Book Synopsis:

An abrupt change; a new friendship; a dark secret…

Kind-hearted Violet has never fitted in, but despite being bullied at school is now content. She is dating ambitious Lenny, has her dream job in publishing and runs a book club at the local retirement home.

However, when her relationship with Lenny begins to falter, Violet, hurt and alone, seeks the advice of her new flatmate, Bella. She changes her image and with her head held high aims to show that she doesn’t need Lenny in her life to be happy and successful.

Her long-term friends Kath and Farah worry about Bella’s influence and slowly Violet starts to distance herself from them. When she was a child, her closest confidant and companion was a boy called Flint. Her mother didn’t approve of their closeness and he suffered a terrible end. She won’t let the same thing happen to Bella, no matter what anyone says…

Knowing You is about friendship and knowing who to trust with your deepest secrets; it’s about taking control of your life and not being afraid to stand out. Perfect for fans of Ruth Hogan, Gail Honeyman and Amanda Prowse

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

My Review:

Knowing You is an emotional and powerful book that is very well written. In this book the author manages to address some serious, dark issues in a sensitive way but without ever making the story too complex or serious which might put some readers off.

Violets story is incredibly absorbing and heart wrenching at times and I found that I quickly warmed to her. Her story is, especially her childhood experiences, sadly quite common and as such made for a very emotional read. It was quite heartbreaking at times to see her try to deal with everything and how it continues to affect her.

This book managed to grip me from the start with its emotional and complex story which is impossible not to get caught up in. From the start I knew that I liked this book and I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. The twist at the end was very surprising and I didn’t expect it which I always love. This is definitely a book that will stay with me for a long time.

About The Author:

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines. 
She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not, heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award. 

http://samanthatonge.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Book Synopsis:

Surviving the plane crash is only the beginning for Allison.

The life that she’s built for herself – her perfect fiancé, their world of luxury – has disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now she must run, not only to escape the dark secrets in her past, but to outwit the man who is stalking her every move.

On the other side of the country, Allison’s mother is desperate for news of her daughter, who is missing, presumed dead. Maggie refuses to accept that she could have lost her only child and sets out to discover the truth.

Mother and daughter must fight – for survival and to find their way through a dark web of lies and back to one another, before it’s too late…

Heart-stopping and addictive, FREEFALL is a stunning thriller that explores the deep and complex bond between mothers and daughters.

My Review:

Freefall is a tense, clever thriller that I really enjoyed reading. It gripped me from the start with its dramatic opening which had me immediately intrigued. Especially as it soon becomes very apparent that everything s not as it first appears.

The story is told in alternate chapters from the point of view of Allison and her mother Maggie which I thought was very effective. Allison’s story follows her trek for survival as she is hunted by an unknown man. Whereas Maggie’s story follows her hunt for her daughter and trying to discover what exactly has been going on in her daughter’s life for the last few years. Both women are very compelling, strong women and I found I enjoyed getting to know them more throughout the book.

There are some fascinating topics woven into the storyline which I think would lead to some interesting discussions in book groups. The complicated Mother and daughter relationship is explored in detail but in quite a subtle way so its not immediately obvious to the reader. The relationship a mother has with her daughter is a fairly fragile and compliated one and I found it interesting to learn more about the two main characters with through their relationship with each other. The other theme is a person’s need to have a place to call home and to belong. When Allison crashes her immediate thought is to return home, thought where that is isn’t revealed though it is hinted that it is with her mother. I quite liked the idea of this and thought it was a lovely idea that everyone had a place in this world.

This is a fast paced thriller with the tension gradually increasing throughout the book until it become almost nerve shredding! It does have a few slightly slower moments whilst the history of the characters are explored but I quite liked this as it meant I was able to catch my breath. The information gleaned here is also vital to the story so I personally found it very interesting. There is always lots of action or things being revealed which keeps the reader firmly on their toes, including lots of intriguing secrets and betrayals which I often didn’t see coming. The stories gradually come together in a very satisfying way and I found that I was very pleased with how this book ended!

