Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer #BookReview @bookouture @carolewyer

About this book…

Her breath rose and fell in fearful gasps but it was too late. She could already see what she dreaded most. The back seat was empty.

Her little girl was gone.

Abigail lives the perfect life with her doting husband and adorable baby Izzy. But someone knows a secret about Abigail and they want the truth to be told.

When Izzy is snatched from a carpark, it becomes a case for Detective Robyn Carter. Someone has been sending threatening messages to Abigail from an anonymous number. What is Abigail hiding?

Robyn’s instincts tell her there’s a connection between Izzy’s abduction and two murders she is investigating. But the last time she acted on impulse her fiancé was killed. To break this case and earn her place back on the force, she must learn to trust herself again – and fast. Robyn is on the hunt for a ruthless serial killer. And unless she gets to the twisted individual in time a little girl will die …

My review…

When I saw that the second book in the Robyn Carter crime series was due out I have to give myself a kick up the backside as I still had the first book Little Girl Lost languishing in my TBR pile on my kindle. And so I knew I needed to catch up on it before book 2 came out. To be honest I had started to read it before but only got as far as the end of the prologue before I had to put it down. At the time I couldn’t cope with the very distressing scenes within those pages. But I had heard so many wonderful things about this book that I decided to power through and boy, was I glad that I did!

So as I said before the start of this book gave me serious chills with its descriptions of a shockingly violent reaction to a heinous act but it acted as a springboard for a twisty and gripping page turner that was impossible to put down! Rarely do I become so emotionally involved with a crime book to the extent of actually wanting to climb into the book and become part of its storyline! I wanted to give certain characters a damn good shake to make them see what was in front of their eyes! I got so frustrated and although there was an obvious link to that little girl when all the horrible things started happening to Abigail, I just wanted to step in, mother that child and change the course of her destiny! And the scenes when baby Izzy went missing were just terrifying, I felt physically sick with worry that she was in the hands of such an unemotional, sick minded individual!

This book was so much better than I had allowed myself to hope for and it’s difficult to believe that this is the authors first psychological crime thriller! Having loved her books in the past for their humorous observations, it was exciting to see that her writing has transferred so well into another genre. The twists and turns here meant that I trusted no one and was constantly changing my mind about who was targeting Abigail and why. And I know I keep using the word gripping but that’s the best way I can describe Little Girl Lost – you will be swept into this intriguing chain of events and just won’t be able to put it down! I loved Robyn Carter, she’s an intelligent and methodical detective that never gives up, bringing together these cases with a confident calmness that means she is trusted implicitly by the people she is trying to help. I can’t wait to meet her again in book 2 Secrets of the Dead which is out on 30th May!

Highly recommended by me!

Little Girl Lost: A gripping thriller that will have you hooked (Detective Robyn Carter crime thriller series Book 1) is available now to purchase at Amazon UK

Secrets of the Dead: A serial killer thriller that will have you hooked (Detective Robyn Carter crime thriller series Book 2) will be published by Bookouture on 30th May 2017 and can be pre-ordered by clicking the title above.

Meet the author…

Carol E. Wyer is an award-winning author whose humorous books take a light-hearted look at getting older and encourage others to age disgracefully. More recently she has chosen to write for the “dark side” and embarked on a series of thrillers, starting with the gripping best-seller, Little Girl Lost.
Her book Grumpy Old Menopause won The People’s Book Prize Award for non-fiction 2015.
Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ‘Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’ featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and writes regularly for The Huffington Post.
Carol is a signed author with Bookouture and Delancey Press.

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The Mercury Travel Club by Helen Bridgett #BlogTour @RedDoorBooks

So today I am delighted to welcome you to The Mercury Travel Club blog tour.

About this book…

He took her to dinner that was annoying

He slept with her that was hurtful

He bought new underwear to impress her quite frankly astounding

He left me to bloody wash his FILTHY WHORING PANTS INFURIATING!

