Ellen sees the world differently from everyone else, but living in a tiny town in the north-east of England, in a world on the cusp of war, no one has time for an orphaned girl who seems a little strange. When she is taken in to look after a rich, elderly widow all seems to be going better, despite the musty curtains and her aging employer completely out of touch with the world. But pregnancy out of wedlock spoils all this, and Ellen is unable to cope. How will Jack, her son, survive – alone in the world as his mother was? Can they eventually find their way back to each other?
The Colours is a sweeping novel of how we can lose ourselves, and our loved ones, for fans of Kate Atkinson and Virginia Baily.
The Colours is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Colours is a beautifully written, absorbing book which managed to completely transport me to a different time and place.
Firstly the characters in this book are fantastic creations who really manage to get under your skin. It was quite poignant and heart breaking to read about everything Jack and Ellen had been through from such a young age. Their stories are so realistic that they start to feel like old friends, meaning that I felt everything they were going through like it was happening to me which I thought was very clever.
The historical details in this book were brilliant and helped me envisioned everything that was happening really clearly. It was quite shockingly to be reminded about how awfully people with mental health conditions were treated and I often felt myself tearing up about what I was reading. I’m very grateful that we are more understanding and have more help available now.
The author cleverly uses the title of the book throughout the story through Ellen’s colour synesthesia which is a condition I had never heard about before. I found it really fascinating to learn more about this condition and how it affects a person. Jack is also an artist and as such sees beauty or colour in everything which helps add to the beautifully vivid descriptions I mentioned earlier.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Fleet for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Juliet Bates was born in the north-east of England. After studying art and art history, she has worked as a lecturer in art schools in the UK and now in France. The Colours is Juliet’s second novel; her debut, The Missing, was published by Linen Press in 2009, and her short stories have appeared in British and Canadian journals and magazines.
Lesson of Love is a moving and candid story of a relationship between a mother and daughter in the face of life-changing illness.
Prue Phillipson’s first-person account is interspersed with diary excerpts and documents the difficult yet rewarding experience of caring for a mother with dementia. This unflinchingly honest story details the various stages of the illness and how Prue coped whilst her mother changed, becoming ever more distant.
Prue found that her own faith was strengthened as a result of turning to God through the immensely powerful and comforting use of prayer.
This is an inspiring story that will encourage all readers to have faith in testing times.
Lessons Of Love is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
Lessons Of Love is a beautiful, poignant memoir of the author’s time caring for her mother. It’s an important book which I think everyone should read as it helps lay bare the reality of dementia and what caring for someone who suffers from it entails.
Told in the first person, the reader follows the author through her everyday experiences so that the reader feels very connected to the story. I liked how she shows the reader who her mother actually was too instead of just focusing on her illness by including photos and diary entries from the time into the narrative. This helped me understand more about how the author was feeling and everything that she had lost through her mother’s illness.
I’ll be completely honest but Dementia is a disease that has always terrified me. The idea of losing all my memories and not being able to recognise people is a truly scary thought. This book helped me understand more about it and in some ways this has been helpful in stopping my own fears . The author doesn’t sugar coat her experiences so the reader gets a real idea of what the reality of caring for someone would entail and as such it would be a great book for anyone faced with having to care for someone.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Silver wood for my copy of this book.
Q&A with Prue Phillipson
Q: What was the hardest this about writing ‘Lesson of Love’ and how did you overcome it?
The hardest thing was the pain of remembering incidents which I knew I could have dealt with better. The whole experience was raw at first so I delayed writing the book until 10 years after my mother’s death. Having the diary helped because I could quote sections of it directly.
Q: Would you describe the writing process for ‘Lesson of Love’ as cathartic, if so how? And if not, what word would you use to describe the process?
Yes, it was a cleansing process, ridding myself of pointless regrets, and absorbing all I had learnt about perfect love to be applied to all situations.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the cover design?
The flowery face represented the alert soul with imagination and responsive to the world around while the blank face showed what dementia had taken away.
Q: Why did you name your book ‘Lesson of Love’?
That was exactly what it was. I learnt the true meaning of unconditional love.
