Book Synopsis:

In a city of strangers, who can you trust?

London, 1952. Dina Demetriou has travelled from Cyprus for a better life. She’s certain that excitement, adventure and opportunity are out there, waiting – if only she knew where to look.

Her passion for clothes and flair for sewing land her a job repairing the glittering costumes at the notorious Pelican Revue. It’s here that she befriends the mysterious and beautiful Bebba.

With her bleached-blonde hair and an appetite for mischief, Bebba is like no Greek Dina has ever met before. She guides Dina around the fashionable shops, bars and clubs of Soho, and Dina finally feels life has begun.

But Bebba has a secret. And as thick smog brings the city to a standstill, the truth emerges with devastating results. Dina’s new life now hangs by a thread. What will be left when the fog finally clears? And will Dina be willing to risk everything to protect her future?

A story of friendship, family, love and loss set against the grimy and glittering streets of fifties Soho. For fans of Kate Furnivall and Rachel Rhys.

She Came To Stay is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy via the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

She Came To Stay was a very absorbing book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Firstly I loved the setting of this book and they way the author perfectly describes 1950’s London. I must admit to not knowing much about this period so I drank in the wonderful descriptions of the time. Soho London was definitely a rather seedy place to be, though one that I think held a lot of glamour and excitement to some. I felt instantly drawn into the characters world and often felt that I was there with them experiencing everything alongside them.

The three main characters were very interesting creations and I enjoyed following them as they navigate life in London. I really liked the main character Dina who I felt very sorry for with her controlling brother who only seemed to want her to get married and as soon as possible. I was therefore very happy when she meet Babba, a fellow Greek Cypriot, and gets to have the fun I felt she deserved. I did feel that Dina and Paul were quite naive to accept Babba so readily into their lives. I often found myself shouting at them in my head as I could see things weren’t going to turn out the way they hoped.

This book does start off a little slowly as the author sets the scene but I didn’t mind this as I loved the descriptions of Soho. The pace soon picks up though and there were quite a few twists that I didn’t see coming which I alway really enjoy. I felt very sad to finish the book as I didn’t want to leave the wonderful characters and their world behind. If you are a fan of thrilling and atmospheric historical fiction I’d highly recommend this book.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book. I’d love this to be made into a tv series as I think it would be brilliant!

About The Author:

Eleni Kyriacou is an award-winning editor and journalist. She has worked in various roles across publishing and her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Marie Claire, Grazia, You, Stella and Red, among others. Eleni was the Editor of national magazines New Woman and Looks and has also worked in digital media. 

The daughter of Greek Cypriot immigrant parents, Eleni has never felt completely British nor Cypriot, but has always felt a Londoner. She was born and grew up in Camden, then Elephant & Castle, Finsbury Park, Tottenham and now lives in Ealing. She has lived north, south and west. East London is another country to her. Every year, she has long conversations with friends and family about leaving London but probably never will. 

Eleni is now freelance so knows where all the plug points are in London cafés. She Came to Stay is her first novel. You can find her on Twitter at @elenikwriter.

Book Synopsis:

A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.

Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are report

llyf a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?

Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…

Deity is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Wow wow wow, what an amazing book. I have read every book this author has written and in my opinion he is just getting better and better. Matt is one of those author’s that I’ll happily preorder without even having read the blurb as I know it will be amazing!

Firstly I loved how topical this book is, it seemed very realistic and true to life especially due to the recent abuse cases in the papers. The main character, and the accused, Crystal was a very interesting character who I kept changing my opinion of. He came across very well in his interviews and seemed so charming and just genuine that is hard to believe him capable of the things he is accused of. I actually found myself liking him despite a few doubts which confused me.

Of course being a Six Stories book things aren’t as simple as they first appear and I really enjoyed the supernatural/folklore element that Matt weaves into the story. It made me very keen not to be on my own in the dark as I was convinced that there was something lurking there. Some of the descriptions were very chilling and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat (my husband actually had to ask me if I was ok at one point) as I read. The stories seemed so real and I therefore found it very difficult to put down as I had to keep reading to find out what happened.

The story starts off slow as the author sets the scene and introduces the reader to the case but soon picks up and becomes very fast paced. The book is very well written and had me questioning how I felt about what was happening, or has happened in the news recently which I thought was interesting. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future and hope that it’s not too long to wait until another addition of Six Stories.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orenda for my copy of this book, though I did also treat myself to a paperback copy on publication too (well I had to complete the set).

About The Author:

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK- an US-based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a horror set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was an Amazon bestseller in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick, and film rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. Hydra, was published in 2018 and became an international bestseller.
Follow Matt on Twitter @ConcreteKraken and on his website: mjwesolowskiauthor.wordpress.com

Book Synopsis:

Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it’s not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor’s orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life even when it is about to be taken away, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most. 