After twenty-four years and eleven months of marriage, Angie Shepherd is divorced, dejected and facing a future of cardigans and cats. Best friend Patty is having none of it, and launches Angie into a variety of crazy schemes in search of her lost mojo.

But it s just not enough; what she really dreams of is beating her ex and becoming Entrepreneur of the Year. Channelling her inner Richard Branson, Angie invests her divorce settlement into The Mercury Travel Club, a travel agency with a twist. But as the club gets going, things don t go according to plan, and in this digital age, a little chaos brings the recognition Angie s been looking for.

Witty, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny, this feel-good novel shows that it s never too late for a second chance.

My review…

Oh this book came along at just the right time for me! After some dark and creepy crime reads, to pick up a funny and unputdownable book about a woman of a similar age to myself really did lift my spirits and keep my mind off real life for a few hours. This is Helen Bridgetts debut novel and what an achievement it is! In fact, I was left feeling quite bereft at having finished it until I wrote this review and realised when I researched the author that we will be seeing lots more of The Mercury Travel Club and I can’t wait.

Poor old Angie doesn’t even get a Silver wedding party after her marriage ends after 24 years and 11 months. Her emotions when she moves into her small rented accommodation on her own were very much heart felt as there was a fine line between that fresh start as a single woman and mourning the end of a very long relationship. Obviously I detested her husband Alan and his new partner Amanda (the A team) for hurting the lovely Angela but as time goes by we see a new Angela emerge from the ashes of her divorce and are cheering her on in her vision of a becoming an entrepreneur with her new business enterprise. Honestly, getting rid of Alan is the best thing Angie has done-she is like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon, becoming an inspiration for divorced women everywhere showing that it’s never too late to live your dreams.

I engaged totally with Angela from the moment I met her, as you can probably tell, and mentally helped push through the obstacles placed before her in her quest for happiness. And although there were a few romantic dalliances throughout, I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t a new man that was the sole purpose in her quest for a new life. When I was a little girl, women in their fifties seemed like old ladies in the way they dressed and behaved but now 50 is the new 30 it’s fabulous to have books celebrating this whole new generation of women putting themselves first and having fun doing it.

This is a feel good read that you will probably want to read in one session but be warned your cheeks will hurt at the end of it from laughing out loud and smiling constantly. Recommended by me!

The Mercury Travel Club: Where the chaos comes free is published by Red Door Publishing on 16th March 2017 and is available to purchase on Amazon UK.

Meet the author…

Helen Bridgett was born in North-East England and now lives in Manchester having stopped off at a few places in between. Having failed miserably with every New Year’s resolution that involved giving up food or drink, one year, she set herself a completely different goal – to write a novel and give it as a Christmas present. The Mercury Travel Club was born and the characters took on a life of their own. Outside of writing, Helen loves hiking and wine – not usually at the same time.

Helen is currently developing the next novels in The Mercury Travel Club series.

Jungle Rock by Caroline James #BookReview #amreading @CarolineJames12

About this book…

Handsome young chef, Zach Docherty is feeling the heat. Following an exposé in a national newspaper, his fiancée Poppy Dunlop has broken their engagement. Heartbroken at the thought of life without Poppy, Zach drowns his sorrows and when his agent suggests that Zach becomes a contestant in a reality TV show, Jungle Survival, he reluctantly agrees. Plunged deep in the jungle, into a bizarre mix of talent and trials, Zach meets glamour model, Cleo Petra, and the cameras go crazy.
Will Zach survive and be crowned Jungle King?
Or will his latest exploits push Poppy further away…

My review…

Having read both “Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy and Me” and “Coffee, Tea, The Caribbean and Me” I was looking forward to the next instalment in the life of Jo and her family and friends in “Boomerville”. So it was a lovely surprise to find out I didn’t have to wait till Spring 2017 to get my next fix as Jungle Rock has come along just in time for a Christmas hit of Jo, Hattie, Zack, Poppy and the gang.

