in the rolling Derbyshire countryside, it seems like the perfect place to settle down.

But when Nancy reaches the school gates, she learns that beneath the quaint village atmosphere is a minefield. And after her daughter clashes with her school friends, Nancy quickly finds herself outside the whispering circle of parents.

As much as Nancy finds the playground politics absurd, they soon become impossible to ignore when Lara is accused of hurting another girl.

Desperate to clear Lara’s name, Nancy is about to learn just what lengths a parent will go to for their child . . .


Review:

Fast-paced, twisty, and captivating!

The Playground is a brisk, suspenseful thriller that introduces us to Nancy, a young mother who, after losing her husband in a tragic accident, decides to move to the Derbyshire countryside in hopes of a fresh start. But when her ten-year-old daughter is accused of trying to drown her popular classmate and the bullying and toxicity seems to just keep escalating from there, it quickly becomes apparent that life is going to be anything other than safe and peaceful in this village where everyone knows everyone and loyalties are long set.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are manipulative, vulnerable, and cunning. And the plot is a menacing tale full of danger, deception, adultery, jealousy, gossip, obsession, negligence, and small-town drama.

Overall, The Playground is a cleverly plotted, eerie, intricate page-turner by Frances that had just enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

 

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 gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Michelle Frances

Michelle Frances graduated from Bournemouth Film School and then from the Masters programme at the American Film Institute, Los Angeles. Returning to London, she has worked for several years in film and TV as a script editor and producer for both the independent sector and the BBC.

Her first novel, The Girlfriend, became an international best seller.

#BookReview Ritual of Fire by D. V. Bishop @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #RitualofFire #DVBishop #CesareAldoSeries #PGCBooks

#BookReview Ritual of Fire by D. V. Bishop @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #RitualofFire #DVBishop #CesareAldoSeries #PGCBooks Title: Ritual of Fire

Author: D. V. Bishop

Series: Cesare Aldo #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Aug. 14, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Florence. Summer, 1538.

A night patrol finds a rich merchant hanged and set ablaze in the city’s main piazza. More than mere murder, this killing is intended to put the fear of God into Florence. Forty years earlier on this date, puritanical monk Girolamo Savonarola was executed the same way in the same place. Does this new killing mean Savonarola’s vengeful spirit has risen again?

Or are his fanatical disciples plotting to revive the monk’s regime of holy terror? Cesare Aldo has his suspicions but is hunting thieves and fugitives in the Tuscan countryside, leaving Constable Carlo Strocchi to investigate the ritual killing. When another important merchant is slain even more publicly than the first, those rich enough to escape the summer heat are fleeing to their country estates. But the Tuscan hills can also be dangerous places.

Soon growing religious fervor combines with a scorching heatwave to drive the city ever closer to madness, while someone is stalking powerful men that forged lifelong alliances during the dark days of Savonarola and his brutal followers. Unless Aldo and Strocchi can work together to stop the killer, Florence could become a bonfire of the vanities once more . . .


Review:

Dark, alluring, and suspenseful!

Ritual of Fire, the third novel in the Cesare Aldo series, takes us back to Renaissance Florence in the summer of 1538, where Cesare Aldo and Constable Stocchi find themselves having to finally confront the rift that’s been straining their relationship in order to work to together to catch a ruthless killer who seems to have a very specific target list and a penchant for reenacting a ritualistic killing from the past.

The prose is descriptive and tight. The characters are driven, fearless, and conscientious. And the plot is a complex, absorbing tale full of danger, deception, corruption, politics, religion, friendship, savagery, terror, and murder.

Overall, Ritual of Fire is an addictive, engrossing, thrilling addition to what has become a must-read series for me with its flawed characters, rich historical setting, and action-packed, gritty storylines.

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About D. V. Bishop

D. V. Bishop is the author of the Cesare Aldo mysteries set in Renaissance Florence, and published by Pan Macmillan.

An award-winning screenwriter and TV dramatist, his love for the city of Florence and the Renaissance period meant there could only be one setting for his crime-fiction debut.

City of Vengeance won the Pitch Perfect competition at the Bloody Scotland crime fiction festival in 2018, and D. V. Bishop was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship by the Scottish Book Trust while writing the novel.

He is currently finishing the second novel in the Cesare Aldo mysteries.