Q: What is the main take-away that you would like your readers to have after reading your book?
I would like the readers to gain some inspiration from my experience and encouragement to do better than I did in many ways. I would hope also some joy in understanding the depths of God’s love.
About The Author:
Prue Phillipson was born in 1928 in Newcastle upon Tyne into a Christian family with one sister, Janet. Their mother introduced them to classic nineteenth century novels so they immersed themselves in history and good literature throughout their childhoods. Subsequently, Janet read history at the University of Manchester and Prue studied English at the University of London. Both became teachers. In 1953 Prue married Alan Phillipson and they moved to Edinburgh for his first job in town planning. She took a course in creative writing and sold short stories to the BBC and Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal. Prue was inspired to pursue a career as a writer, however, she was soon engrossed in family life. After returning to Newcastle in 1957, the Phillipsons raised five children and were also joined by Alan’s mother and stepfather. Nevertheless, freelance articles and short stories continued to flow. Prue’s diary, ‘Lesson of Love’, which documents her mother’s dementia is her first published book. Prue is now concentrating on writing novels and an e-publisher has published six of her novels online while two book publishers have accepted eight of them between them. The years of caring for her mother were extremely fulfilling and ones that she will never forget.
Jess Walker, middle child of a middle class family, has perfected the art of vanishing in plain sight. But when she arrives at a concrete university campus under flat, grey, East Anglian skies, her world flares with colour.
Drawn into a tightly-knit group of rule breakers – led by their maverick teacher, Lorna Clay – Jess begins to experiment with a new version of herself. But the dynamic between the friends begins to darken as they share secrets, lovers and finally a tragedy. Soon Jess is thrown up against the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?
The Truants is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Truants is a thoroughly addictive, compelling book which is hard to believe is a debut novel.
I was quickly drawn into the Claustrophobic, insular atmosphere of the university and into Kate’s interesting social group who I kept changing my mind about. I found it fascinating to follow Kate and her friends and see how the dynamics of the group constantly changed as things go from fun to out of control.
All of the characters were great creations which I enjoyed getting to know slowly. Most of the book was quite fast paced which made the book hard to put down. I could never guess which way the story was going to go which made me want to keep reading as I wanted to find out. There is some quite dark humour in this book which helps bring some light relief to the story but also helps add to the tense atmosphere as it makes it seem more real somehow.
Overall I thought this was a very clever, multilayered story which manages to be quite funny in places. It does dip a little in the middle but do keep reading as it soon picks up again. I’m now very excited to see what the author writes next.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bloomsbury for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Kate Weinberg lives in London with her husband, her two children, and a tortoise called Agatha. The Truants is her first book.
A killer flu pandemic exacerbated by a shortage of the only effective treatment has the West Coast of America in a panic.Journalist Joe Hames, flying in to save his job and cover the story has an ulterior motive: to make contact with his long-lost former girlfriend and love of his life, Cassie.Joe tries to find Cassie, whilst also trying to get hold of information on why the death toll is higher in California than anywhere else before any of the other journalists that have descended on the city. At the pharmaceutical company where she worked, Joe finds out that Cassie is dead: she was run down by a cable car two weeks earlier. When he goes to her funeral, he is surprised to find that he has become a person of interest to the police.Or did she die? Joe begins to suspect that all is not what it seems, and in the fog-drenched streets of San Francisco, Joe unravels the real story resulting in a finale played out at Fisherman’s Wharf. Someone was really going to die this time, and not of the flu.
When Love Lies Bleeding is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
When Love Lies Bleeding is a very enjoyable, interesting read which hooked me from the first page.
Firstly for such a short book the author managed to cram a lot into its pages with something always going on to keep the readers interest. The subject that most grabbed my attention though was the flu pandemic naturally, with some of the similarities between what is happening currently being quite eerie. I’m really hoping that some of the twists don’t come true in the future.
I thought the plot was very clever and helped keep my interest throughout. The foggy weather described in the book helps add to the tense, almost Claustrophobic atmosphere in the book which made me feel unsure about what would happen next.