The jungle game show here is obviously based around I’m a Celebrity Get me out of here…..so it’s a great time of year to read this novella especially if you are a fan of that show. It didn’t dwell on a HUGE cast of characters though or, thankfully, any in-depth descriptions of the sometimes stomach churning tasks, instead it was used as a platform for Zach, the celebrity chef to raise his public profile and contemplate his messed up life. He has lost the the girl  his dreams, Poppy, through a drunken mistake and escaping the UK and his bad reputation in the press seems a gift too good to turn down, especially if he increases his popularity AND meets an pneumatic blonde model in the process. Back home his mum Jo and her partner in crime best friend Hattie have turned their hotel into Boomerville for the single over 50s and are cashing in on Zachs jungle celebrity status! I’ve loved Jo throughout these books and watching her adapting to different changes in her life is one of my main enjoyments of this series.

This is a fun, romantic novella and so only took me a couple of hours to read but what a humour filled, chilled out couple of hours they were! I did stop reading at one point as I was loving the descriptions of the Epcot Food Festival so much that I had to go off to Google it to check if it’s a real event…..and it is! Heaven!

So if you fancy a Christmas novella with a jungle twist then this is the festive download for you. And how can you not fall in love with this colourful cover giving a blast of Jungle heat in a frozen sea of snowy white Christmas books! And don’t worry if you’ve not read any of the authors other books, it works totally as a standalone and will set you up for the riotous fun and frolics that look set to come in Boomerville next year!

Many thanks to the author for supplying my review copy of Jungle Rocks.

Jungle Rock: A fabulous & funny feel-good read was published on November 21st by ramjam publishing and is available to buy here from Amazon UK.

And let me tantalise your taste buds further with my review of  Coffee, Tea, The Caribbean and Me by Caroline James which you can catch up on here.

Meet the author…

Caroline’s debut novel, Coffee Tea The Gypsy & Me shot to #3 on Amazon and was E-book of the Week in The Sun newspaper. Her second novel, So, You Think You’re A Celebrity… Chef? has been described as wickedly funny: ‘AbFab meets MasterChef in a Soap…’ Coffee Tea The Caribbean & Me, an Amazon best-seller, was a Top Ten Finalist at The Write Stuff, London Book Fair 2015 and the judge’s comments included: Caroline is a natural story-teller with a gift for humour in her writing.” Her next novel, Boomerville will be published spring 2017.

Caroline has owned and run many catering related businesses and cookery is a passion alongside her writing, combining the two with her love of the hospitality industry and romantic fiction. As a media agent, Caroline represented many well-known celebrity chefs and her TV script, So, You Think You’re A Celebrity Chef? was runner up at the Winchester Writers Festival 2016.

She has published short stories and is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association. Caroline writes articles on food and celebrity based interviews and is Feature Editor for an online lifestyle magazine. She is a founder member of The Cheshirati and is available for inspiring and entertaining talks on anything related to the hospitality and publishing industry.

To find out more you can visit Caroline on her website or Twitter.

http://www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk

Twitter: @CarolineJames12

Nice Day for a White Wedding by A.L. Michael **Blog Tour** plus giveaway!

So today I am absolutely delighted to be on the blog tour for Nice Day for a White Wedding by A.L. Michael organised by Jenny in Neverland blog tours. This book is the second book in The House on Camden Square series and today I have a review and an extra special giveaway for you as well. So read on!!

About this book…

Sometimes, Happy Ever After is where the real trouble begins…

Chelsea Donnolly wasn’t supposed to amount to anything. But if there’s one thing the bad girl from the estate liked better than trouble, it was a challenge. So, to the amusement of her best friends Evie, Mollie and Ruby – and the disbelief of her teachers – this bad girl turned good.

These days, Chelsea is the kind of girl people are proud to know – and, after a surprise trip to Venice, she has a ring on her finger to prove it. But to get there, she’s had to learn to keep her deepest secrets from everyone – even her fiancé. And when wedding preparations threaten to blow her cover, Chelsea can’t help but wonder: in her battle to the top, might she have left the best parts of herself behind?