Photo by Paul Reich.

#BookReview Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley & Harry Whittaker @lucindariley @HarryTwittaker @PGCBooks #AtlasTheStoryofPaSalt #LucindaRiley #HarryWhittaker #TheSevenSistersSeries #PGCBooks

#BookReview Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley & Harry Whittaker @lucindariley @HarryTwittaker @PGCBooks #AtlasTheStoryofPaSalt #LucindaRiley #HarryWhittaker #TheSevenSistersSeries #PGCBooks Title: Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

Author: Lucinda Riley, Harry Whittaker

Series: The Seven Sisters #8

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 11, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction

Pages: 784

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

Spanning a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, co-authored by her son Harry Whittaker, draws Lucinda Riley’s saga to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion.

1928, Paris. A boy is found, moments from death, and taken in by a kindly family. Gentle, precocious, talented, he flourishes in his new home, and the family show him a life he hadn’t dreamed possible. But he refuses to speak a word about who he really is.

As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, he can almost forget the terrors of his past, or the promise he has vowed to keep. But across Europe an evil is rising, and no-one’s safety is certain. In his heart, he knows the time will come when he must flee once more.

2008, the Aegean. The seven sisters are gathered together for the first time, on board the Titan, to say a final goodbye to the enigmatic father they loved so dearly.

To the surprise of everyone, it is the missing sister who Pa Salt has chosen to entrust with the clue to their pasts. But for every truth revealed, another question emerges. The sisters must confront the idea that their adored father was someone they barely knew. And even more shockingly: that these long-buried secrets may still have consequences for them today.

In this epic conclusion to the Seven Sisters series, everything will be revealed.


Review:

Fascinating, heartfelt, and absorbing!

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt is the eighth instalment in The Seven Sisters series, set from 1928 to 2008, that sweeps you away into the life of Pa Salt, the loving father of seven girls who, after gathering together for the first time in a long time to celebrate his life, finally have the opportunity with the journal he left behind to unravel the secrets of his past and discover how they all came together to become one big family.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are considerate, caring, and troubled. And the plot is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching tale of life, loss, familial drama, self-discovery, grief, friendship, forgiveness, unconditional love, courage, hope, selflessness, revenge, and survival.

Overall, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt is the brilliant conclusion to an extraordinary saga that is a testament to the amazing storytelling abilities of the late Lucinda Riley, as well as what must have been an incredibly difficult yet unbelievable literary achievement by her son Harry Whittaker. It is hard to believe that this fascinating, mysterious, exceptionally absorbing series has come to an end, but what a way to end. It doesn’t get much better than this. And even though it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to these characters I’ve come to know and love over these past eight books, it’s been a true pleasure and sheer delight to have been able to immerse myself in the histories, lives, loves and losses of them all.

 

 

This novel is available now.

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

       

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Harry Whittaker

Harry Whittaker grew up in the 1990s and spent the first few years of his life on the rural west coast of Ireland. The son of the author Lucinda Riley, Harry became a storyteller himself, as an award-winning radio presenter for the BBC and a member of one of the UK’s most renowned improv troupes. In 2019, Harry and Lucinda co-authored the Guardian Angels series for children – four reassuring, timeless stories addressing worries that a small child may have.

After Lucinda’s death in 2021, it was announced that Harry would complete the Seven Sisters series on behalf of his late mother. Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt publishes globally in May 2023.

Harry lives in Yorkshire, England.

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

#BookReview The Finish Line by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheFinishLine #TheRavenhoodSeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Finish Line by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheFinishLine #TheRavenhoodSeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks Title: The Finish Line

Author: Kate Stewart

Series: The Ravenhood #3

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 2, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Erotica, New Adult

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The third and final steamy novel in #BookTok sensation Kate Stewart’s bestselling Ravenhood Trilogy, following Flock and Exodus.

The only love I’ve ever known or craved is the kind that keeps me sick, sick with longing, sick with lust, sick with need, sick with grief. The distorted kind that leaves scars and jaded hearts.

Tobias King has lived most of his life in the shadows. A loner, and ruthless thief, he would never deny that he’s a villain. As the enigmatic leader of the band of vigilantes known as The Ravenhood, his life’s ambition has always led in one direction: revenge.