Huge thanks to Anna from Vintage Books from Vintage Books for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review. if you like fast paced, clever thrillers then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS.

She attended Boston University, where she majored in English and Art History, before moving to London in 2004 to pursue an MA from University College London.

She lives with her husband, Simon, and their two cats, Roger Livesey and BoJack Horseman.

(Images from Amazon)

Book Synopsis:

It is raining non-stop over Paris. The Malegarde family – split between France, London, and the US – is reunited for the first time in years. When Paul, a famous yet withdrawn arborist, suffers a stroke in the middle of his 70th birthday celebrations, his son Linden is stuck in a city that is undergoing a stunning natural disaster. As the Seine bursts its banks and floods the streets, the family will have to fight to keep their unity as hidden fears and secrets also begin to rise.

In this profound and intense novel of love and redemption, De Rosnay demonstrates her wealth of skills both as an incredible storyteller and also as a connoisseur of the human soul.

The Rain Watcher is available in hardback and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

I was a huge fan of this author’s historical novel Sarah’s Key so I was intrigued to read her latest book. Although this book is very different in style from Sarah’s Key I did enjoy it.

The author’s descriptions of Paris in the rain were beautiful with some of her observations so vivid that I had to stop a minute to fully enjoy them. I’ve always loved books set in Paris and the city has always fascinated me so I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the book.

The family reunion was an interesting one as it was obvious from the start that relationships between the family members weren’t very good at the moment. As the story continues and we find out more about their history and the secrets they have been hiding it becomes a lot clearer why there are tensions between them. The reader goes on a real journey with the family and it was great to be able to witness it first hand. The family goes through a lot of changes throughout the book and I enjoyed seeing how it shifted and changed as events happened.

My only small complaint about this book is the slow pace of it. Whilst the family drama was interesting I felt it took too long at times for something to happen and a slightly faster pace would have made it more gripping. I also wasn’t sure about all the descriptions of a flooded Paris. They were very beautiful and vivid but I wasn’t sure as to their relevance with the family drama. I kept wondering if the author was trying to make a comparison between the weather and the family drama but I think if she was it unfortunately went over my head!

Huge thanks to Juliet from World Editions for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

TATIANA DE ROSNAY is the author of more than ten novels, including the New York Times bestselling Sarah’s Key, an international sensation and major motion picture. Tatiana lives with her husband and two children in Paris.

Book Synopsis:

The international bestselling godfather of Nordic Noir takes on one of the most horrific periods of modern history, in a stunning standalone thriller

‘A masterclass in plotting, atmosphere and character that finely balances shocking twists’ The Times

‘Utterly convincing’ Publishers Weekly

In 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, saving herself. Her family in Oslo, however, is deported to Auschwitz. In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Åse, who helped Ester get to Sweden. Their burgeoning relationship ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire.

And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. He wants to reconnect with his daughter. But where has he been, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester stumbles across information that forces her to look closely at her past, and to revisit her war-time training to stay alive…

Written with Dahl’s trademark characterization and elegant plotting, The Courier sees the hugely respected godfather of Nordic Noir at his best, as he takes on one of the most horrific periods of modern history, in an exceptional, shocking thriller.

The Courier is available now in ebook and in paperback on the 21st March 2019. You can purchase or pre-order your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of this author’s previous books but have to admit I was a bit nervous about reading an historical thriller from him. I needn’t have worried as once again Dahl has produced an atmospheric, gripping read!

The reader is thrown almost immediately into the story with a rather dramatic scene that helps to bring the setting of Norway in WW2 vividly to life. The fear and uncertainty is almost palpable as the situation that Esther’s family finds themselves in becomes clear. I hadn’t read much about Norway in the second world war or about their role in exporting Jews so I found this part of the book very interesting.

Esther is a fantastic main characters who I immediately liked. She seemed very brave particularly when she finds herself on her own in a dangerous situation. She is very loyal to her friends, refusing to put anyone in danger when they offer to help her which was very selfless of her.

