I’m on the blog tour for Sticks And Stones by Jo Jakeman today and am excited to have a copy of this book to giveaway!

Sticks and Stones is available in ebook and hardcover now.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

Before I share my review and details of how to win the giveaway, here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Imogen’s husband is a bad man. His ex-wife and his new mistress might have different perspectives but Imogen thinks she knows the truth. And now he’s given her an ultimatum: get out of the family home in the next fortnight or I’ll fight you for custody of our son.

In a moment of madness, Imogen does something unthinkable: she locks her husband in the cellar. Now she’s in control. But how far will she go to protect her son and punish her husband? And what will happen when his ex and his girlfriend get tangled up in her plans?

Sticks and Stones is a deliciously twisting psychological thriller from an unforgettable new voice.

My Review:

Ooh I do love a good revenge story and Sticks And Stones is definitely that and much more.

The ex husband is a nasty piece of work and well deserving of everything that happens to him in the book.  His demanding, manipulative, controlling behaviour is quite hard to read about at times and made for some quite hard reading.  It’s was amazing and chilling to me how he was able to hide his violent behaviour from other people who thought he was a lovely man.  It really makes you wonder.

The story started off slightly slow for me but soon picks up pace as things take a surprising turn and then things get murkier and murkier.  Through a series of flashbacks the reader becomes aware of exactly the sort of man Phil is, how manipulative he’s been and how much the women have suffered at his hands.  The story slowly unravels to reveal lots of quite emotional incidences in the women’s lives and lots of secrets and lies in Phil’s as we discover exactly what is going on.  I thought this was brilliantly done with the slow reveal ensuring I was unable to read fast enough as I hung onto every word, devouring the pages.

The relationship that develops between the women was quite touching to witness and I liked how they all came together to defeat a common enemy.  I felt like I was along for the ride with them, feeling their fear and enjoying their elation as they continued to gain power over Phil.  I seriously couldn’t have guessed how it was going to end as it was such a brilliant, wild ride but I felt it ended very satisfyingly.

This is Jo Jakeman’s debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from her.  If you like psychological revenge thrillers then you’ll love this one, though if you do read it on that beach ensure you apply lots of sun cream first as you’ll definitely be gripped.

Huge thanks to Mia at Harvill Secker publishers for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

UK & Ireland Giveaway:

I’m very excited to have a hardback copy of this fabulous book to giveaway! To enter just RT my pinned tweet and tag some friends who you think might also be interested.

Or on Facebook head to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Over-The-Rainbow-Book-Blog-1699785863378672/ and comment on this post there.

Good luck everyone!

About The Author:

Jo was the winner of the Friday Night Live 2016 competition at the York Festival of Writing. Born in Cyprus, she worked for many years in the City of London before moving to Derbyshire with her husband and twin boys. Sticks and Stones is her debut thriller. Find out more at http://www.jojakeman.com

Book Synopsis:

THE NEW NIALL BURNET THRILLER!

Superstar Paralympian Fiona Mackintosh Green retires from the track to set up Forward Roll, a charity helping disabled people achieve self-respect through sport. But is she all she seems? How is her charity spending its money?

Niall Burnet, visually impaired journalist, is sent in undercover to find out. What he discovers is a trail of illegal performance-enhancing drugs that leads from the charity to its major backer, global pharmaceutical giant Prince Rajkumar.

All too soon, Niall finds himself surrounded by key players who will stop at nothing to protect their interests. When a former athlete is found dead, he knows that one wrong move could be his last…

Blind Justice is available now in ebook and paperback. The ebook is currently only 99p.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

Blind Justice is a fast paced, thriller featuring an unusual hero which was aa thoroughl enjoyable read.

The most intriguing part of this book for me was that the main investigator was blind.  I immediately began to wonder how he would manage to solve the investigation if he couldn’t see the evidence.  It was therefore very fascinating to learn about the little techniques and coping mechanisms that Niall has in place to help him deal with things though quite poignant to realise how people react to his disability especially if they aren’t expecting it.  In this day and age you’d hope that people would be more aware of a condition and have procedures in place to deal with it.

Niall was a very interesting character who wants to have a normal life and for people to see him for him rather than for his ability.  His frustration at people not giving him the chance he feels he  deserves is heartbreaking to read about especially when he is obviously a very clever and competent guy.

