Book Synopsis:

Today isn’t the first time I’ve thought about killing my best friend, but it is the first time I’ve done something about it.

Since they were teenagers, Jane and Elle had been inseparable.

Until the day that Elle stole the love of Jane’s life.

Now everything has changed. Jane wants him back, and with a little help from her horticultural obsession, she may just have found the perfect solution…

A psychological suspense novel that you will not be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Louise Jensen and Clare Boyd.

Love Me, Love Me Not is available in ebook now where it is currently the bargain price of 99p.  The paperback will be released on the 1st August.  You can purchase or pre-order a copy here.

My Review:

Ooh I do love a enthralling, twisty thriller that is a little bit bitchy and Love Me, Love Me Not definitely ticks all those boxes.

The reader is drawn straight into the story with a rather telling scene that immediately lets the reader know how things are between the two women.  It’s clear from the start that Jane has a huge chip on her shoulder and wants revenge on her supposed best friend, which Elle is blissfully unaware of.  Everything is obvious not ok between the two women from Elle’s point of view and the author cleverly takes the reader back and forth in the two girls relationship making them slowly aware of the reasons why.  I was very intrigued as to what had gone wrong and wanted to keep reading to find out what it was.  The fact that Elle seemed oblivious to Elle’s hatred was very interesting and I wanted to find out how she would discover the truth.

It was hard to really like or feel sympathy to either of the main characters.  Jane is a very evil, twisted character that is very determined to hurt her friend.  She has a number of little schemes on the go at once on how to bring her friend down.  Elle, though the victim in Jane’s schemes, isn’t blameless as she often overlooked Elle in the past and trampled on her feelings.  It was hard to feel sympathy for her when you discover the whole story.

This was quite a fast read for me that I couldn’t put down as I felt I couldn’t look away from Jane and her antics.  I desperately wanted to know what would happen next and how everything would end so read far later than I should have.

Huge thanks to HQ digital for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  If you like fast paced, intriguing reads that are impossible to put down and make you question your relationship in your life, you’ll love this book! I’ll definitely be paying more attention to my friendships.

About The Author:

(From the author’s website)

 

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Book Synopsis:

Stoke Newington, 1863: Little Margaret Lovejoy is found brutally murdered in the outhouse at her family’s estate.

A few days later, a man is cut down in a similar manner on the doorstep of courtesan and professional detective Heloise Chancey’s prestigious address. At the same time, Heloise’s maid, Amah Li Leen, must confront events from her past that appear to have erupted into the present day.

Once again Heloise is caught up in a maelstrom of murder and deceit that threatens to reach into the very heart of her existence.

In this second instalment of the Heloise Chancey Mysteries, M.J Tjia brings us another enthralling historical crime where the twists and turns are as numerous and dark as the London streets which serve as their setting.

A Necessary Murder is available in ebook and paperback now.  You can purchase your copy of bothhere.

My Review:

It’s always great to find a fantastic new crime series to get stuck into and I really enjoyed this fast paced, intriguing book.

The story is based mainly in London but there is a touch of India in Amah’s flashbacks to her childhood which I loved reading about.  The contrast between the two countries is very vivid with London seeming very dull and grey whereas India seems full of colours and passion.  It was interesting to learn more about India’s history and culture at that time.  Britain’s history is also shown in the male character’s attitude to Heloise.  Despite knowing she works as a detective they never ask her opinion instead asking her boss for advice which I found very frustrating.

Heloise is a character that I wasn’t sure I liked.  On one hand she’s a fantastically capable sleuth who isn’t afraid to get herself in danger but on the other seems far too concerned about her image and what others think of her.  The fact that she doesn’t publicly acknowledge Amah as her mother for fear of people knowing she has Indian heritage was shocking to me and meant I couldn’t warm to her as a character.

This was quite a fast paced book that gripped and shocked me straight away.  The mystery unravels at a very satisfying pace and all the interesting historical detail the author includes helped further keep my interest in the book.  Some of the murder scene descriptions were surprisingly gory and made me feel a little queasy at times, though that might just be me as I’ve got a weird thing about necks!

This is the author’s second book but the first I’ve read and I look forward to reading more of this series.  This book does work well as a standalone book as anything you need to know is explained.

Thanks so much to Imogen and Lucy from Legend Press for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.  If you like well described, fast paced historical mysteries then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

 

 

 

 

M.J’s father is Chinese-Indonesian and her mother has English-Irish heritage. Being Eurasian herself means that she has always been interested in portraying racially hybridised characters.

Although M.J. grew up in Australia, she has always favoured British fiction, especially in the crime genre. Her inspirations include Agatha Christie, Allingham and Sayers, Val McDermid, Peter Robinson, R.D. Wingfield and Reginald Hill.

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I’m thrilled to be on the cover reveal for the fantastic Samantha Tonge’s new book today!

Forgive Me Not will be published on the 23rd July! I am also on the blog tour for this book around that date so do look out for my review.

Before I show you the beautiful new cover here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge
How far would you go to make amends?
When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.
But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.
Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future…
Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.
Perfect for readers of Ruth Hogan or Amanda Prowse, this is an extraordinary and unforgettable novel about running away from yourself – and finding a way back.

Cover Reveal:

So without further ado here is the fabulous new cover for Samantha’s new book.

Isn’t it stunning? Such a lovely, girlie cover and I love the colours! Eek so excited!