The One Hundred Years Of Lenni and Margot is available in hardback and ebook now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie book store.

My Review:

This was a wonderful book that was a funny and thoughtful read about an unlikely friendship.

I found myself instantly drawn into the story and very sympathetic towards Lenni and the heart breaking situation she finds herself in. I was very glad when she met immediately like the amazing Margo who was an absolutely amazing character. I absolutely adored her and loved her attitude towards life. She is someone I would love to know and she often made me smile with her antics throughout the book. I found myself very glad that the two of them had found each other as I felt they provided much needed support to one another at a difficult time.

As I might have mentioned once of twice I love stories that allow the reader to follow a character throughout their lives to see the big events that have shaped them. The 100 paintings that Lennie and Margo embark on creating of their lives (100 years is their combined age) is very touching. I loved reliving the important moments of their lives with them and learning more about them both slowly as the story develops.

This is a beautifully told story that manages to be both funny and sad at times. I liked that the emotional moments seemed very realistic as if it could actually happen which made me feel more connected to the characters. It’s definitely a story that will stay with me and I will be recommending to everyone. I think it would make a great book club read as there would be lots to discuss.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Transworld for my copy fo this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Marianne Cronin was born in 1990. She studied English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. She now spends most of her time writing, with her newly-adopted rescue cat sleeping under her desk. When she’s not writing, Marianne can be found performing improv in the West Midlands, where she lives. Her debut novel The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is to be published around the world and is being adapted into a feature film by a major Hollywood studio.

Book Synopsis:

Alice Lang was wearing her favourite scarlet dress when she disappeared twenty-five years ago, and her memory still casts a long shadow.

‘The past was like water. Once the tide turned, you couldn’t hold it back.’

In the long, hot summer of 1995, twenty-two-year-old Alice Lang rents a caravan on a holiday park on the outskirts of the lively holiday resort of Severn Sands. She befriends Marnie, a shy, damaged little girl whose father is the park’s caretaker and whose mother died a few months earlier. Will, whose mother runs the bar, falls in love with Alice, and is unbearably jealous of anyone else she sees. Tensions rise until one evening Alice disappears from her caravan. She’s never seen again, and only her scarlet dress is found washed up on the shore.

A quarter of a century later, the town is run down and nobody comes there anymore. Mr and Mrs deVillars, former owners of the holiday park, have passed the failing business onto their son Guy, who promptly sells the land for development. Builders clearing the land to create an expanse of executive homes uncover human bones. It has to be Alice.

Will and Marnie’s lives were entirely shaped by what happened that summer, and now Alice has been found, they must struggle to pin down their memories, to escape the secrets of the past, the lies they told and the unbearable guilt they’re both carrying.

They need to find out what happened to Alice. Who killed her? And why?

The Scarlet Dress is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

The Scarlet dress is a gripping, atmospheric thriller which seems very realistic.

Firstly I love the author’s ability to make a sinister situation out of something so ordinary. A caravan park is somewhere a lot of families have visited for their holidays but in this book the author’s descriptions make it a place that the reader will come to fear. She does this very subtly so that the reader isn’t overly aware of it to start with but gradually becomes more obvious as time goes on. The stark contrast between the caravan park in the 60’s and now was very poignant to read about and somehow helped to add to the creepy atmosphere of the place as in it’s run down state it seemed more likely that there would be evil lurking in the corners. I found myself shivering in anticipation as I read wondering which way the story would go.

Alice and Marnie were fantastic main characters who it was easy to feel sympathetic towards. The author gives the reader time to get to know the characters well so that they start to feel very real. I liked that she includes a lot of personal things about the characters, like that Marnie is very fond of animals, so that they start to seem like old friends. I didn’t like Will as much as I wanted to sadly. He seemed a very sympathetic character at first but there was just something about him that grated on me. As my mother would say he is more to be pitied then scolded but I just couldn’t warm to him.

This book does start off a bit slow as the reader gets to know the characters and the setting but soon picks up pace to become very gripping. I kept changing my mind about what had happened and who was responsible for Alice’s disappearance. As soon as I had come up with a theory, something would happen so send the story in a completely different direction which meant that I was unable to guess until the end. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Boldwood for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Louise Douglas is the bestselling and brilliantly reviewed author of 6 novels including The Love of my Life and Missing You – a RNA award winner. The Secrets Between Us was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. She lives in the West Country. Louise’s first book for Boldwood, The House by the Sea was published in March 2020.

Book Synopsis:

‘When it finally arrived I was shocked to see it; to read the words Mum wrote about these women fighting for rights I know I take for granted. Mum was here. And while she was, something happened that changed the entire course of my life. Perhaps, if I can summon the courage, the next eight weeks will help me finally figure out what that was . . .’
 