But his path is disrupted when he falls for the one woman who could destroy what he has spent two decades plotting. His all-consuming passion for Cecelia Horner comes at a great cost, including the loss of all he holds dear.

But Tobias is nothing, if not a fighter, and he’s determined to have it all: to settle old scores and win back the woman he loves.


Review:

Romantic, emotional, and charged!

The Finish Line is a dramatic, suspenseful tale that picks up right where Exodus left off, taking us back into the lives of Cecelia and Tobias as they continue to struggle with all the death, heartache, and destruction that has affected their journey over the past several years and finally grasp that happy-ever-after they so desperately deserve.

The writing is gritty and intense. The characters are wary, hurt, and committed. And the plot is an enticing mix of friendship, family, danger, drama, heartbreak, desire, reconciliation, and love.

Overall, The Finish Line is the third and final story in The Ravenhood Trilogy by Stewart, and even though it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the characters I’ve come to know and love over these past three novels, it is nevertheless a satisfying ending to an alluring, entertaining series that I will undoubtedly always remember and sorely miss.

 

This book is available now.

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

        

 

 

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

 

About Kate Stewart

Bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
Her series, The Ravenhood Trilogy, consisting of Flock, Exodus, and The Finish Line, has become an international bestseller, TikTok phenomenon, and reader favourite.

#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks

#BookReview Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #CastaColdEye #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks Title: Cast a Cold Eye

Author: Robbie Morrison

Series: Jimmy Dreghorn #2

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jun. 20, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 449

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Glasgow, 1933

Murder is nothing new in the Depression-era city, especially to war veterans Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his partner ‘Bonnie’ Archie McDaid. But the dead man found in a narrowboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal, executed with a single shot to the back of the head, is no ordinary killing.

Violence usually erupts in the heat of the moment – the razor-gangs that stalk the streets settle scores with knives and fists. Firearms suggest something more sinister, especially when the killer strikes again. Meanwhile, other forces are stirring within the city. A suspected IRA cell is at large, embedded within the criminal gangs and attracting the ruthless attention of Special Branch agents from London.

With political and sectarian tensions rising, and the body count mounting, Dreghorn and McDaid pursue an investigation into the dark heart of humanity – where one person’s freedom fighter is another’s terrorist, and noble ideals are swept away by bloody vengeance.

Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison is a dark historical crime novel and the sequel to Edge of the Grave , winner of Bloody Scotland’s Scottish Crime Debut of the Year.


Review:

Gritty, raw, and thrilling!

In this second instalment in the Jimmy Dreghorn series, Cast a Cold Eye, we head back to 1933 Glasgow, where Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and his burly sidekick Sergeant Archie McDaid now find themselves immersed in a tricky investigation involving an execution-style killing of a man on a boat that may or may not have connections to the simmering political tensions, escalating gang violence, and increasing IRA presence that seems to be plaguing the city.

The writing is meticulous and tight. The characters are intuitive, relentless, and committed. And the plot unravels briskly into a sinister tale full of mischief, mayhem, deception, corruption, coercion, politics, criminal behaviour, dangerous situations, suspicious motivations, red herrings, deduction, vengeance, violence, and murder.

Overall, Cast a Cold Eye is another atmospheric, gripping, highly entertaining thriller by Morrison that is a fabulous addition to a series, with its unique historical setting, action-packed storyline, and gritty, complex characters, that’s quickly becoming one of my favourites.

 

This novel is available now.

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

      

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Robbie Morrison

Robbie Morrison was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, and grew up in the Renton, Coatbridge, Linwood and Houston. On both sides, his family connection to shipbuilding in Glasgow and the surrounding areas stretches back four generations and is a source of inspiration for the Jimmy Dreghorn series. He sold his first script to publishers DC Thomson in Dundee at the age of twenty-three. One of the most respected writers in the UK comics industry, Edge of the Grave is his first novel.

#BookReview Exodus by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #Exodus #TheRavenhoodSeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks

#BookReview Exodus by Kate Stewart @authorklstewart @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #Exodus #TheRavenhoodSeries #KateStewart #PGCBooks Title: Exodus

Author: Kate Stewart

Series: The Ravenhood #2

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 2, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Erotica, New Adult

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

The second steamy book in the Ravenhood Trilogy by #BookTok sensation and bestseller Kate Stewart.

