Good morning everyone I’m pleased to finally share my review for Blackpool’s Daughter by Maggie Mason (Mary Wood) today. My original post was rescheduled due to it being Easter Sunday.

Mary is running a giveaway for this tour for a signed copy of this book. All you have to do is comment below to be entered into the draw! Just make sure you leave your twitter handle too ( if you’re on twitter) so she can contact you.

Before I share my review with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

England, 1940

Clara is forced to flee her home as the Nazis invade the beautiful island of Guernsey, leaving her mother Julia behind. She’s scared and alone, but her spirits lift a little when she learns she’s headed for Blackpool.

Her slight hopes are crushed however when she is housed with and at the mercy of a cruel shopkeeper, Miss Brandon. Clara is worked like a dog, but the warmth of some newly made Blackpool friendships will go far to save her.

Separated from her beloved daughter, Julia heads to London to try and track Clara down but she is thwarted at every turn. With no idea where her daughter is, and the trials of war keeping them far apart, will they ever be reunited?

The perfect read for fans of Mary Wood, Kitty Neale, Val Wood and Nadine Dorries

Blackpool’s daughter is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only 99p. Purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a big fan of this author so I was incredibly excited ( I might even have had a small dance around the living room) to be invited onto the blog tour for her latest book.

I was utterly gripped from the start with the descriptions of life on Gurnsey for Clara and Julia. I felt that the way the residents treated her was very unfair and this made me instantly warm to both of them. The love that the two of them obviously have for each other was lovely to read about and helped make the story of their separation from each other very emotional.

The story is told from both Clara’s and Julia’s point of view in alternate chapters which made for very interesting reading. It was very sad to read about the hard time Clara was having and the mind boggles that evacuated children weren’t kept an eye on. Julia’s desperation to try and find her daughter was almost palpable at times and I really felt for her as she tirelessly tried to find Clara.

This was a compelling, absorbing read which I so enjoyed. Once again the author has managed to write a fantastic historical and emotional story which pulls at the reader’s heart strings. I went through a range of emotions whilst reading, crying and laughing along with the characters as I followed their story. The writing is brilliant and manages to transport the reader into the story so that they feel they are there alongside the characters experiencing everything alongside them.

This is the second book in the Blackpool series but it’s a completely different setting and story so it can easily be read as a standalone. I absolutely love this series and can’t wait for the next one!

Huge thanks to Mary Wood for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Sphere for sending me a copy of this book.

About The Author:

Maggie Mason is a pseudonym of author Mary Wood. Mary began her career by self-publishing on kindle where many of her sagas reached number one in genre. She was spotted by Pan Macmillan and to date has written many books for them under her own name, with more to come.

Mary continues to be proud to write for Pan Macmillan, but is now equally proud and thrilled to take up a second career with Sphere under the name of Maggie Mason. A Blackpool Lass is her first in a planned series of standalone books and trilogies set in her home town of Blackpool.

Born the thirteenth child of fifteen children, Mary describes her childhood as poor, but rich in love. 
She was educated at St Peter’s RC School in Hinckley and at Hinckley College for Further Education, where she was taught shorthand and typing.

Mary retired from working for the National Probation Service in 2009, when she took up full time writing, something she’d always dreamed of doing. She follows in the footsteps of her great-grandmother, Dora Langlois, who was an acclaimed author, playwright and actress in the late nineteenth – early twentieth century.

It was her work with the Probation Service that gives Mary’s writing its grittiness, her need to tell it how it is, which takes her readers on an emotional journey to the heart of issues.

Blog Tour:

This is the last day of the blog tour but do go back and read these fantastic bloggers reviews!

Book Synopsis:

They thought they were friends for life – until one summer, everything changed . . . 

Linston End on the Norfolk Broads has been the holiday home to three families for many years. The memories of their time there are ingrained in their hearts: picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the pavilion at dusk, hours spent seeking out the local swallowtail butterflies. Everyone together.

But widower Alastair has been faced with a few of life’s surprises recently. Now, he is about to shock his circle of friends with the decisions he has made – and the changes it will mean for them all. For some, it feels like the end. For others, it might just be the beginning . . .

Swallowtail Summer is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author so you can imagine my excitement when I was invited onto the blog tour for her latest book, Swallowtail Summer.

