Book Synopsis:

Can you ever really find the one after ‘the one’?

Some people spend their whole lives trying to find the one. But Natalie had found him – and married him. And then Russ died.

Two years ago, her whole world was shattered. Still now, she feels like she’s trying to piece her broken heart back together, one day at a time.

But then she finds a sheet of music – one that only Russ would know – in the piano stool in St. Pancras station where she’s secretly been playing for the last few months.

For the first time, Natalie realizes that maybe life does still hold a little magic. And with every note she plays, she feels as if she’s unlocking another fragment of her heart…

But will she ever truly find love again after she’d already found forever?

My Review:

I thought this was a charming, heartwarming and emotional read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Firstly there the author has created some fantastic characters that I enjoyed getting to know throughout the book. I absolutely loved Natalie and instantly warmed to her, wanting her to work through everything and find happiness. The supporting characters were also brilliant and I liked how they fit into the story, each having their own role to play.

The gentle mystery about who’s leaving the piano music for Natalie was really cute and I liked following Natalie as she tried to find the answer. I found this part of the book quite emotional and it was wonderful watching Natalie work through her grief.

Overall I loved this book and can’t wait to read more from the author. There’s a perfect blend of emotions in this book and I found myself crying one moment and then laughing the next. The ending was particularly beautiful and I closed the book feeling satisfied but sad at having to leave behind Natalie and her friends.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orion for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Lia Louis lives in the United Kingdom with her partner and three young children. Before raising a family, she worked as a freelance copywriter and proofreader. She was the 2015 winner of Elle magazine’s annual writing competition and has been a contributor for Bloomsbury’s Writers and Artist’s blog for aspiring writers. She is the author of Somewhere Close to Happy and Dear Emmie Blue.

Book Synopsis:

She thinks of blue mountain, her favourite place. ‘We’re going somewhere where we can be safe. We never have to come back here.’

As the rest of the world lies sleeping, Eleanor straps her infant daughter, Amy, into the back of her car. This is the moment she knew must come, when they will walk out on her husband Leon and a marriage in ruins since his return from Vietnam. Together, she and Amy will journey to blue mountain, a place of enchantment and refuge that lit up Eleanor’s childhood.

As the car eats up the miles, so Eleanor’s mind dives back into her fractured relationship with her mother, Kitty. Kitty who asked for so much from life, from love, from family. Kitty who had battled so hard to prise her husband George out of the grip of war. Kitty, whose disapproving voice rings so loud in Eleanor’s head.

Tense, visceral, glittering, it is a masterful return to fiction from the author of the acclaimed See What I Have Done.

My Review:

Blue Hour is an emotional, harrowing read which is very thought provoking. I was a big fan of this author’s first book and I liked that this book was so different but just as beautiful.

This story follows mother and daughter, Kitty and Eleanor, who are struggling with the choices they have made. I liked Eleanor and found her to be a sympathetic character who I felt I understood. I desperately wanted her to escape and find the safe place she wanted. I did struggle a bit with Kitty and found it hard to feel much empathy for her. The author does take time to explain her back story and why she acts like she does but her treatment of her daughter, despite all her own experiences, made her quite unlikeable. It was heartbreaking to see how she put her daughter down and seemed to blame her for everything that has gone wrong in her life.

Some difficult subjects are covered in this book which made the book quite harrowing to read at times. There are some very uncomfortably moments which were hard to read at times and I often found myself having to put the book down and go back to it. The tension in the book slowly increased as we follow Eleanor on her journey and I had to keep reading to find out what happens.

Overall I thought this was a fantastic book that was beautifully written. Despite breaking my heart frequently whilst reading I feel it’s a book that it’s important for everyone to read. It’s a book that has stayed with me and I’ve continued to think about long after reading.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Headline for my copy of this book. It would make a great book club read as I feel there would be lots to discuss.

About The Author:

Sarah Schmidt isd the acclaimed author of SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and won the AIBA Literary Fiction of the Year 2018. She lives in Melbourne where she works as a librarian. You can follow her at https://sarahschmidt.org/ and on Twitter @ikillnovel.

Book Synopsis:

Lies can be buried… Secrets always come to the surface

Amarante is paradise…
An uninhabited, unspoilt island somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
Only those who know it exists can find it.
 
But paradise comes with a price…
Virginie and Jake sail to Amarante for their honeymoon, but they are not alone.
They have to adjust to life on the island with five strangers.
 