The story follows Esther through many different times which sounds like it should be confusing but it’s not and actually works really well. It was interesting to see how the world changed through the years and to follow Esther after the end of the war.

This was an incredibly gripping and tense novel which helped make it a quick read as I found it hard to put down. I kept promising myself that I’d read only one more chapter but ended up reading until midnight, only putting the book down when my baby woke up for his bottle and I realised the time. The tension is almost unbearable at times and I found myself frequently imploring Esther not to do something and put herself in danger, sometimes out loud which amused my husband! The author manages to keep the intrigue and action going throughout the book so there is never a dull moment which made for an incredibly exciting read.

This is the third book I’ve read by this author and I’m very excited to read more from him as all his books end up on my keep forever shelf and are frequently recommended to friends. If you like gripped, tense and thrilling historical crime books then you’ll love this book.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Karen from Orenda books for giving me a copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in fourteen countries, and he lives in Oslo.
Follow Kjell Ola on Twitter @ko_dahl

Book Synopsis:

For fans of Bryony Gordon and Dolly Alderton, The Sisterhood is an honest and hilarious book which celebrates the ways in which women connect with each other.

‘My five sisters are the only women I would ever kill for. And they are the only women I have ever wanted to kill.’

Imagine living between the pages of Pride And Prejudice, in the Bennett household. Now, imagine how the Bennett girls as they’d be in the 21st century – looking like the Kardashian sisters, but behaving like the Simpsons. This is the house Daisy Buchanan grew up in,

Daisy’s memoir The Sisterhood explores what it’s like to live as a modern woman by examining some examples close to home – her adored and infuriating sisters. There’s Beth, the rebellious contrarian; Grace, the overachiever with a dark sense of humour; Livvy, the tough girl who secretly cries during adverts; Maddy, essentially Descartes with a beehive; and Dotty, the joker obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race and bears.

In this tender, funny and unflinchingly honest account Daisy examines her relationship with her sisters and what it’s made up of – friendship, insecurity jokes, jealousy and above all, love – while celebrating the ways in which women connect with each other and finding the ways in which we’re all sisters under the skin.

The Sisterhood is available in ebook and paperback from today, the 7th March 2019. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.

My Review:

The Sisterhood is a very funny, intimate account of the author’s life and experiences with her sisters.

I have a sister and whilst I love her very much I can’t imagine having five sisters and all the complications it must have caused. In this book the author gives the reader an intimate, fly on the wall glimpse into her relationship with her sisters and some of the key moments that have shaped them. It sometimes felt that I was intruding on a personal moment as the author doesn’t hold back on revealing exactly what happened. Some of the stories made me smile as I remember similar scenarios, arguments and conversations with my own sister, so the story had a nostalgic quality for me.

The chapters are quite short and each have been given an intriguing title which makes the reader wonder what it will be about. I moved between wishing I could have been one of the sisters and able to join in with them, to being quite glad I only had one sister as I’m not sure I could have coped in such a large family. Throughout the stories the author describes how her relationship with her sisters had to change throughout the years to accommodate their shifting views and roles which I found fascinating. I haven’t ever given this much thought so it’s definitely given my food for thought.

It would have been easy for the author to just focus on herself throughout this book but she doesn’t do this. Instead as promised this really felt like a tribute to her sisters. In between the stories about them there is a little bit about each of the sisters individually which gives the reader a chance to get to know them all quite personally which I really enjoyed. This definitely helped to give me a better idea of family dynamics and the relationship they enjoyed with each other.

This is the second book by this author that I’ve read and it won’t be my last as I always enjoy her funny, frank stories.

Huge thanks to Jennifer Harlow from Headline for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Daisy Buchanan is an award winning journalist and the author of the critically acclaimed book How To Be A Grown Up. She’s a regular contributor to TV and radio, frequently appearing on Woman’s Hour, Good Morning Britain, This Morning, Sky News and the Today programme. Daisy writes for a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, The Sun, Grazia, Marie Claire and The Pool, covering everything from pop culture to mental health with a feminist perspective. She’s a TEDx speaker, giving advice on how to get through the trickiest parts of your twenties in her talk How To Survive A Quarter Life Crisis. Daisy has been Grazia’s in house agony aunt, writing the popular Dear Daisy column, and she’s currently the title’s Reality TV correspondent, covering Made In Chelsea with her tongue firmly in her cheek.