Huge thanks to Emma from Damp Pebbles Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Candy Denman trained as a nurse, and worked in the NHS almost all her life, until managing recently to disengage herself in order to become a full-time crime writer. She has also written a number of scripts for such highly-acclaimed TV series as The Bill and Heartbeat which gave her the idea to write a crime series that also includes medical stories. Dead Pretty, the first in a series featuring feisty female protagonist Dr Callie Hughes, is a serial killer thriller set in a seaside town in Southern England.
She was only six years old when she disappeared. Posters went up, the police investigated.
But no one could find her.
Now, twelve years later, she’s home.
And knocking at your door.
You’re so happy to see her. But soon you start to wonder why she can’t answer your questions.
Where has she been? How did she find her way home?
And who is she?
Safe is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
Safe is a fantastic dark, twisted and clever novel that has to be one of the most original thrillers I have read. It’s going to be a difficult book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.
As a parent one of my worse fears is losing one of my children so my heart immediately went out Laurie and Jack as I felt I understood some of what they were feeling. However the author quickly dashed my hopes of a happy reunion when it became obvious that something wasn’t quite right which intrigued me as to what had happened. I must admit to changing my theories continually as the author cleverly kept me guessing until the end.
The pace in the book slowly increases as the reader learns more about the family and the strange situation they find themselves in until it becomes almost unbearable. The plot is actually quite complex and very clever with lots of twists that kept catching me off guard. I found myself getting increasingly impressed that the author had managed to write such an original story from a familiar subject and found myself both wanting to read more but also to stop and savour the story as I was so enjoying it.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Arrow publishing for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
S. K. Barnett is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author whose previous thriller novel Derailed was turned into a major motion picture featuring Jennifer Anniston and Clive Owen. He lives in New York State with his family.
1918.The Great War is over, and Clara Carter has boarded a train bound for Cornwall – to meet a family that would once have been hers. But they must never discover her secret…
1939. Hannah has always been curious about her mother’s mysterious past, but the outbreak of the Second World War casts everything in a new light. As the bombs begin to fall, Hannah and her brothers are determined to do their bit for the war effort – whatever the cost.
2020. Caroline has long been the keeper of her family’s secrets. But now, with her own daughter needing her more than ever, it’s time to tell the truth – to show Natalie that she comes from a long line of women who have weathered the storms of life, as hardy and proud as the rugged Cornish coastline…
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a sweeping, epic novel of mothers and daughters, secrets and lies, and a love that lasts a lifetime…
The Daughter’s Of Cornwell is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Daughter’s Of Cornwell is an engrossing, multi generational family saga which was hugely enjoyable.
The thing I most enjoyed about this book is the wonderful, strong women characters the author has created. It was very interesting to follow them throughout the story and see the challenges they face. I liked their determination that their children wouldn’t experience the same problems. I might not have always agreed with their decisions, which sometimes had me wishing I could shout at them, but I always wanted to support them.
The story is told from the point of view of multiple narrators over a number of years starting at the beginning of ww1. This may sound confusing but each character is given a different voice so it is easy to differentiate between them. The descriptions in this book were very vivid with the contrast between beautiful Cornwall and the horror of war really helping to bring home what it must have been like. The slow revealing of secrets is cleverly done with some of them being kept until the end which made sure I kept turning the pages.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book via Netgalley. If you like multiple timeline stories or family sagas then you’ll love this book!
About The Author:
Fern Britton is the highly acclaimed author of eight Sunday Times bestselling novels. Her books, all set in Cornwall, are cherished for their warmth, wit and wisdom, and have won Fern legions of loyal readers. Fern has been a judge for the Costa Book of the Year Award and is a supporter of the Reading Agency, promoting literacy and reading.
A hugely popular household name through iconic shows such as This Morning and Fern Britton Meets . . . Fern is also a much sought-after presenter and radio host. She has also turned her hand to theatre and toured with Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s award-winning Calendar Girls.
Fern has twin sons and two daughters and lives in Cornwall in a house full of good food, wine, family, friends and gardening books.
