Book Synopsis:

*The must-read book of the summer*

‘Utterly transporting’ Stylist

‘A gorgeous, one-gulp novel’ Red

‘Emma Brodie perfectly channels the languorous romance of the time . . . I got chills’ Kevin Kwan, No.1 bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

Behind every greatest hit, is an even greater love story.

THE SUMMER OF 1969

From the moment Jane Quinn steps barefoot onto the main stage at Island Folk festival, her golden hair glinting, her voice soaring into the summer dusk, a star is born – and so is a passionate love story.

Jane’s band hits the road with none other than Jesse Reid, the musician whose bright blue eyes are setting hearts alight everywhere. And as the summer streaks by in a haze of crowds, wild nights and magenta sunsets, Jane is pulled into the orbit of Jesse’s star.
 
But Jesse’s rise could mean Jane’s fall. And when she discovers a dark secret beneath his music, she picks up her guitar and writes her heartache into the album that could make or break her: Songs in Ursa Major.

Set against the heady haze of the 70s and alive with music, sex and sun-soaked hedonism, SONGS IN URSA MAJOR is an unforgettable debut and the soundtrack to a love story like no other.

Songs In Ursa Major is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.

My Review:

Songs In Ursa Major is a brilliant, escaping read partly based on the real life relationship of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell.

Firstly I think this author does a great job of capturing the era with all the freedom and changes that it brought. My parent’s hay day was the 70’s so I grew up on lots of stories, and music, from that time which the book reminded me of. I so enjoyed following all the characters through this book and living precariously through them. I felt like I was able to experience the era a bit through them which was great as the 70’s is the era I’d like to be able to time travel back to.

The characters were brilliant, realistic characters that I found it easy to warm to. I particularly liked Jane as I admired her confidence and her willingness to stand up for herself. The sexism she experiences in the music industry made me very cross and I wanted to applaud her when she made a stand against it. Her relationship with Jessie was wonderfully, dreamy to read about, come on we’ve all dreamed about dating a rock star, and I found it very interesting to watch it develop. I liked that the author wasn’t afraid to put some darker plot twists into the book which made the book seem more realistic but also stopped it from being too sugary sweet and just about the budding romance between the two main characters.

The books has a great pace to it and I quickly found myself drawn into the story. I liked the huge contrast between the hectic, wild music scenes and the more gentle life on the island which helped refocus the reader at times. There was always something happening to keep my attention and some very dramatic moments which moved the story in a complete different direction. The ending was perfect in my opinion and I especially liked how everything wasn’t tied up in a bow but instead left at a realistic place.

This is the author’s debut novel and I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. There is a Spotify playlist with the same name as the book available on Spotify which is perfect to listen to whilst reading.

Huge thanks to Jen Harlow for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

EMMA BRODIE has worked in book publishing for a decade, most recently as an executive editor at Little, Brown’s Voracious imprint. She graduated from the Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program, and is a longtime contributor to HuffPost and a faculty member at Catapult. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their dog, Freddie Mercury.

Book Synopsis:

Everything stays the same for the tenants of The Beresford, a grand old apartment building just outside the city … until the doorbell rings… Will Carver returns with an eerie, deliciously and uncomfortably dark standalone thriller.

Just outside the city – any city, every city – is a grand, spacious but affordable apartment building called The Beresford.

There’s a routine at The Beresford.

For Mrs May, every day’s the same: a cup of cold, black coffee in the morning, pruning roses, checking on her tenants, wine, prayer and an afternoon nap. She never leaves the building.

Abe Schwartz also lives at The Beresford. His housemate, Sythe, no longer does. Because Abe just killed him. 

In exactly sixty seconds, Blair Conroy will ring the doorbell to her new home and Abe will answer the door. They will become friends. Perhaps lovers. 

And, when the time comes for one of them to die, as is always the case at The Beresford, there will be sixty seconds to move the body before the next unknowing soul arrives at the door.

Because nothing changes at The Beresford, until the doorbell rings…

Eerie, dark, superbly twisted and majestically plotted, The Beresford is the stunning standalone thriller from one of crime fiction’s most exciting names.

The Beresford is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.

Advance Praise:

‘A gripping novel laced with humour and cutting character insight … a thrill from start to finish. Expect the unexpected!’ Sarah Pinborough
 
‘Equally enthralling and appalling … unlike anything I’ve read in a very long while’ James Oswald
 
‘Ridiculously addictive’ S J Watson

Giveaway:

I’m excited to have a paperback copy of The Beresford to giveaway today. It is an international giveaway so anyone can enter.

To enter all you need to do is:

You can enter on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Like, share and tag some friends who you think might be interested. On Instagram you can get an extra entry if you share my post to your story.

The giveaway will finish at 10am Sunday 4th July BST and I will get one of my kids to draw the winner for me. Good luck everyone!

Please note that Over The Rainbow Book Blog is not responsible for posting the book to the winner and will not have access to any postal addresses.

About The Author:

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Will’s latest title published by Orenda Books, The Beresford is out in July 2021. His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

Book Synopsis:

They wanted to get away. But now they can’t get out.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last weekend before Georgie’s wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few drinks, they head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible.

Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water.

But none of them saw him, and nobody knows where he went. They’re miles from the nearest town. How did he get there? Where did he go?

As the weekend unravels and terrible secrets come to light, it soon becomes clear that their perfect weekend is turning into a perfect nightmare. They’re desperate to leave – but someone won’t let them.

Down By The Water is available in ebook now and in hardback on the 8th July 2021. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the links below.

My Review:

Down By The Water is a creepy, atmospheric thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. This book wasn’t what I was expecting but in a good way! I thought going in that it would be a ghost story but it’s actually more of a psychological thriller.

As I might have mentioned before I love books featuring a group of old friends as there is always so much potential there. This book was no exception as we join a group of old university friends on a hen trip. It quickly becomes clear that there is a lot of tension and secrets in the group which I found very intriguing. I enjoyed unpicking their complicated relationships and learning more about them as the book went on. I had to find out what they were all hiding so found I had to keep reading to find out what was going on.

The setting in this book is superb with the isolated Scottish island helping to create lots of atmosphere so I could well imagine the creepy events happening there. I had to admit it got in my head a bit and I found I couldn’t move around at night without putting a light on as I was wondering if something would appear. A few of the plot twists give the characters plenty of opportunity to explore the island and I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck as I read wondering what would happen.

I thought this book was a bit of a slow burn at the beginning as we are introduced to the setting and all the characters. There are quite a few of them so it did take me a little while to get to know them all. The second half is much faster with the author slowly increasing the feeling of menace until I found it hard to put the book down. None of the characters were particularly likeable and I hoped that a few of them would get their just desserts at the end.

This is the author’s first psychological thriller and I would definitely be interested in reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Wildfire for my copy of this book via netgalley.

About The Author:

Elle Connel is the pseudonym of Lucy Ribchester, whose previous novels, The Hourglass Factory and The Amber Shadows, were historical thrillers. She has a first class degree in English from the University of St Andrews and a Masters in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. Her previous work has won her a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, and short-listings for the Costa Short Story Award and Manchester Fiction Prize. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner and two sons. Down by the Water is her first book as Elle Connel.