The thing I most like about Erica James’s books is how they make you feel. They are fantastic books to just relax into and enjoy while curled up on the sofa or on a sunbed somewhere. This one was no exception and I found myself drawn into the story with the fabulous sunny day descriptions, sighing every now and again as I wished I could be there too.

The story does start off slow but soon builds to a deliciously absorbing and dramatic tail that is surprisingly gripping. There are some quite dark moments in this book especially those involving being on the water at night, a new dear of mine now, which seemed worse next to the almost idyllic summer days the author describes. There are also some great unpleasant characters that I loved to hate and made me want to keep reading to find out if they got their comeuppance! Whatever made the lovely Alistair get with Valentina is beyond me but it does make the book very enjoyable.

Overall I thought the Swallowtail Summer was an uplifting and heartwarming read that brought to mind the lovely warm endless summer days you can get in Britain. It’s also a fantastic story of love, friends and family which is a hugely enjoyable read that kept me firmly absorbed. I can’t wait for her next one!

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

About The Author:

With an insatiable appetite for other people’s business, Erica James will readily strike up conversation with strangers in the hope of unearthing a useful gem for her writing. She finds it the best way to write authentic characters for her novels, although her two grown-up sons claim they will never recover from a childhood spent in a perpetual state of embarrassment at their mother’s compulsion. 

The author of many bestselling novels, including GARDENS OF DELIGHT, which won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, and her recent Sunday Times top ten bestsellers, SUMMER AT THE LAKE and THE DANDELION YEARS, Erica now divides her time between Suffolk and Lake Como in Italy, where she strikes up conversation with unsuspecting Italians.

Book Synopsis:

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner, dusts off her detective skills when a masterpiece is stolen from a gallery she cleans with her cousin Sarika. But when Sarika goes missing too, accusations start to fly.

Convinced her cousin is innocent, Lena sweeps her way through the secrets of the London art scene. With the evidence mounting against Sarika and the police on her trail, Lena needs to track down the missing painting if she is to clear her cousin.

Embroiling herself in the sketchy world of thwarted talents, unpaid debts and elegant fraudsters, Lena finds that there’s more to this gallery than meets the eye.

A Clean Canvas is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

A Clean Canvas is a delightful and compelling read which would make a great book to read whilst on holiday. The author has managed to blend an intriguing mystery with some great fun moments which helps make this book very enjoyable.

The main character, Lena, is just fantastic and I warmed to her instantly. She’s a very outspoken lady when she needs to be and her determination to succeed was great to read about. She’s also a very endearing character as she struggles at times with her English which made me love her even more! I loved how the author includes this in the book as it helped make the characters seem more real.

The mystery side of the story was very interesting and I enjoyed watching it all unravel. Lena is a very meticulous detective and doesn’t leave any stones unturned which made me feel that I was figuring everything out alongside her.

This is the second book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone, like I have done. I’m looking forward to going back and reading book one as I’d like to know more about Lena’s mother Greta who I believe is featured more.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. If you are looking for a compelling and fun holiday read this summer you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Elizabeth Mundy’s grandmother was a Hungarian immigrant to America who raised five children on a chicken farm in Indiana. An English Literature graduate from Edinburgh University, Elizabeth is a marketing director for an investment firm and lives in London with her messy husband and baby son. IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES is her debut novel and the first in the Lena Szarka mystery series. A CLEAN CANVAS, the second in the series, will be available in January 2019.

Book Synopsis:

It’s 1952 and Soviet troops control British streets after winning the Second World War.

After the disastrous failure of D-Day, Britain is occupied by Nazi Germany, and only rescued by Russian soldiers arriving from the east and Americans from the west. The two superpowers divide the nation between them, a wall running through London like a scar.

On the Soviet side of the wall, Jane Cawson calls into her husband’s medical practice, hoping to surprise him. But instead she detects the perfume worn by his former wife, Lorelei, star of propaganda films for the new Marxist regime.

Jane rushes to confront them, but soon finds herself caught up in the glamorous actress’s death.

Her husband Nick is arrested for murder. Desperate to clear his name, Jane must risk the attention of the brutal secret police as she follows a trail of corruption right to the highest levels of the state.

And she might find she never really knew her husband at all.