Beth lives by Camden Lock with her partner Sol and their daughter Fern. Life is peaceful, but Beth is troubled by increasing unease. It could be to do with her mother’s disappearance years ago. It could be her sense that Fern is keeping secrets from her.
So she goes to therapy. Dr Tamara Bywater is there to help her patients, and soon their sessions become the highlight of Beth’s week. But Beth is in over her head before she realises that Tamara might not be all she seems…
What if the person you trust the most turns out to be the greatest danger of all?
The Seduction is published in ebook and hardback on the 11th June 2020. You can pre-order your copy using the link below.
My Review:
The Seduction was a well written, absorbing book which was very thought provoking. I raced through it in a few days which hasn’t been happening much since lockdown started.
The story follows Beth as she tries to get help for her abandoment issues and sort out the state of her marriage. I really liked Beth and found her to be a very realistic character that I had a lot of sympathy for. As a mother myself her troubled relationship with her daughter definitely struck a chord with me and I hoped that they would be able to sort things out.
The relationship she develops with her therapist is very interesting and I enjoyed trying to work out what was going on there. Sometimes it seemed like Tamara was manipulating the entire situation and at others I was wondering whether Beth was making everything up. It was very difficult to tell and the uncertainty definitely helped add to some of the intrigue in the book as we follow their developing relationship. Tamara herself doesn’t help the matter as she’s quite difficult to read and seems quite seductive so it was impossible to try and read the situation.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from this author. It does start off quite slow but soon picks up as the reader learns more about the situation Beth finds herself in. I found it fascinating to learn more about the therapist- patient relationship and a condition called transference which I hadn’t heard of before. The story manages to be quite thought provoking but also quite scary which kept me turning the pages as I wanted to find out what was happening. It was one of those books I was disappointed to finish as I had been so enjoying it.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bloomsbury for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Joanna Briscoe is the author of five previous novels, including the bestselling Sleep With Me, which was adapted for ITV by Andrew Davies. She has been a columnist for the Independent and the Guardian, is a literary critic for the Guardian, and broadcasts regularly on Radio 4. Joanna lives in London.
Harrogate, Tuesday 9 June 2020: The shortlist for the 16th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been announced, taking the reader on an international crime spree from New York to Calcutta, London to Lagos via Glasgow and the Australian outback.
Chosen by a public vote and the prize Academy, the titles in contention for this most prestigious of prize’s – which feature five Theakston award alumni and one debut novelist – showcase exceptional variety and originality, including spy espionage, historical crime, gallows humour, outback noir and serial killing siblings.
The news coincides with updated lockdown reading research from Nielsen Book showing that the genre is continuing to soar in popularity, a trend led by younger readers and men. Alongside an increase in the overall number of crime and thriller novels in the bestseller charts, even more people are turning to the genre in lockdown, particularly younger readers (18-44). Of the three quarters saying that their fiction interests have changed, 26% say that crime and thriller has become their genre of choice.
The Shortlist:
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books)
My Sister, the Serial Killer is a blackly comic novel about how blood is thicker – and more difficult to get out of the carpet – than water…
Oyinkan Braithwaite is a graduate of Creative Writing and Law from Kingston University. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo and has been freelancing as a writer and editor since. She has had short stories published in anthologies and has also self published work. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top ten spoken word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam.
My Sister The Serial Killer is available in all formats now, you can purchase your copy using the link below.
Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda Books)
Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow’s worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he’s published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero – and a poster boy for Men’s Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary’s care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam’s daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice … with devastating consequences.
Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry(2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Ash Mountain is the second title published with Orenda Books, after Worst Case Scenario. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband.
Worst Case Scenario is available in all formats now, you can purchase your copy using the link below.
Joe Country by Mick Herron (John Murray Press)
In Slough House memories are stirring, all of them bad. Catherine Standish is buying booze again, Louisa Guy is raking over the ashes of lost love, and new recruit Lech Wicinski, whose sins make him outcast even among the slow horses, is determined to discover who destroyed his career, even if he tears his life apart in the process. And with winter taking its grip Jackson Lamb would sooner be left brooding in peace, but even he can’t ignore the dried blood on his carpets. So when the man responsible breaks cover at last, Lamb sends the slow horses out to even the score. This time, they’re heading into joe country. And they’re not all coming home.