I did what thieves do. I stole you…

What Cecilia Horner had expected to be a dull year has already been the most exciting summer of her life after she met local bad boys Sean and Dominic and their relationship developed into something altogether more dangerous.

But she is left reeling from the discovery that they are members of The Ravenhood, a secret group of vigilantes. At the head of the society is a man known as the Frenchman and he doesn’t want Cecilia anywhere near his men or his mission.

She has every reason to hate him but there’s a fine line between love and hate. And if her time in Triple Falls has taught her anything, it’s one she’s more than willing to cross.


Review:

Provocative, edgy, and sinful!

Exodus is a dramatic, sultry tale that picks up right where Flock left off, taking us back into the life of nineteen-year-old Cecilia Horner as she juggles her feelings for Sean and Dominic, two members of the Ravenhood gang who are determined to right the wrongs of the past and take her father down, and the enigmatic leader of the group, The Frenchman, Tobias King who she wants to hate with everything she has but who she’s unconsciously drawn to like a moth to a flame.

The prose is tight and steamy. The characters are impulsive, multilayered, and consumed. And the plot is a deliciously salacious tale filled with temptation, desire, danger, deception, mystique, familial drama, palpable attraction, sizzling romance, violence, and malicious intentions.

Overall, Exodus is another dark, intriguing, titillating tale by Stewart that has certainly left me more than eager to now get my hands on the last book in this Ravenhood trilogy series, The Finish Line, to see just how dramatic and sexy this could possibly get before it comes to an end.

 

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Kate Stewart

Bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
Her series, The Ravenhood Trilogy, consisting of Flock, Exodus, and The Finish Line, has become an international bestseller, TikTok phenomenon, and reader favourite.

#BookReview The Stolen Hours by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheStolenHours #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

#BookReview The Stolen Hours by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheStolenHours #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks Title: The Stolen Hours

Author: Karen Swan

Series: The Wild Isle #2

Published by: Pan Macmillan on May 2, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 10/10

A reluctant bride. A forbidden romance. An island full of secrets . . .

It’s the summer of 1929 and Mhairi MacKinnon is in need of a husband. As the eldest girl among nine children, her father has made it clear he can’t support her past the coming winter. On the small, Scottish island of St Kilda, her options are limited. But the MacKinnons’ neighbour, Donald, has a business acquaintance on distant Harris also in need of a spouse. A plan is hatched for Donald to chaperone Mhairi and make the introduction on his final crossing of the year, before the autumn seas close them off to the outside world.

Mhairi returns as an engaged woman who has lost her heart – but not to her fiancé. In love with the wrong man yet knowing he can never be hers, she awaits the spring with growing dread, for the onset of calm waters will see her sent from home to become a stranger’s wife.

When word comes that St Kilda is to be evacuated, the lovers are granted a few months’ reprieve, enjoying a summer of stolen hours together. Only, those last days on St Kilda will also bring trauma and heartache for Mhairi and her friends, Effie and Flora. And when a dead body is later found on the abandoned isle, all three have reason enough to find themselves under the shadow of suspicion . . .


Review:

Absorbing, passionate, and thrilling!

The Stolen Hours is a compelling tale that sweeps you away to 1929 and into the life of Mhairi MacKinnon, one of Effie’s best friends and another one of the thirty-six inhabitants of the small island of St. Kilda, who, on her brief travels to Harris to meet the man she will likely become engaged to, realizes the one she truly loves but who is already sworn to another has always been living right beside her, and when the government decides to evacuate the island villagers and move them permanently to the mainland, time is running out, her new married life is about to begin, and with a heart shattered to pieces and the life she always wanted merely now but a dream she may also have more than one reason to want the de facto ruler of the island, Frank Mathieson, dead.

The writing is expressive and rich. The characters are hardworking, fierce, and loyal. And the plot is an enchanting tale of life, loss, family, friendship, community, drama, mystery, intrigue, responsibilities, expectations, heartbreak, and forbidden love.

Overall, The Stolen Hours is another mysterious, captivating, highly immersive tale by Swan that kept me engaged from start to finish with its rugged depictions of island living and layered, complex, romantic entanglements and even though it’s only the second book in The Wild Isle trilogy, I can already tell this is definitely going to be one of my favourite historical fiction series of all time.

This book is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret. 

Photograph by Alexander James