About The Author:

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.

Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

 

Book Synopsis:

Estelle is the headstrong daughter of Fleur, a Resistance legend who disappeared during the Great War, supposedly killed while helping Allied soldiers to escape.

Christa, an only child, longs to break free from the constraints of London suburbia, and fantasises about the ethereal Belgian heroine who saved her father.

When Estelle comes looking for the truth about the mother she believes deserted her, an intense friendship grows between the two young women. Estelle invites Christa to De Eikenhoeve, her family’s idyllic country estate. There, Christa encounters Estelle’s two brothers – brooding, tempestuous Robbe and dependable, golden-haired Pieter – and during that long hot summer, passions run high. When war breaks out Christa is forced to return home, but not before she has done something she will regret for the rest of her life.

Christa arrives back in England a changed woman, while Estelle decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the Resistance. Little do they dream that Fleur was betrayed by someone close to them, and that the legacy of this betrayal will have heartbreaking consequences for them all.

The Hour Of Separation is available in ebook and hardback now.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of Katharine McMahon and have read pretty much all her books so you can imagine my excitement when I was offered a copy of her latest book, The Hour Of Separation.  I might have mentioned it once if twice but I love historical fiction especially when it’s set in or around world war two so this book was a win win for me!

Katharine has a great way of fully immersing the reader into her story so you feel transported to 1939 in Belgium.  I could really imagine the beautiful countryside and feel the fear and unease set in as the German occupiers start to make themselves known.

The story is told from the point of view of both Christa and Estelle which gives the reader a more intimate view of the story as we are privy to the girls individual thoughts and feelings.  The two storylines are written quite differently which reflects their different personalities very well.  I started to feel like I knew them both personally so felt more invested in the story and more concerned with what would happen next.

This was quite a fast read for me and I felt gripped from the start with the need to unravel the girls and their families secrets.  I’ve always had a special interest in the resistance work in world war two and all the brave men and women who worked together to try to sabotage the Germans.  I enjoyed learning more about their activities in Belgium under German occupation and the important work they did to help the allies.

Huge thanks to Rebecca Grey and W&N publishers for my copy of this book.  If you like gripping WW2 fiction based on real events you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Born in north-west London, Katharine studied English and Drama at Bristol University because she wanted either to act or to write.  She wrote her first novel in a gap year following university and spent a couple of years teaching in a Hertfordshire comprehensive school. Thus began a career in which her writing has been fed by a hugely diverse range of other activities, which have in turn been fuelled by her writing. Katharine has had a job taking breakdown calls at the RAC, run a volunteer bureau, tutored writing skills with the Royal Literary Fund in the universities of Hertfordshire and Warwick, trained as a magistrate, and in turn written training courses for magistrates and has served on the Sentencing Council of England and Wales, and the Judicial Appointments Commission.   She has run the Guardian Masterclass on Historical Fiction and written an e-book to complement that work.  She has just been appointed as Education Projects Manager by the Royal Literary Fund, where her role will be to help develop a wide range of projects in which writers can use their unique skills in all kinds of different communities.

This diversity is reflected in the lives and adventures of her characters.  Evelyn Gifford, the heroine of The Crimson Rooms and its sequel, The Woman in the Picture, though born at the end of the nineteenth century, is a thoroughly modern woman in the way that her career and her domestic life collide – sometimes to the detriment, usually to the advantage of both.  In writing these books, Katharine found herself immersed in a world in which Evelyn is deeply engaged both with personal relationships and professional crises.  This, Katharine believes, is typical of the richness of experience enjoyed and bemoaned by many modern women.

Book Synopsis:

When a body is found floating in London’s Royal Albert Dock, successful public relations expert Kay Christie is sent to quiet the media, but things get complicated when it emerges that she knew the victim.

As events spiral out of control, Kay discovers that those close to her may be harbouring another secret – the story of a missing girl. Can Kay discover the truth before her life unravels and she risks losing everything?

In the Wake questions whether we can ever truly leave our pasts behind and explores the lengths that we will go to protect the people that we love.

My Review:

In The Wake was a very intriguing, twisty and multi layered book that was a very enjoyable read.

This wasn’t a particularly fast read for me as I felt it was quite character driven.  The reader gets to know the characters well, which helps to understand them more and what makes them tick.  All of the characters are very real as all of them have flaws or things that make them a little unlikeable.  They all have secrets which helped add to the tension in the book and things definitely get very murky before the reader starts to get a clear picture of what was going on.

The book approaches the murder investigation from an unusual angle.  The main focus is Kay who works in PR and her attempts to solve the murder case and try to protect her dad.  The PR people aren’t shown in the best light as all seem to be either overwhelmed by the murder or eager to be in the spotlight.  It was interesting to read about an investigation being investigated by someone other than the police, though i’m not sure whether Kay would be allowed so near to an investigation in real life as she could have compromised the investigation.

This is Helen Trevorrow ‘s debut book and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Kelly from Love Book Groups Tours and Urbane books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Helen Trevorrow is a graduate of the 2016 Faber Academy creative writing programme. She studied at Leeds University and has worked in marketing and public relations in London. She is a specialist food and drink PR. Helen’s debut novel IN THE WAKE is a feminist crime thriller about family, unrealised trauma and alcoholism. Helen has ghost-written many articles for newspapers, magazines and websites. She lives in Brighton, Sussex.

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