My review…

Although this is the second book in The House on Camden Square series it absolutely can be read as a standalone novel but to be honest WHY WOULD YOU?! Ruby Tuesday was the first in the series of books that have played with my emotions and made my mascara run and I would love it if you started with that one so you can meet the friends and get some more background on them. And then if you enjoy Ruby Tuesday you will HAVE to read Nice Day for a White Wedding as I think it is…..EVEN BETTER! A.L. Michael can really write the most amazing and emotional scenes for her characters that just feel so realistic. I don’t know how she gets under my skin but she does it in such a way that you don’t even realise she’s doing it until you look up from your book and hours have past!! I absolutely adored this book from start to finish!

The series is based around four old friends who had lost touch but after the events of the first book they are back in each other’s lives. But this second book concentrates on Chelsea although Mollie and Evie do pop in and out and so does Ruby in flashbacks to their teenage years. Chelsea is living a very different life to the one lived as a child and she has the most amazing boyfriend Kit who seems like her perfect “happy ever after”. And a surprise proposal means that the fairy tale wedding is on its way…or is it? And that’s what kept me turning the pages of this book, it wasn’t the fluffy romantic comedy  I was expecting…it was so much more. There was real depth to Chelsea’s character which seems bizarre when you realise how far she has actually reinvented herself! The scenes where Chelsea meets Kits family were just so well balanced between humorous observations and bittersweet revelations that I just devoured every little vignette. I wanted to punch Jemima and I am not an aggressive person!

I just love Andi Michael for making me live every emotion alongside her characters-I felt as if I was amongst friends and when I finished I missed them. I just want to Face Time them to find out how they are!! Book 3 can’t come quickly enough for me. One of the easiest 5* reviews I have ever given. Loved it!

 

Nice Day For A White Wedding (The House on Camden Square, Book 2) is available to buy here from Amazon UK

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday (The House on Camden Square, Book 1) is the first book in the series and you can find out more here!

About the author…

A.L. Michael is hurtling towards the end of her twenties a little too quickly. She is the author of ‘Wine Dark, Sea Blue’, ‘The Last Word’, ‘My So Called (Love) Life’, ‘Driving Home for Christmas’, and ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’, based upon her experiences as a London barista.

She is a Creative Therapeutic Facilitator, currently researching the power of creative writing to be helpful in recovering from eating disorders.

Her new three book series, The House on Camden Square, is being released in 2016, starting with ‘Goodbye Ruby Tuesday’ is available now.

When she’s not writing, she likes yoga, trying to bake healthy treats and was a hipster before hipsters were hipster. Well, she likes chai lattes and owns a Mac.

You can find out more about A.L. Michael at (surprisingly)  Her website and on Twitter Facebook or Pinterest

Enter the giveaway here…

This is a giveaway for an Italian themed goodie bag that has been prepared by the author herself. It contains lots of goodies like Prosecco, biscotti and other Italian themed yummy treats! You can enter the giveaway HERE

And follow the rest of the tour here!!

 

Breaking Dead by Corrie Jackson

About this book…

THE FIRST THRILLER FEATURING JOURNALIST SOPHIE KENT.

For fans of Kimberley Chambers and Jessie Keane, this compelling thriller uncovers the dark side of high fashion.

London Fashion Week. When a teenage model is found brutally murdered, journalist Sophie Kent is distraught. She failed to save the girl and now she wants justice.

Determined to catch the murderer, Sophie cuts through the industry’s glittery surface to expose a toxic underworld of drugs, prostitution, blackmail and secrets. Then her personal life threatens to derail everything.

Battling her demons and her wealthy dysfunctional family, Sophie goes head to head with a sadistic killer – a killer who is only just getting started . . .