Liberation Square is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

Liberation Square is an utterly gripping, realistic thriller that I really enjoyed reading. I’ve always been a huge fan of both dystopian fiction and historical fiction so this book appealed to me greatly.

The book is based in London in 1952 in a world where Britain lost the second world war which means the UK is divided into two parts with a wall separating the Soviet run and American run sides. The situation is similar to that which Berlin found itself in at the end of the war and it’s this similarity, along with a still recognisable London that makes this book so chilling. It is a very realistic book which helps add to the reader’s interest in the story as it is very believable.

The characters are fabulous and help to draw the reader quickly into the story. I quickly warmed to the characters in the story and wanted to keep reading as I cared about what happened to them. The story cleverly builds with the reader believing one thing about the main characters to be true before abruptly changing directions, making the reader question everything they thought they knew. This helps keep the reader firmly on their toes and ensures that the book is impossible to put down.

The pace in this book is quite intense at times as there is lots going on to keep the reader’s interest. There are lots of twists and turns that took me by surprise which I always enjoy as I read quite a lot of books it hard to do. Historical fiction fans will also enjoy the great historical details the author has included into the story as real events and real historical characters truly help bring the period to life.

Huge thanks to Jenny Platt for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review. If you like historical thrillers or dystopian fiction then you’ll love this book!

About The Book:

Gareth Rubin is an author and journalist who has written for most British national newspapers. He lives in London, and Liberation Square is his first novel.

Book Synopsis:

‘Jay-Jay the bus was rescued from the scrap yard where he was sadly gathering dust and cobwebs. He is taken to an airport where he is magically transformed into a ‘Playbus’ full of toys, games and adventure.
A fictional tale based on a real life bus ‘Supersonic’ which flew in the imagination of the many young children who visited him.’

Jay Jay The Supersonic Bus is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only 99p. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

Jay Jay The Supersonic Bus is a fantastic children’s book which has become a firm favourite with my daughter especially who is three.

I read this book numerous times with my two children aged 6 and 3 who both seemed to love the idea of a play bus. They spent ages looking at the pictures of everything you could do in the playbus and kept asking if we we could make one too, getting very excited when I said you could hire one locally for birthday parties.

The story is a very sweet one about a bus who gets a second chance as a play bus and finds himself very happy in his new role. My daughter loved reading about his transformation from forgotten bus to a fun place for children to play in. There are some fabulous, bright pictures to accompany the text which both children loved, pouring over the most minute details.

My only slight niggle with this book is that my daughter wasn’t quite sure who Jay Jay was and kept asking me who he was, often pointing at children in the pictures asking if that was him. This book is aimed at 5-8 year olds and my daughter is only three which might have something to do with it. My son, aged 6, did ask too but when I showed him and explained why he was called Jay-Jay he seemed to understand.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me onto the blog tour for and for sending me a copy of this book.

About The Author:

Sue Wickstead is a teacher and an author and has currently written six children’s picture books with a bus theme.
In addition, she has also written a photographic history book about the real bus behind her story writing.
Her bus stories are about a playbus.
Have you ever been on a Playbus?
When Sue’s two children were young, they attended a playgroup on a bus, but not an ordinary bus taking you on a journey, exciting though this is, but a Playbus stuffed full of toys to capture their imagination!
For over 20 years, alongside her teaching career, she worked with the charity, the Bewbush Playbus Association. 
As part of the committee she painted the bus, worked in the groups, helped raise the profile of the project and its work and was part of the team involved in raising funds to replace the old bus with a newer vehicle. This led her to write a photographic history book about it. 
‘It really was a fun journey to be involved in’, said Sue. The bus really got into her blood and became a work of the heart. 
Having written the history book Sue soon found that many children had never been on a bus before, let alone a ‘Playbus’ and they wanted to know more. So, she decided to write a fictional tale, his number plate JJK261, gave him his name.
‘Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus,’ came out in print in 2014. It is the story behind the original project and is his journey from a scrap-yard to being changed into a playbus for children to play in. From Fact to fiction the bus journey continues.
This story has now been followed by five more picture books.
‘A Spooky Tale’ and ‘The Christmas Play Rehearsal’ do indeed have a bus connection as well as links to her teaching journey.
Sue has undertaken events and author bookings and loves to share her stories, she is also proud to be ‘a patron of reading’.
The books have all received 5-star awards from ‘Readers Favourite’.