And not everyone will live to tell the tale…
Dark secrets surface and their dream abruptly turns into a nightmare.
Removed from society, they find out what they’re truly capable of.

Deep Water is published in ebook and paperback on the 7th July 2022. You can pre-order your copy using the links below.

My Review:

Deep Water is a very intriguing and engrossing read. The story starts off very dramatically as a naval ship finds a boat giving off distress signals in the middle of the ocean which has an injured man and woman on board. From this we hear more about the couple’s interesting experiences on an deserted island which go from idyllic to scary quickly.

The island setting helped create a lock door scenario due to the isolated location and that, along with the reader knowing that something bad happens but not why or how, makes it very intriguing. I found I had to keep reading as I wanted to find out why everything went so wrong. The level of tension and anticipation slowly increase as the book continues until I found it hard to put down.

From the dramatic opening the story slows down and we get flashbacks into the characters past explaining how they came to be on the island. Everything seems a bit too perfect between them and this put me on alert to any hidden secrets the two might be hiding. I enjoyed getting to know the couple and learning more about their past. The author is a skilled sailor and I liked how she puts some of her sailing knowledge into the story as it makes the story seem more realistic.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and am excited to read more from this author. The pacing was good, the characters were very compelling and there were enough twists to keep me glued to the page. The ending was brilliant, very action packed and I felt all parts of the story were nicely tied up.

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

About The Author:

Emma Bamford, a freelance journalist, is working on an MA in prose fiction at University of East Anglia, UK. She is the author of Deep Water and the memoirs Casting Off and Untie the Lines. Find out more at EmmaBamford.com.

Good morning everyone today on JoJo Recommends I’m featuring Show You My Love by Natalie Hamilton.

Firstly apologies for not posting any music recommendations recently as some of you might already know I’ve been in hospital and I’ve not been able to look at a screen for a while.

Natalie is a singer songwriter from New Haven, CT in the US. I first found Natalie on twitch and immediately loved the vibes on her stream and how friendly everyone was. She plays guitar and piano on her stream as well as singing.

If you would like to follow Natalie on Twitch or social media you can do so by clicking the links below.

How To Listen:

Natalie has some beautiful songs which are great to unwind with. Show You My Love is a very soulful song with a jazzy feel to it. It’s her first single and I’ve linked the video for it below along with a recent cover of hers.

JoJo Recommends on Island Vibing Presents:

After a short break JoJo Recommends is back on Island Vibing Presents! As it’s the summer streams aren’t going to be every week but I’ll still be doing features on my blogs.

If you’d like to watch Island Vibing on twitch please click the link below.

JoJo Recommends Playlist:

You can now listen to Natalie and all previously featured artists on a special playlist I’ve created on Spotify.

Thanks for reading and happy listening!

Book Synopsis:

The Witches of Woodville Part 3

August 1940
 
In a quiet village in rural Kent, the enemy is at the gates . . .

The Battle of Britain rages and Faye Bright encounters the ghost of a pilot who won’t give up the fight. Before she can help him, Faye is whisked away to join a motley crew of witches to perform a top secret ritual on the White Cliffs of Dover that could repel the invaders.

But there’s a catch. The ritual must be executed in the nuddy. Mrs Teach threatens mutiny. Miss Charlotte is intrigued. And Faye wants to call the whole thing off when she suspects there’s a spy in their midst.

It’s up to Faye Bright to uncover the traitor, all while dealing with the ghost haunting Ivy Barn who may hold the key to the truth. But first, Faye has to learn to fly . . .

For fans of Lev Grossman and Terry Pratchett comes the third novel in this delightful series of war, mystery and a little bit of magic . . .

My Review:

The Ghost Of Ivy Barn is another fun, captivating and magical read from the fabulous Witches Of Woodville series.

Firstly it was great to be back in Woodville with the wonderful Faye and Bertie. The author has created a wonderful world that I loved spending time in. It’s the perfect blend of historical and magical setting.

Faye and Bertie are are fantasy characters who I’ve enjoyed following throughout the book. Their budding romance helps provide some of the more humorous moments in the book. Faye has done a lot of growing up in the series and this one sees her continuing to develop and learn to control her magic better. She’s a very determined, fiesty lady who know what she likes and what she wants. She has gained a lot of respect with people in the village which was nice to see.