When Jessica discovers a shocking secret about her birth, she leaves her London home and travels to Switzerland in search of answers. She knows her journalist mother spent time in the country forty years earlier, reporting on the Swiss women’s liberation movement, but what she doesn’t know is what happened to her while she was there. Can Jess summon the courage to face the truth about her family, or will her search only hurt herself and those around her even more?
 
Set across a stunning Swiss backdrop, The Other Daughter follows one woman in her search for the truth about her birth, and another desperately trying to succeed in a man’s world. Perfect for fans of Tracy Rees, Elizabeth Noble and Kathryn Hughes.

The Other Daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through their local indie bookstore.

My Review:

This was a fascinating dual timeline historical novel which was hugely enjoyable to read.

Firstly I don’t think I’ve read anything about Swizz history so I had no idea about the women’s right movement over there. I was quite shocked to discover how late women’s rights came in to the country. It was really interesting to follow the movement over here and to learn more about their struggle for equal rights. The author does a great job of describing the scenery of Switzerland so i felt like I could clearly imagine the place the story was set in. It seems like a very beautiful place and it has definitely made me want to visit there in the future.

The two stories lines were really well written and plotted. I like how smoothly they ran alongside each other and how they seem to compliment each other well. As with most dual timeline stories I read I did prefer the older side of the story more but that’s not to say I wasn’t interested in Jess’s story and her interest in discovering more about her mother’s past. I enjoyed exploring Switzerland alongside her and learning more about their social practices which were a bit eye opening at times.

Overall I really enjoyed this book which unfolded at a steady pace and always seemed to have something happening to ensure I kept reading. I like how the two stories came together and how the story kept me guessing until the end. I actually thought I had figured out the ending but I was proved wrong which always increases my enjoyment. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future, she is definitely one to watch!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Simon & Schuster for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Caroline Bishop began her journalism career at a small arts magazine in London, after a brief spell in educational publishing. She soon moved to work for a leading London theatre website, for which she reviewed shows and interviewed major acting and directing stars. Caroline turned freelance in 2012 and a year later moved to Switzerland, where her writing veered towards travel and she has contributed to publications including the Guardian, the Independent, the Telegraph and BBC Travel, writing mainly about Switzerland, and co-wrote the 2019 edition of the DK Eyewitness Guide to Switzerland. For two years Caroline was editor of TheLocal.ch, an English-language Swiss news site, and it was during this time that she became fascinated with aspects of Swiss history and culture, particularly the evolution of women’s rights.

Book Synopsis:

THE END OF EVERYTHING WAS HER BEGINNING

It’s December 2023 and the world as we know it has ended.

The human race has been wiped out by a virus called 6DM (‘Six Days Maximum’ – the longest you’ve got before your body destroys itself). 

But somehow, in London, one woman is still alive. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants, hiding how she feels and desperately trying to fit in. A woman who is entirely unprepared to face a future on her own.

Now, with only an abandoned golden retriever for company, she must travel through burning cities, avoiding rotting corpses and ravenous rats on a final journey to discover if she really is the last surviving person on earth.

And with no one else to live for, who will she become now that she’s completely alone?

Last To The Party is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Wow this book was one that took me completely by surprise. I really wasn’t expecting it to be as hard hitting as it was, despite having read the blurb. This was a book that at times was rather gruesome but at others very funny so that I actually found myself laughing out loud. Its going to be a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.

The thing that most hits you about this book is how realistic it is. The author has a way of describing the situation so that the reader feels that it could actually be happening now, while they are reading. I often had to look up from my book to as I read to measure myself this wasn’t actually my reality. The characters are incredibly human and flawed which helps add to the realistic storyline too. They have normal human problems mixed in with the pandemic problems which was actually very affective. I often found myself wondering how I would act in the same situation and what I would do.

This book just seemed to be the perfect mix of everything. It was horrific at times but also somehow managed to be uplifting and very thought provoking. As mentioned above the author does inject some humour into the story which stops it becoming bogged down and helps provide some, at times, much needed comic relief. Its hard to believe that this is a debut novel as the writing is very assured and the story is so well plotted that it was hugely enjoyable to read. It’s a story that has stayed with me and I definitely will look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Huge thanks to Steven from Hodder and Stoughton for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Bethany Clift is a graduate of the Northern Film School and has had projects in development with Eon and Film 4, as well as being a director of her own production company. Last One At The Party is her debut novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beth_Clift

Book Synopsis:

‘Glitz, glamour and ambition … Ruthless Women is the binge read we all need right now’ Woman & Home

Ambition can be deadly

Broadcast to millions from its picturesque location off the coast of Jersey, Falcon Bay was once the world’s most popular soap opera. But with ratings at an all-time low, a new network owner, the malevolent Madeline Kane, arrives on the private island determined to do whatever it takes to get the show back to the number 1 slot.