My review…

So Kindle is now charged (honestly who doesn’t take their Kindle charger to bed with them?!) and I’m now able to bring you my full review of Breaking Dead which, you may have seen earlier, I thought was absolutely brilliant! I have to firstly thank Mairead,who blogs at Swirl and Thread for pointing me in the direction of this book as I had previously thought it possibly wasn’t for me but how wrong was I? I don’t know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t this strongly plotted, brilliantly character driven crime thriller with a difference. The difference being that Sophie Kent, who takes a personal interest in a horrific murder investigation, is not a police officer but a journalist. And a journalist with a difference who will do whatever it takes to get her story but does it while maintaining the trust of all she connects with. She isn’t perfect, far from it, as she is dealing with a personal loss that is constantly with her and she has the most messed up love life I’ve come across recently!

This is a very hard hitting book, quite graphic in places and has some quite upsetting scenes at times. The setting of the modelling world isn’t the glamourous world we see in the fashion magazines but a very dark and disturbing behind-the-scenes look at a world where very young women are thrown in at the sleazy end where money, sex and drugs rule. And heaven forbid they eat! When Sophie meets Natalia while investigating a murder on the estate she lives on, she realises straight away that she is hiding something from her. The more she digs, the more terrified the young Russian model gets. Then a series of murders lead Sophie to follow the trail of a sadistic and cunning killer but is she putting others at risk with her diligent detection or even herself?

For me what made this book rise head and shoulders above others was Sophie herself. I just loved her attitude and her honesty which combined to make her one of the most endearing heroines I have ever met. She was flawed and impulsive but she never gave up in her request for the truth. That doesn’t mean that she always played by the rules and the line between her personal and private life was constantly crossed but this is, essentially, a journalist with a heart. I just loved her and now I can’t wait to meet her again as the ending of Breaking Dead leads me to believe that we may not have heard the last of the London Heralds rogue reporter! And if the plot is going to be the one I’m expecting then I just can’t wait!!

Corrie Jackson has done a whole heap of in-depth investigating herself here and this storyline is packed full of interesting and detailed descriptions to show that she’s researched the hell out of this! Having read her bio, I can see that she’s probably used a lot of her background in fashion journalism to create an intensely competitive fictional environment for Sophie to prowl around and it has worked perfectly.

A well deserved 5 star review for this debut novel and highly recommended by me.

I received a copy of this book via netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

Breaking Dead: A Dark, Gripping, Edge-of-Your-Seat Debut Thriller (The Sophie Kent series) is available to buy now from Amazon UK

About the author…

Corrie Jackson has been a journalist for fourteen years. During that time she has worked at Harper’s Bazaar, the Daily Mail, Grazia and Glamour. After a two-year stint in Los Angeles, Corrie now lives in Surrey, England, with her husband and two children.Breaking Dead is her first novel.

 

Madam Tulip by David Ahern

About this book…

Suspense, mystery, action, a little romance and lots of laughs

Out-of-work actress Derry O’Donnell is young, talented, a teeny bit psychic … and broke. Spurred on by an ultimatum from her awesomely high-achieving mother, and with a little help from her theatrical friends, Derry embarks on a part-time career as Madame Tulip, fortune-teller to the rich and famous. But at her first fortune-telling gig – a celebrity charity weekend in a castle – a famous rap artist will die.

As Derry is drawn deeper into a seedy world of celebrities, supermodels and millionaires, she finds herself playing the most dangerous role of her acting life. Trapped in a maze of intrigue, money and drugs, Derry’s attempts at amateur detective could soon destroy her friends, her ex-lover, her father and herself.

Madame Tulip is the first in a series of Tulip adventures in which Derry O’Donnell, celebrity fortune-teller and reluctant detective, plays the most exciting and perilous roles of her acting life, drinks borage tea, and fails to understand her parents.

Fans of humorous mystery writers Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen will love Madam Tulip.

My review…

I was really attracted to this book, first by that fabulous cover and then by the blurb as I’m always on the look out for something a little bit different, a story to surprise me and take me away for a few hours. And thankfully Madam Tulip did just that! The adventures of Derry O’Donnell, who has her dad to thank for her psychic abilities due to him being the seventh son of a seventh son, made for a great few hours reading. When issued with an ultimatum by her mum, jobbing actress Derry decides to use those abilities as Madam Tulip, psychic to the rich and famous. But it looks like those abilities are about to lead her into trouble when murder makes an appearance during her first major “performance”.