Book Synopsis:

The rules are simple: choose the most significant moments from your relationship – one for each hour in the day.

You’d probably pick when you first met, right? 
And the instant you knew for sure it was love? 
Maybe even the time you watched the sunrise after your first night together?

But what about the car journey on the holiday where everything started to go wrong? Or your first proper fight?

Or that time you lied about where you’d been?

It’s a once in a lifetime chance to learn the truth.

But if you had to be completely honest with the one you love, would you still play?

For Esme and Tom, the game is about to begin. But once they start, there’s no going back . . .

Following Esme and Tom’s relationship over twenty-four individual hours of ups, downs and everything in between, Our Life in a Day is the most heartbreaking and moving love story you’ll read in 2019 – perfect for fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in December, Jojo Moyes, and Roxie Cooper’s The Day We Met.

Our Life In A Day is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

I so enjoyed this book! Our Life In A Day is a charming but heartbreaking read which is made even more so by how realistic the story is.

The story follows Esme and Tom as they talk about their relationship in a very frank and honest way. This is what stood out for me most about this book as too often relationships in books are all very romantic and wonderful, so it was great to read about a real relationship, warts and all. Some of the arguments that the couple have are ones that I’ve had with my husband so it was nice to realise it’s not just us that have them!

I wasn’t too sure about Esme to start with as she seemed quite bossy and had lots of rules that she expected Tom to follow, which my husband would have had some choice words to say about if I’d tried to implement them. I did warm to her though as I learnt more about her and felt quite sorry for her as the story progresses.

My only slight niggle with this book is that the events the couple discuss aren’t in a chronological order which was a little confusing at times. I found I kept having to check the chapter Headings to remind myself where I was in the story.

This is a beautifully written book which made me laugh and cry in equal measures. There were lots of recognisable scenarios which helps the reader to connect to the characters and feel sympathy with them. Its also very well plotted with lots to keep the reader interested and surprisingly gripping as it’s impossible not to get absorbed into the story.

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

About The Author:

Jamie Fewery is an author, journalist and copywriter. He has written for the Daily Telegraph, Five Dials and Wired, and works for a London-based marketing and creative agency. He lives in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire with his wife and son. Our Life in a Day is his first novel. You can follow Jamie on Twitter @jamiefewery and Instagram @jamiefeweryauthor.

Book Synopsis:

Lady Evelyn Carlisle has barely arrived in London when familial duty calls her away again. Her cousin Gemma is desperate for help with her ailing mother before her imminent wedding, which Evelyn knew nothing about! Aunt Agnes in tow, she journeys to Scotland, expecting to find Malmo Manor in turmoil. To her surprise, her Scottish family has been keeping far more secrets than the troubled state of their matriarch. Adding to the tension in the house a neighbor has opened his home, Elderbrooke Park, as a retreat for artistic veterans of the Great War. This development does not sit well with everyone in the community. Is the suspicion towards the residents a catalyst for murder? A tragedy at Elderbrooke Park’s May Day celebration awakens Evelyn’s sleuthing instinct, which is strengthened when the story of another unsolved death emerges, connected to her own family. What she uncovers on her quest to expose the truth will change several lives forever, including her own. 
With the shadow of history looming over her, Evelyn must trust in her instinct and ability to comb through the past to understand the present, before the murderer can stop her and tragedy strikes again.

The Golden Hour is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

The Golden Hour is a gentle cosy mystery with a fantastic female detective who I really enjoyed reading about. She’s very intelligent, independence and quite fiesty as she’s not afraid to speak her own mind. I thought she was quite a modern woman for the time as she isn’t interested in getting married and not worried about causing a scandal by living with her boyfriend when they’re not married.

There are some great smaller characters in this book too which I couldn’t help but like especially her aunty who I grew to like as the story developed. Initially she seemed quite old fashioned and didn’t seem to like Evelyn, however she actually turned out to be quite like Evelyn in that she was also quite modern and clever. She was also incredibly entertaining and had me laugh out loud at times.

The beauty Scottish setting is vividly described and has made me want to visit Scotland again very soon as I’d forgotten how much I adored the rugged landscape. The small town village is a great setting for a murder mystery with lots of great suspects to choose from. The claustrophobic feel to the village helps add to the tension in the book too as I was never sure what was hiding around the corner.

