Book Synopsis:

…**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS,  STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS,  STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**…

IT STARTS WITH ONE PATIENT
A woman is dying in an Italian hospital, coughing up blood, convulsing and barely conscious.
BEFORE IT SPREADS TO THE TOWN 
Dr Alana Vaughn, an expert from NATO, confirms everyone’s worst fears: the woman has the highly infectious disease that swept through Europe eight hundred years ago. The Black Death.
AND TAKES THE CITY
The sickness is spreading so quickly that soon the outbreak becomes a global pandemic. Markets crash and governments fall as quickly as the citizens they govern.  
THEN THE COUNTRY
As panic takes hold and the death toll climbs, the consequences become horrifically clear – Alana must discover a way to stop the disease or it will be the end of us all.
THEN THE WORLD – AND WE ALL FALL DOWN

At the height of an epidemic, what kind of person will you become? Think Contagion meets The Da Vinci Code in the next heart-stopping thriller from the internationally bestselling author Daniel Kalla.

We All Fall Down is available in ebook now and in paperback on the 2nd of May 2019. The ebook is currently only 99p. Purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

We All Fall Down is an incredibly fast paced thriller that is impossible to put down. The idea of something as horrific as the black death coming back is a truly scary thought and one that makes for fascinating reading. I remember watching a program that says the black death has been discovered again so this added an extra element to the story as it made it very real.

The story is told from two points of view. One follows Alana as she tries to treat and stop the spread of the black death in modern day Italy. The other takes the reader back to 1348 and the huge outbreak then. I found this very interesting especially as it highlighted the difference between lifestyles of the people and treatments that were available for the victims.

I really enjoyed this book and found it incredibly thrilling which made it very hard to put down. There is lots going on between the two timelines to keep the reader interested and the eerie mystery of the monastery kept me firmly involved in the story. I had lots of guesses about what was going on but I was wrong about most of them which added to my enjoyment of the book.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harriet Collins from Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book. If you like historical thrillers you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Daniel Kalla is the internationally bestselling author of Pandemic,Resistance, Rage Therapy, Blood Lies, Cold Plague, and Of Flesh and Blood. His books have been translated into eleven languages, and two novels have been optioned for film. Kalla practices emergency medicine in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit Daniel at DanielKalla.com or follow him on Twitter @DanielKalla.

Book Synopsis:

In the tumultuous aftermath of the First World War the Wilson brothers head in opposite directions: Richard, interned in Austria throughout the conflict, returns to England; Edward, a junior officer, is dispatched from Italy to Vienna as part of the British Army’s relief mission.

For Edward, it will be a return to the city and to love. But it will not be the same city: Vienna is no longer the administrative heart of an Empire, merely a provincial capital ravaged by starvation, and paralysed by the winter snows. Will it be the same love? 

In London, Richard is employed in the ministerial heart of government, and soon dazzled by the Under Secretary’s vision for a new, federal Europe. But for the new to exist the old must be replaced; and the Habsburg Emperor, on his estate near the Czech border, revolution all around, refuses to go. One man is sent to make sure that he does. 

With the brothers estranged by distance and time, their lives become unknowingly entwined in a shadowy plot – and it seems the end of the war is only the beginning of their struggle.

The Passing Tribute is available in ebook and paperback now. The ebook is currently only £1.19. You can purchase copy of both using the unaffiliated link below.

My Review:

I haven’t read many books set in the period between the two world wars so I was very intrigued to read this book and perhaps find more about it. Although it is a slightly quiet period historically, it was obviously a time of quite big turmoil for people as they struggled to cope with what we know now as PTSD but which was diagnosed for the most part at the time. It must have been very difficult for people to have to deal with all the horrific memories and how much the war had changed their loved ones.

The story follows brothers Edward and Richard as they travel to peace missions in the aftermath of world war one . The author has obviously done a lot of research into this period and I found it fascinating to find out more about it. The descriptions of the countries are wonderfully described and allowed me to really imagine the settings in my mind. It was quite poignant to realise how much the world and the two brothers had changed.

My favourite character was Millie who is a very fun, confident nurse who helps Edward on his mission. She helped to bring a bit of light relief to a quite serious story and I found that I enjoyed reading about her.

The writing style is very clever but does take a bit of getting used to. It is very descriptive which isn’t meant as a criticism as the descriptions help add to the story but might not be to every readers taste. The author has used old fashioned language and some quite hard words which made it difficult at times to get a reading flow going as I had to keep looking up a few words. I think this is probably just my experience though and a more classic reader would really enjoy this book.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Unbound for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Simon studied modern history at UCL and received an MA in Imperial and Commonwealth History from King’s College London. His research has led to an enduring fascination with the politics of empire and the causes of both world wars, which has informed his novels to date.

Born and raised in London, he has lived and worked in France for much of the past decade as a Real Tennis Professional. He is thinking of becoming Anglo-Saxon again. 

The Passing Tribute is his second novel. It is the sequel to The Long Drawn Aisle.

Book Synopsis:

Let me tell you a story, about a man I knew, and a man I know…

Mr Baxter is ninety-four years old when he falls down his staircase and grudgingly finds himself resident at Melrose Gardens Retirement Home.

Baxter is many things – raconteur, retired music teacher, rabble-rouser, bon viveur – but ‘good patient’ he is not. He had every intention of living his twilight years with wine, music and revelry; not tea, telly and Tramadol. Indeed, Melrose Gardens is his worst nightmare – until he meets Gregory.

At only nineteen years of age, Greg has suffered a loss so heavy that he is in danger of giving up on life before he even gets going.

Determined to save the boy, Baxter decides to enlist his help on a mission to pay tribute to his long-lost love, Thomas: the man with whom he found true happiness; the man he waved off to fight in a senseless war; the man who never returned. The best man he ever knew.

With Gregory in tow Baxter sets out on a spirited escape from Melrose, bound for the war graves of Northern France. As Baxter shares his memories, the boy starts to see that life need not be a matter of mere endurance; that the world is huge and beautiful; that kindness is strength; and that the only way to honour the dead, is to live.

Baxter’s Requiem is a glorious celebration of life, love and seizing every last second we have while we’re here.

Baxter’s Requiem is available now in all formats. Purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This is a beautifully written though emotional book which will stay with me for a long time. The author has managed to create a wonderful story of friendship and lost love that was a very interesting read.

Baxter was a wonderful main character that I quickly warmed to. I felt very sorry for him when he is forced into the retirement home but I enjoyed watching his relationship with Greg develop and learning more about his past life. I think its quite sad that in our busy lives it is easy to write off elderly people and not think of them as having a past. It was therefore very interesting, though sad to realise what had happened in Baxter’s life which had obviously had long lasting effects. Greg was another endearing character and it was lovely to see how his friendship with Baxter helped and guided him.

This isn’t particularly a fast moving book and there isn’t a lot of action in it, though this doesn’t stop it from being a very compelling read. The story is a very emotional one as we learn more about the characters and I felt it unfolded in real time which made me warm further to the characters. I found myself thinking about this book long after I had finished reading and will look forward to reading more from this author. I have seen a few other reviewers comparing him to Matthew Quick which I would agree with as the style is similar. I’m looking forward to reading more from him in the future.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Matthew Crow was born and raised in Newcastle. Having worked as a freelance journalist since his teens he has contributed to a number of publications including the Independent on Sunday and the Observer. He has written for adults and YA. His book My Dearest Jonah, was nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize.

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.