Director Farrah, leading lady Catherine and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who’ve been trying to hold the production together. But thanks to their handsome but corrupt boss, Jake Monroe, Farrah is losing episodes to male colleagues, seventy-year-old Catherine is terrified of losing the public’s adoration, and Amanda is battling her desire for a forbidden affair with a handsome new employee.

As Madeline’s pressure to revive the show intensifies, she unleashes a true battle of the sexes where the women will do anything to stay in the jobs they love and on the island they call home. Can they team up to bring down their rivals? Or will jealousy, betrayal and revenge rip their friendships apart? As the story reaches its shocking climax, one thing is for certain: only the most ruthless woman will survive…

Everyone’s talking about Ruthless Women…

Ruthless Women is published in ebook and hardback on the 18th February 2021. You can pre-order your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Ruthless women is an incredibly addictive, fun thriller which has to be one of the best books I’ve read this year. It was very entertaining to read and was perfect for getting away from reality for a while.

Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know what a fan I am of strong female characters so you can imagine how much I enjoyed this book with its three incredibly strong, sassy and ruthless women. I went between wanting to be like them or at least friends with them to being slightly terrified of them and sure that if I was in the same room as them I’d be shrinking into the corner. These women definitely know what they want and aren’t afraid to try and get it. I loved their casual attitude towards things which would reduce most women into tears and that they didn’t take no for an answer.

The setting of a TV soap set was a perfect setting for the story and the author’s rich descriptions made it easy for me to imagine what life would be like on set. The interesting tactics that the staff have to make the soap stay relevant seemed very realistic and it made me wonder if some of them actually happen in real life. You can just imagine the high pressure, bitchy atmosphere of such a place and I felt myself tingling with anticipation as I read as I was never really sure where the next drama would come from.

The story starts off slow as we are introduced to the characters and the setting but it soon gets going and becomes impossible to put down. Its very addictive and I found myself often trying to sneak away from the kids to try and read a little bit more, almost like I was afraid of missing some of the action. The chapters are told from different characters points of view which helps increase the atmosphere and the tension in the book as it always seemed to add another layer to the story meaning I was always reading faster trying to find out what was going to happen. The twist at the end was amazing, seriously one of the best twists I think I’ve read I was completely taken by surprise which I always love. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

Huge thanks to Midas publicity for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Head Of Zeus for my copy of this book. Highly, highly recommend this book!

About The Author:

Melanie Blake regularly writes columns for national newspapers and her first novel, The Thunder Girls, was a top-ten bestseller before it was adapted into a successful play. But she is best-known as the ‘Queen of Soaps’ for her success within the entertainment industry. Her London-based talent agency represents stars of Coronation Street, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks as well as the US drama Dynasty. A true insider, Melanie has seen everything that goes on behind the velvet rope of showbiz. And now, through her fiction, she’s sharing those secrets… Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MelanieBlakeUK

Book Synopsis:

Three brothers are at the funeral. One lies in the coffin.

Will, Brian and Luke grow up competing for their mother’s unequal love. As men, the competition continues – for status, money, fame, women …

They each betray each other, over and over, until one of them is dead.

But which brother killed him?

Our Little Cruelties is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below or through your local indie bookstore.

My Review:

Our Little Cruelties was a dark and twisty page turner which I throughly enjoyed. Ive read most of this author’s books and in my opinion she keeps getting better and better.

The author drew me in from the start with her shocking opening which helped set the scene for what is a quite dark, shocking story. I loved the way the author takes quite a normal seeming family and then gradually peels back the layers to expose the mess that lies beneath. I found it very intriguing to discover more about the family and the secrets that they were all hiding. It has definitely made me think and I don’t think I’ll be looking at my neighbours the same way again!

The author has a great way of creating complicated, unlikeable characters that are somehow very interesting to read about. I found I didn’t particularly like any of the three bothers, often going between feeling sympathetic towards them to being very angry at them for their actions. I found this very interesting and I found I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to them, hoping they’d get the ending I felt they deserved.

This story is very dark in places and very twisty with lot of different parts to it which the author handles with ease so that they never become confusing. I never really knew which way the story was going and was therefore often wrong footed whilst reading. The ending was very unexpected and very shocking which I always like. I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Huge thanks to Ellie Hughes from Viking for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Before becoming a full-time writer, Liz Nugent worked in Irish film, theatre and television. Her three novels – Unravelling Oliver, Lying in Wait and Skin Deep have each been Number One bestsellers in Ireland and she has won four Irish Book Awards (two for Skin Deep). She lives in Dublin with her husband.