The pace of this book is quite gentle but there is lots to keep the reader fully engrossed as there are some great characters and sub plots to keep things interesting. Although it’s the fourth book in the series it could easily be read as a standalone, as I have done, as anything that you need to know is explained.

Huge thanks to Emma from Damp pebble tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Malia Zaidi is the author of The Lady Evelyn Mysteries. She studied at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Oxford. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides vicariously (if temporarily) in countries around the world.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to my spot on the blog tour for Second Lives by P. D Cacek today.

I have a great extract to share with you all but first here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

When four patients unexpectedly wake after being declared dead, their families are ecstatic and the word “miracle” begins to be whispered throughout the hospital. But the jubilation is short lived when the patients don’t respond to their names and insist they are different people. It is suggested all four are suffering from fugue states until one of the doctors recognizes a name and verifies that he not only knew the girl but was there when she died in 1992. It soon becomes obvious that the bodies of the four patients are now inhabited by the souls of people long dead.

Second Lives is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

Extract:

CHAPTER 18

Dr. Palmer cleared his throat. “Time of death 15:30. She’s gone, Danny, I’m sorry.”
Danny squeezed her hand and wondered if he was.
“I love you,” he whispered.
And it squeezed back.
Danny felt every muscle in his body tighten, trapping him inside his own skin as his throat struggled to expel an involuntary gasp. If he’d been able to move, he would have grabbed the closest doctor or nurse by the front of their scrubs and shouted, “She just moved. Did you see that? She just moved.”

But he knew that was impossible. Sara was dead, had been dead long before they turned off the machines. He knew that, so all he could do was stand there and watch her hand squeeze
his again.
It wasn’t possible, but this time one of the nurses saw it too.
“Oh my God. Doctor? I— She moved.”
[…]
Her mouth opened and a sound like sandpaper against tile came out. She touched the base of her throat and looked at the doctor. Hurts, she mouthed.
“I bet it does, you’ve been on a respirator for…quite some time. Nurse, could you give her a little water on a sponge, please?” The
nurse took something that looked like a small foam paintbrush from a cup of water and held it to Sara’s lips. She sucked greedily but still
winced when she swallowed. “Your throat will be sore for a couple of days, but we can give you an anesthetic spray to use. Would you
like more?”
Sara nodded and the nurse dipped the sponge brush again and held it until Sara finished. There seemed to be less pain when she swallowed.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” he told her. “I never wanted any of this to happen.”
She looked at him without recognition, the room’s overhead light turning her clear green eyes hazel.
“Sara?”
Her eyes shifted from him to Dr. Palmer.
“How do you feel?”
“B-better,” she whispered and another cheer went up.
Dr. Palmer turned toward the door. “Okay, everyone, thank you for your support, but I think it’s time we let the new mother
get some rest.”
There was a low undertone of grumbling as the hallway slowly cleared of Sara’s admiring public.
“I…I don’t understand.” She spoke slowly, her voice so thick and husky Danny didn’t recognize it. “I’m…not a…mother.”
The room got very, very quiet.
“Ah,” Dr. Palmer said, “no, you probably wouldn’t remember that. You’ve been very sick for a very long time, Sara, but let me assure you, you are a mother and your little girl is perfect.”
Sara tried to sit up and cried out in pain. Danny forgot and touched her arm.
“No, honey, don’t, you’ll hurt yourself.”
She drew back in terror. “Don’t touch me! I don’t know you!”
“Sara?”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Her voice was little more than a raspy whisper, but there was something else in it.
Something Danny didn’t recognize. “My name is not Sara.”
Dr. Carter stepped closer to the bed. “What is your name?”
Sara looked at him and pulled the sheet and blanket higher against her chest. “What kind of doctor are you that you admit a patient and not know her name?”
“It’s hard to explain. Please, Mrs…?”
She lifted her chin with rigid dignity and narrowed her eyes in a way that Danny had never seen before.
“My name is Miss Elisabeth Regina Wyman and I reside at Number 10 Gramercy Place. If you would be so kind as to notify my mother of my whereabouts, I’m sure she is desperately worried.”
Sara’s mother pushed the doctor aside and reached for her hand. Sara pulled back the same way she had with Danny.
“Sara! I’m your mother.”
Sara looked at her mother with a mixture of horror and suspicion. “You most certainly are not my mother! What sort of hospital is this?”
“Honey, please,” Danny said, “don’t get excited, you’ll hurt yourself.”
“How dare you address me in such a manner? I do not know you, sir, and I do not wish to. Doctor, if doctor you are, please send these people away.”
Dr. Palmer looked as startled as the rest of them, but turned and motioned toward the door. “Perhaps it would be better if you
…gave us a few minutes alone?”
Sara’s mother was sobbing against her husband as they left the room. Danny’s parents left without saying a word.
Danny looked at the woman in the bed one more time and left.
It wasn’t Sara.