The story is told from various points of view, Niall’s, his girlfriend Michelle and John who was part of the team responsible for making Michelle’s operation fail in the author’s previous book.  This makes for interesting reading as the reader is always on edge waiting for something to happen.  It means that you get more of an holistic view of the story which makes you feel much more involved.  The fly on the wall view makes it seem as if events are happening right in front of you making you care much more about the characters and what happens to them.

This was quite a fast paced read for me and one I found very difficult to put down. The investigation is very interestingly solved with lots of twists and turns that helped keep me on my toes! There is a lot of tension in the story, caused mainly from the reader being able to view the story from different points of view as sometimes the reader found out something before the characters did which means you have to keep reading.  It is quite dark at times and I was amazed by how horrible and unfeeling people could be towards each other.  Some scenes were quite emotional because of this and might not be to everyone’s taste.

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I definitely look forward to reading more from him in the future. This is the second book in the series but it can easily be read as a standalone, like I did, as anything you need to know is explained.

Huge thanks to Kelly from Love Books Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Urbane books for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Alex grew up in rural England with a dream to write for a living which never quite came true. He has enjoyed incarnations as a theatre publicity officer, restaurant manager, teacher, teacher trainer, and curriculum developer. Along the way Alex wrote five plays that were performed by students including one, Never Mind the Rain Forests, that was enthusiastically reviewed (3 stars) at the Edinburgh Fringe. Another, Gavin’s Kingdom, received a professional workshop production at the Birmingham Rep. Plays Into Shakespeare, a book for English and Drama teachers that introduced students to the characters in Shakespeare’s plays through short modern-English ‘additional’ scenes, was published by First and Best in Education in 2007. Alex moved to Abu Dhabi in 2008 with a Lebanese international education company that had a contract to train English teachers and develop curriculum materials. Latterly moved to their Academic Development office in Beirut and wrote two series of books for students from ages eight to sixteen – one on grammar and one on the art of writing. He is now living with his wife of many years in Worcestershire, his children pursuing careers in education, fashion, charity fundraising and web development in places as disparate as Beijing, London and Chesterfield. Alex also enjoys writing stories for his young grandchildren.

Book Synopsis:

If only Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that went viral…

The feel-good new novel from Jill Mansell, the bestselling author of MEET ME AT BEACHCOMBER BAY. Not to be missed by fans of Katie Fforde and Lucy Diamond.

On the one hand, if Essie hadn’t written that letter – the one that only her best friend was meant to see – then she’d still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding…

On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn’t accidentally taken the internet by storm, that is) she wouldn’t have moved into the attic flat on the square. She would never have met Conor. Or got to know Lucas…

And she wouldn’t have found herself falling in love with someone she really, really shouldn’t fall in love with…

This Could Change Everything is available now in ebook and paperback.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

Jill Mansell sure knows how to write brilliant summer reads with characters you can fall in love with.  I very much enjoyed this story of second chances, new beginnings, friendship and love.

I’ve always loved the idea of having the chance to start again and change your life completely so the concept of this story appealed to me.  It was great to be able to follow Essie’s journey as she embarks on a new start and to be able to live precariously through her.

The author has truly created some fabulous characters that were easy to love and become invested in.  The author includes a fascinating back story for each character and they all have their own storyline within the story which was fascinating to read about.  I loved learning more about them and going on the journey alongside them.

This was a fairly fast read for me and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.  The author’s writing flows beautifully and helps the reader to become fully immersed in the story.  There is always something happening with one of the characters which helped keep my interest and made me want to keep reading as I cared about the characters.  The story is full of warmth and humour which made me laugh out loud at times, much to my children’s amusement.

Huge thanks to Headline publishers for my copy of this book and to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour. If you want a fabulous beach read for pure escapism you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want and Meet Me
at Beachcomber Bay. Take a Chance on Me won the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented
Jill with an outstanding achievement award.

Jill’s personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and
organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.

Jill started writing fiction while working in the field of Clinical Neurophysiology in the NHS, but now writes full
time. She lives in Bristol with her family.

Follow the Blog Tour:

Ive been lucky enough to have the privilege of kicking off this fabulous tour so do follow the blog tour and find out what these other fantastic bloggers thought too!

I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for the fantastic Rachel Amphlett’s new book today.  Firstly huge apologies to Emma at Damp Pebble Blog Tours for how late this post is.  My kids aren’t coping well in the heat unfortunately and are rather whiney and full on at the moment.

Gone To Ground is available now in ebook and paperback, you can purchase your copy of both here.