In fact it’s pretty difficult for me to slot this into any particular genre! It’s part Bridget Jones and part cosy mystery but with a slightly wicked edge. It’s very readable thanks to the quirky character driven plot told with an underlying dark humour and I found it a refreshing change so couldn’t put it down! My favourite character was of course Derry, she was so down to earth and I just loved the way she became Madam Tulip. I also took to Jacko, her gambling addict of a Dad and Vanessa, her bossy gallery owning mother. In fact I had a pretty good connection to Vanessa and didn’t think she was as bad as Derry made her out to be! All mum’s just want the best for their children no matter how old they are!

This was a very entertaining murder mystery that is definitely worth checking out especially as this one is actually the first in a planned series!

Many thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

Madam Tulip is out now and available to buy from Amazon UK

About the author

David Ahern grew up in a theatrical family in Ireland but ran away to Scotland to become a research psychologist and sensible person. He earned his doctorate and taught in major Universities but could never explain to his granny why he didn’t own a stethoscope.

Finding the challenge of pretending to know things exhausting, David Ahern shaved off his beard and absconded once more, this time to work in television. He became a writer, director and producer, creating international documentary series. He won numerous awards, but found nobody was much impressed.

For want of a better plan, David Ahern took to writing fiction. Madame Tulip isn’t his first novel, but writing it was the most fun he’s ever had with a computer. He is now writing the third in the series and enjoys pretending that this activity is actual work.

David Ahern lives in the beautiful West of Ireland with his wife, two cats and a vegetable garden of which he is inordinately proud.

To find out more about Madam Tulip and David Ahern, visit his Website or follow him on Twitter

 

 

A Summer Romance (Little Perran #3) by Lynda Renham

About this book…

A Summer Romance is the sequel to A Village Romance and is the third book in the Little Perran series by Lynda Renham writing as Amy Perfect.

Milly settles into her new job but does her boss, Ashley Wilmot-Fox, have secrets that he is hiding in Briar Lodge? Will he be able to help Milly fight the ghosts from her past? Will Billy’s blundering romance last, and will Rafe’s secret affair be exposed? As the villagers prepare for their summer fete they have no idea what will be revealed on that day.

My review…

After having read and enjoyed A Village Romance last week, I was rather relieved that I  didn’t have long to wait too long to read Book 3 in the series which concludes the story that was started in Book 2. A little warning to say that this probably can’t be read as a standalone so definitely read A Village Romance first.

So when we were we last in Little Perran we were left on a little bit of a cliffhanger! I’m not going to spoil it for anyone not having read A Village Romance yet but I just want to say that one member of the village is going to have to watch out for danger from an unexpected source!! The village fair is now in the planning stages so what better person to open it than Little Perrans newest celebrity resident Billy Baxter. I adore Billy still, he is settling into village life now but we are still getting the occasional “Billyism” and he adds a fabulous touch of humour to every scene he is in. We are also back with Birdy who has a difficult decision to make (well, I don’t think so but she needs a little bit more of a push!) And all the regular characters are there to help out. I especially love George and Lucy at the pub  as it seems to be the hub of all the village drama this time now that Milly is no longer working in the shop. In fact, even with all the drama,  I still want to move to this village so give me the postcode, my Sat nav awaits!

I sincerely hope that Lynda Renham doesn’t end this series here. I feel like I say goodbye to new friends whenever I finish her books so let’s hope there is more to come. A Summer Romance is the perfect book for your summer holiday, a lovely romantic comedy that can take you away from the rainy British summertime to a quaint little English village that we would all love to escape to.

Thank you to Lynda for my advanced copy of A Summer Romance in exchange for an unbiased review.

A Summer Romance: A funny, compassionate and sizzling sexy summer read. (The Little Perran Romances Book 3) is out on July 1st and can be bought here from Amazon UK