Mick Herron’s six Slough House novels have been shortlisted for eight CWA Daggers, winning twice, and shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year three times. The first, Slow Horses, was picked as one of the best twenty spy novels of all time by the Daily Telegraph, while the most recent, Joe Country, was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Mick Herron was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now lives in Oxford.
Purchase your copy using the link below:
The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)
YOUR PHONE RINGS. A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD. TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE’S CHILD. YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM’S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON’T HAPPEN: YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL. YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN.
Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the Troubles of the 1970s and 1980s. His father was a boilermaker and ship’s engineer and his mother a secretary. Adrian went to Oxford University on a full scholarship to study philosophy before emigrating to the United States to become a high school English teacher. His books have won the Edgar Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award and have been translated into over 20 languages. Adrian is a reviewer and critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times and The Guardian. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Purchase your copy using the link below:
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
India, 1921. Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. But Wyndham finds himself in a tight spot when he stumbles across a corpse in an opium den. When he then comes across a second body bearing the same injuries, Wyndham is convinced that there’s a deranged killer on the loose. However, revealing his presence in the opium den could cost him his career. As Wyndham and Sergeant ‘Surrender-not’ Banerjee set out to solve the two murders, Wyndham must tread carefully, keeping his personal demons secret, before someone else turns up dead…
Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj-era India. His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017, was a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month, and Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month. His second novel, A Necessary Evil, won the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of 2018, and was featured on ITV as a Zoe Ball Book Club pick. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in London with his wife and two sons.
Purchase your copy using the link below:
The Lost Man by Jane Harper (Little, Brown Book Group, Little, Brown)
He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron’s mind when he was alive, he didn’t look peaceful in death. Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other’s nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart. They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…
Jane Harper is the author of the international bestsellers The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man. Her books are published in more than 36 territories worldwide, and The Dry is being made into a major film starring Eric Bana. Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and now lives in Melbourne.
The Lost Man is available in all formats now, you can purchase your copy using the link below.
Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “Seeing the huge variety and originality within this shortlist, it comes as no surprise to hear that crime fiction is dominating our lockdown reading habits. Offering both escapism and resolution, these exceptional titles transport readers around the world and I can’t wait to see where we settle on 23 July when one of these extraordinary authors takes home the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier cask.”
The award is run by Harrogate International Festivals and supported by T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith and the Express, and is open to full length crime novels published in paperback from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019 by UK and Irish authors.
The shortlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd, the Express, and WHSmith, alongside a public vote.
The shortlist will be promoted in a dedicated online campaign from WHSmith, digital promotional materials will be made available for independent bookstores, and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s online community – You’re Booked – features exclusive interviews and interactive content. This forms part of the Harrogate International Festival virtual season of events, HIF at Home, which presents a raft of live music, specially commissioned performances, literary events and interviews to bring a free festival experience to your own digital doorstep.
How To Vote:
The public vote for the winner is now open on www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com, with the champion set to be revealed in a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday 23 July marking what would have been the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The legendary gathering – which formed part of Harrogate International Festival Summer Season – was cancelled, with much sadness, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The winner will receive £3,000 and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.
About Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
Launched in 2005, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is the most prestigious crime novel prize in the country and is a much-coveted accolade recognising the very best crime writing of the year.
Previous winners include Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Belinda Bauer, Denise Mina, Lee Child, Clare Mackintosh and last year’s champion Steve Cavanagh, who was awarded the trophy for the fifth book in his Eddie Flynn crime thriller series, Thirteen.
The 2020 award is run by Harrogate International Festivals in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith and the Express. It is open to full length crime novels published in paperback from 1 May 2019 to 30 April 2020 by UK and Irish authors.
The longlist of 18 titles is selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd, the Express, and WHSmith. The shortlist and winner are selected the academy, alongside a public vote, with the winner receiving £3,000, and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The award forms part of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, staged by Harrogate International Festivals in the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, and is traditionally awarded on the opening evening of the festival.
It’s never too late to be offered a second chance at life.