The plot was very interesting and I think it’s very clever how the author includes real historical events into the story. The author has managed to find new ways to breathe life into this series with the inclusion of the new witches and the new war mission which was very intriguing. I really enjoyed watching everything unfold and come together.

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

About The Author:

Mark Stay got a part-time Christmas job at Waterstone’s in the nineties (back when it still had an apostrophe) and, despite being working class and quite lippy, somehow ended up working in publishing for over 25 years. He would write in his spare time and sometimes those writings would get turned into books and films, including the Witches of Woodville series from Simon & Schuster, and the forthcoming Warner Bros. horror movie Unwelcome.

Mark is also co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast, which has inspired writers all over the world to finish and publish their books. Born in London, he lives in Kent with Youtube gardener and writer Claire Burgess and a declining assortment of retired chickens.

Come and say hello at markstaywrites.com

Get free short stories at the Woodville Village Library https://witchesofwoodville.com/#library

Book Synopsis:

The first chapter in a dark and gritty crime seriesBrought up believing that sex is the devil’s work, a killer only finds release once he has saved his victim’s souls. Abiding by his vision, he marks them as his. A gift to guide his chosen ones on the rightful path to redemption.Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is out to stop him, but Paolo has problems of his own. Hunting down the killer as the death toll rises, the lines soon blur between Paolo’s personal and professional lives.

My Review:

Say Your Prayers is a gritty, dark and addictive thriller which is the first book in the DI Sterling series.

The story alternates between the Killer and DI Sterling’s point of view which I found very interesting. The Killer has to be one of the most horrible, sadistic killers I’ve met for a while. Through his story we learn more about his background and what made him like he is. We learn more about DI Sterling and the busy home life he is trying to juggle alongside work too. I quickly grew to like Sterling and felt a lot of sympathy for him as I know how difficult it is to juggle both.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and have already bought book two which I hope to read soon. The plot was very fast paced with lots of little storylines running alongside the main one which was very clever. There were lots of twists and a few red herrings which kept me guessing until the end. The ending was fantastic, very dramatic and hugely satisfying.

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

About The Author:

When not working on her crime novels, Lorraine Mace is engaged in many writing-related activities. She is a columnist for both Writing Magazine and Writers’ Forum and is head judge for the Writers’ Forum monthly fiction competitions.A tutor for Writers Bureau, she also runs her own private critique and author mentoring service. She is co-author, with Maureen Vincent-Northam, of The Writer’s ABC Checklist. Other books include children’s novel Vlad The Inhaler – Hero in the Making, and Notes From The Margin, a compilation of her Writing Magazine humour column.

Book Synopsis:

To have a future, she must confront her past . . .

It’s 1929 and after running away from her family in Lancashire, becoming a dancer in London and having a riotous time in Paris with her best friend Nancy, would-be fashion designer Vita Casey is now living a much more sedate life in New York with her baby son, Bertie, far away from her evil brother, Clement, and her nemesis, Edith.

When the disastrous events of the Wall Street Crash change their destinies, Vita and Nancy flee to Los Angeles, where Nancy is determined to make it in the talkies. Schmoozing their way into the ranks of the Hollywood elite, Vita is starting to think that she can begin to fulfil her fashion ambitions. But when the love of her life, Archie, is hired as a writer on Nancy’s new movie and Clement exacts his ultimate revenge, Vita’s past and present collide.

She has no choice but to tell the truth and try to reclaim what is rightfully hers before it’s too late.

The Sister’s Return is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.

My Review:

The Sister’s Return is the third book in the fantastic A Stitch In Time series and another thoroughly exciting and captivating read.

The book follows Vita and Nancy as they travel to New York and then Hollywood to chase their dreams. I have to say I loved the two feisty and determined main characters. They were brave enough to go against convention and live their lives to the full which was lovely to read about. They soon started to feel like old friend and I felt invested in their story.

The author has clearly done her research and I loved all the fantastic descriptions that helped make the era come to life. It must have been an interesting time to live through and I eagerly drank in all the details. The fashion in particular sounded fabulous and has led to many wasted hours looking on Google for similar items.