About The Author:

P.D. Cacek has published over a hundred short stories and five published novels. A past Guest Lecturer at the Odyssey Writing Camp, Cacek’s horror, fantasy and science fiction stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies since going professional in the late 90’s. She is also proud of the book she recently co-edited, with Laura J. Hickman, the charity anthology, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, with all proceeds going to The Jimmy Fund of the DANA-BARBER Cancer Institute.Cacek holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English/Creative Writing Option from the University of California at Long Beach and is a certified Wilderness Survival Instructor. A native Westerner, Cacek divides her time between Arvada, CO – which looks own on the Mile High city – and Phoenixville, PA – only a short walk from the Colonial Theater where the famous “Run Screaming From Theatre” scene in THE BLOB was filmed. When not writing, she can often been found with THE PATIENT CREATURES (www.creatureseast.com), a group of costumed storytellers.AWARDS:Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction 1996 (Metalica)World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction 1998 (Dust Motes)

Book Synopsis:

Pregnant Victoria Valbon was brutally murdered in an alley three weeks ago – and her killer hasn’t been caught.

Tonight is Stella McKeever’s final radio show. The theme is secrets. You tell her yours, and she’ll share some of hers.

Stella might tell you about Tom, a boyfriend who likes to play games, about the mother who abandoned her, now back after fourteen years. She might tell you about the perfume bottle with the star-shaped stopper, or about her father …

What Stella really wants to know is more about the mysterious man calling the station … who says he knows who killed Victoria, and has proof.

Tonight is the night for secrets, and Stella wants to know everything…

With echoes of the Play Misty for Me, Call Me Star Girlis a taut, emotive and all-consuming psychological thriller that plays on our deepest fears, providing a stark reminder that stirring up dark secrets from the past can be deadly…

Call Me Star Girl is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

Louise Beech is one of my all time favourite authors so I’m always very excited to read a new books from her. Call Me Star Girl is her first thriller so I was a little nervous to start reading it. I needn’t have worried however as this book is every bit as wonderful as her previous books!

Once again the author has created an fabulously written, emotional and compelling read that quickly drew me into the story. The setting of the radio station seems so ordinary at first but it soon becomes an intimate place where secrets and emotions can be easily revealed. There aren’t many characters in this book which makes it easy to keep track of who is who and they are so vividly described that it’s easy to imagine them. I enjoyed learning more about them and trying to work out who the murder could be.

As with her previous books the author has again managed to write a highly emotional read about relationships and the effect they can have on people. Stella has clearly never gotten over her mother abandoning her and uses her other relationships to try to make up for what she lost. It was hard to read about her journey and to learn more about her life.

The slow unravelling of secrets and build up of tension makes for a truly gripping read which had me jumping at sudden noises whilst reading. The ending was very surprising and not at all how I thought it would end. I loved that the author managed to shock and surprise me, it was a great way to end the book!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orenda books for my copy of this book which is going on my keep forever shelf. If you like gripping and emotional thrillers then you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Louise’s short stories have won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting twice for the Bridport Prize and being published in a variety of UK magazines. Her first play, Afloat, was performed at Hull Truck Theatre in 2012. She also wrote a ten-year newspaper column for the Hull Daily Mail. 

Her debut novel, How to be Brave, was a Guardian Readers’ pick in 2015. The Sunday Mirror called Maria in the Moon quirky, darkly comic, original and heartfelt, and The Lion Tamer Who Lost was described as ‘engrossing and captivating’ by the Daily Express.

Link to her website – http://louisebeech.co.uk/