Debs is newly single, Fiona is caring for her mum, Samantha is grieving, and Liv has the perfect life – or so she’d like her friends to think…
This year, these four life-long friends are turning fifty, and Liv is determined they will honour their promise to each other – made on a beach at sunrise twenty-nine years before – to celebrate this milestone together.
And what better place than a gorgeous villa where they will be spoiled and enjoy the stunning beaches, picturesque fishing towns and glorious climate of the Algarve?
But time away from home doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it makes the thought of returning to your life too hard to bear. Especially with more than one gorgeous Portuguese man making hearts unexpectedly flutter…
It begins as a reunion in the sunshine, but little do the four friends know what life-changing decisions they’ll all be making before their flight home.
A heart-warming, feel-good summer read about friendship, love and second chances.
Sunshine and Second Chances is available in ebook now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.
My Review:
I was a huge fan of this author’s first book so I was incredibly excited to read more from her. Once again she has written a fantastic, feel good story full of friendship and hope which helped me escape from reality for a little bit.
Firstly I loved the wonderful descriptions of Portugal which is probably the closest thing I’m going to get to a holiday this year. I felt like I was there with the girls, hanging out with them and getting to relax in the wonderful sunshine. I could practically feel myself relax and unwind as I read which I absolutely loved.
The characters are all fantastic creations who I enjoyed getting to know throughout the book. The fact that they are older gave them more depth and meant they bought different qualities to the story than other books I’ve read. There was something extra nice about their friendship group as you could tell that they had been through a lot together. Debs was definitely my favourite character. On the surface she seems like a happy, fun lady but underneath she’s hiding a few insecurities, which made me really warm to her as I share some of the same ones.
As the story develops the reader slowly gets to know the woman and everything that is troubling them all slowly comes out. It was so lovely to see them all help and heal each other throughout the holiday by simply talking and listening to each other. A timely reminder if how empowering female friendship can be.
Huge thanks to Kim for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire, England with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is PR & Social Media Manager for publisher Bookouture and is a book blogger at http://www.kimthebookworm.co.uk. Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association’s Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can’t quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA. When she’s not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She’s also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs. Amazing Grace is her debut novel with Hera Books and will be out on 10th April 2019 Connect with Kim on Social Media here: Twitter: (@KimTheBookworm) https://twitter.com/KimTheBookworm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimTheBookWorm/ Instagram: @Kim_the_bookworm
Escape to Everdene Sands, where the sun is shining – but is the tide about to turn?
Robyn and Jake are planning their dream wedding at the family beach hut in Devon. A picnic by the turquoise waves, endless sparkling rosé and dancing barefoot on the golden sand . . .
But Robyn is more unsettled than excited. She can’t stop thinking about the box she was given on her eighteenth birthday, and the secrets it contains. Will opening it reveal the truth about her history – and break the hearts of the people she loves most?
As the big day arrives, can everyone let go of the past and step into a bright new future?
A Wedding At The Beach Hut is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
I’m such a huge fan of this author and her captivating storylines which provides some much needed escapism in these tough times.
Firstly I loved the wonderful descriptions of the beautiful Everdene beach resort. I so wanted to be there swimming in the sea and feeling the sand between my toes. All of the characters were brilliant creations and I honestly felt that I couldn’t have picked a favourite among them. The author does a great job of introducing the characters slowly so the reader gets a sense of really getting to know them and their stories so they start to feel like old friends. This means that some of the storylines were more emotional to read though as you felt much more affected by them.
This book pulled me in from the start and I enjoyed being back at the beach hut again. The story is a fairly straightforward one on the surface but the author manages to put some intrigue and emotion into her writting which made the book hard to out down. It’s a fantastic, captivating read which is full of humour, hope but also love. I hope this won’t be the last visit to the beach hut!
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley.
About The Author:
Veronica Henry has worked as a scriptwriter for THE ARCHERS, HEARTBEAT and HOLBY CITY amongst many others, before turning to fiction. She won the 2014 RNA NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD for A NIGHT ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Veronica lives with her family in a village in north Devon.
Over The Rainbow Blog 