Overall I loved this book and thought it was a great way to end the series. The fabulous plot quickly drew me into the story and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. The many twists kept me on my toes as did the constant threat of Clement who I’d gladly have seen come to a sticky end. I’m sad the series has ended and look forward to re-reading it soon.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Joanna Rees, aka Josie Lloyd and Jo Rees, is a bestselling writer of numerous novels, including rom-coms, blockbusters and big-hearted adventures such as Come Together, Platinum and A Twist of Fate. With nearly twenty years’ writing experience, Joanna regularly teaches creative writing in schools and libraries and runs a successful novel-editing business. She also records regularly for Radio Gorgeous. Based in Brighton, Joanna is married to the author Emlyn Rees with whom she has three daughters. They have co-written several novels, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Come Together, which was translated into twenty-seven languages and made into a film. They have written three bestselling parodies of their favourite children’s books, including We’re Going On A Bar Hunt and The Teenager Who Came To Tea as well as a light-hearted activity book encouraging people to stop being addicted to their technology called Switch It Off. Joanna is always delighted to hear from readers.

Book Synopsis:

She forgot about her childhood friend… until his body is found under her garden. Can she prove she didn’t commit the decades-old murder?

Lucy Freeman struggles to find satisfaction in life. Trapped in the shadow of her rock star brother, the thirty-two-year-old craves more than her days at home caring for her terminally ill mother. But her routine takes a turn for the horrifying when a giant sinkhole collapses the earth outside their house and reveals a skeleton.

Shocked to discover the bones belong to a former member of her sibling’s band, Lucy’s worst nightmare comes alive when police suspect her of the killing. And as she turns to her dying parent’s diaries in a desperate search for vindication, she’s entangled in a dark and complicated truth.

Will unearthing long-buried wrongs prove lethal?

Lies at Her Door is a heavy-hitting psychological thriller novel. If you like strong character growth, overcoming dysfunctional relationships, and revealing unexpected secrets, then you’ll love AA Abbott’s chilling whodunnit.

My Review:

This was an interesting, creepy and original read that I really enjoyed. For quite a short book it manages to pack quite a punch which I thought was very impressive.

The story starts when a sinkhole appears under the house and a skeleton is revealed. The reader gets taken between the past and present as the truth is slowly revealed. I soon found myself very intrigued and had to keep reading in order to find out who the murderer was.

The characters are very interesting ones who I never felt like I could trust. As soon as I started feeling sympathy for one of them, something would happen to completely change my opinion. The tension slowly increased until it was almost palpable and the many twists kept me on my toes. The ending was brilliant and very clever, especially the double tier ending.

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

About The Author:

Book Synopsis:

1942. Hull, East Yorkshire – It is the most heavily-bombed city outside of London – but for the sake of national morale the Hull Blitz is kept top secret. Only the politicians in Whitehall and Hull’s citizens themselves know of the true chaos.Newly-posted Inspector Ambrose Swift cannot believe the devastation he finds. But for Swift and his two deputies – part-time bare-knuckle boxer Jim ‘Little’ Weighton and Dales farmer’s daughter Kathleen Carver – it’s murder, not the war, that’s at the forefront of their minds.When a series of sadistic killings is wrongly blamed on locally-stationed black American GIs, Swift, a one-armed former WW1 cavalryman who tours the rubble-strewn city on a white horse, soon discovers these are no ordinary murders. The fetid stench of racism, corruption and perversion go to the very top. And for Swift, Weighton and Carver, finding the real killers means putting their own lives at risk – because powerful forces in the US and Britain cannot let the war effort be undermined. Not even by the truth.

My Review:

I’ve been a huge fan of this author’s books so I was very excited to discover he had a new book coming out. Once again the author has written a engaging, twisty mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Set in Hull the book follows Inspector Swift as he tries to solve two gruesome murders which quickly become apparent aren’t just ordinary murders. I liked Swift who seemed a determined inspector who obvious cares about his job. Kathleen made a great partner for him and I really enjoyed watching them work together. Through Kathleen we learn more about women’s role in policing and attitudes towards women at the time. I really hope we see more of this partnership in future books.

I thought this was a fast paced, read with the author cleverly blending fact and fiction to make a very interesting story. I enjoyed learning more about Hull during the war and more about American attitudes towards race at the time. The author has clearly done his research and I loved the little details he included that helped make the era come to life.

Overall I really enjoy this book and am hopeful that this is the start to a fab new series. There were lots of twists that kept me guessing and I could never quite work out which way the story was going which I always enjoy.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London’s City University when Stasi Child – his debut – won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world. Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC’s international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. He writes in his Twickenham garden shed and in a caravan on the Isle of Wight. The Stasi Game, his sixth novel, is available to pre-order now. You can follow him on Twitter @djy_writer