Book Synopsis:

“SAM! AVA! Get downstairs, NOW. Have you done your TEETH? HAIR? SHOES? Come on, come on, come on, we’re going to be bastarding late again. No, I haven’t seen Lego Optimus Prime, and nor do I give a shit about his whereabouts. Sam, will you stop winding your sister up and take this model of the Shard that I painstakingly sat up and created for you last night so that I wouldn’t be in trouble with your teacher. I mean, so that you wouldn’t be in trouble with your teacher. No, it doesn’t smell of ‘dirty wine’. Well, maybe it does a little bit. Look, Sam, I haven’t got time to argue. Just hold your nose and get in the car, okay? AVA! TEETH! HAIR! SHOES!”

Gemma is only just holding it together – she’s a single parent, she’s turning 40 and her seven-year-old daughter has drawn a cruelly accurate picture which locates Gemma’s boobs somewhere around her knees. So when her new next-door neighbour, Becky, suggests that Gemma should start dating again, it takes a lot of self-control not to laugh in her face.

But Becky is very persuasive and before long Gemma finds herself juggling a full-time job, the increasingly insane demands of the school mums’ Facebook group and the tricky etiquette of a new dating world. Not only that, but Gemma has to manage her attraction to her daughter’s teacher, Tom, who has swapped his life in the City for teaching thirty six to seven year olds spelling, grammar, basic fractions – and why it’s not ok to call your classmate a stinky poo-bum…

It’s going to be a long year – and one in which Gemma and Becky will learn a really crucial lesson: that in the end, being a good parent is just about being good enough.

Readers love this hilarious, fast paced slice of family life:

Absolutely Smashing It is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I’m a huge fan of the Why Mummy series so was excited to receive a copy of another similar book, though I was initially a bit nervous as to whether it would be as good. I was quickly reassured and found this book as funny, if not better than anything similar I’ve read.

Firstly I so wish Gemma was my friend as she is so like me and my approach to parenting. It was so refreshing to read that there could possibly be other parents like me who are perpetually disorganised, turn up at school looking harassed and forget school projects. Her descriptions of them getting into the car for school run had me absolutely howling with laughter as it’s so true to what I end up doing daily. My poor neighbours must find the shouting and vision of me coming out of the house holding mounds of stuff hilarious. Her children also seem like mine as they always manage to sing inappropriate lyrics at top volume and find a random toy that it’s essential they bring on the school run. It’s comforting to know that other people experience the same stuff and made me feel a lot better about myself.

This is actually quite a fast paced book as there is always some drama or crisis to overcome. As mentioned above I immediately loved Gemma and wanted to keep reading to find out what she’d get up to next. What does happen is absolutely hilarious and I often found myself laughing out loud. There is sadly some modern lingo that I had to look up to find out what they meant but this just gave the book a very modern feel and Gemma had older children then I do so who knows maybe I’ll get better as they get older.

This is the author’s debut novel and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment! I wasn’t aware of the author’s blog and have recently followed her Facebook page. If you like Frank, honest and utterly hilarious books about what it’s really like to be a parent then you need to read this book! Though maybe not if you are just thinking about being a parent as, like some of the characters, it might put you off!

Huge thanks to Kirsteen Astor from Little Brown for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.

About The Author:

Kathryn Wallace is an experienced blogger, whose writing career pinnacle to date was when a little blog post she wrote about her front bottom’s run in with some mint and tea tree Original Source shower gel went viral and ended up being read by more than 30 million people globally. #lifegoals

A full time working parent, Kathryn somehow finds the time in between regularly losing her shit and svreas “TEETH! HAIR! SHOES!” on repeat to update her blog, I Know, I Need To Stop Talking, which has around 140, 000 followers on her Facebook and is growing rapidly.