Book Synopsis:

While attending a crime scene on the outskirts of Maidstone, DI Kay Hunter makes a shocking discovery.

The victim has been brutally cut to pieces, his identity unknown.

When more body parts start turning up in the Kentish countryside, Kay realises the disturbing truth – a serial killer is at large and must be stopped at all costs.

With no motive for the murders and a killer who has gone undetected until now, Kay and her team of detectives must work fast to calm a terrified local population and a scornful media.

When a third victim is found, her investigation grows even more complicated.

As she begins to expose a dark underbelly to the county town, Kay and her team are pulled into a web of jealousy and intrigue that, if left unchecked, will soon claim another life.

My Review:

I’ve been a huge fan of this author for a while so you can imagine my excitement when I was invited to be part of the blog tour for her new book.

The thing that always makes these books for me is the brilliant police team that Kay works with.  They all seem to gel so well together each having strengths and weaknesses to bring to the team.  It has been great fun watching them all evolve throughout the series and to continue to find new challenges to overcome.  In this series we learn that a new person will soon be recruited into the team which makes me a little nervous as i do hope they fit in well.  This book again shows the team working very well together and it’s  their little conversations and banter with each other that helps lighten the book and provide some light comic relief.

The story seems very realistic with the crime being solved at a realistic pace and not involving lots of huge coincidences of far fetched connections.  Kay’s job in particular seems in keeping with modern day policing and there are lots of references to the amount of paperwork and regulations that the police have to complete nowadays.

I’ve alway loved Kay, finding her to be a very compatent, hard working police officer.  In this series we learn a little more about her home life and get to know Kay more personally rather than just through her work which was very interesting.  It was nice to see her let her guard down and show her softer side.

This was quite a fast paced book for me and I found myself gripped from the beginning, excited to see where this investigation would go.  There is a lot of tension in the book which makes it highly addictive and I found myself reading late into the night trying to find out what would happen next.

Huge thanks to Emma from Damp Pebbles Book Tours for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  If you like fantastic crime books with a fabulous female lead you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, and dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Detective Kay Hunter series, the English Spy Mysteries, and the Dan Taylor espionage novels.

To receive an exclusive extract from forthcoming release GONE TO GROUND, book six in the Detective Kay Hunter series, copy and paste this URL: BookHip.com/ZFBFDB

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves, Peter Robinson, Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, Ken Follett, and Stuart MacBride.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

Her novels are available in eBook, paperback and audiobook formats from worldwide retailers as well as her own eBook store at http://www.rachelamphlett.com.

A keen traveller, Rachel holds both EU and Australian passports and can usually be found plotting her next trip two years in advance, usually with a crime fiction festival tacked on for good measure! You can stay in touch with Rachel via her Reader’s Group by joining at http://www.rachelamphlett.com.

Book Synopsis:

Polly and Frank are young and in love, a lifetime together before them. But one evening in 1980, as the Texas sun sets over their shoulders, the world is suddenly pulled apart by a deadly virus. Within months, Frank is dying. Polly can save him, but only if she agrees to a radical plan: to time travel to 1993 for a corporation who can fund his life-saving treatment. She can only go forward, she cannot go back. And she must leave everything she loves behind, including Frank.

All they have is the promise of a future together: they will find each other again in twelve years’ time, in Galveston, Texas, where the sea begins.

But when something goes wrong and Polly arrives late, Frank is nowhere to be found. Completely alone, Polly must navigate a terrifying new world to find him, and to discover if their love has endured.

My Review:

An ocean of minutes is a book that manages to combine quite a few genres.  It’s little bit dystopian and sci fi but it’s mainly a beautiful, usual love story.

The world that has been created in this book is very intriguing and I enjoyed learning more about it.  It’s quite similar in parts to the world that we know in that there is a definite class system in play with the poorer people trying to do anything to get by.  The only way some people can afford the costly treatment for the flu epidemic that has affected the population is to sign up with a time traveling company for a job with them in the future, though once there they realise this isn’t the brilliant fix they though it was.  It was quite chilling to realise how much control the company had on people and how hard they had to work to pay off their debt.

I loved Polly she seemed very clever and a hard worker, though at times was rather niave.  Her attempts to navigate the strange future world was heatbreaking at times and I really felt for her and the predicament she finds herself in.  Despite being classed as having a special skill the luxury she is promised doesn’t materislise and I could feel her upset and frustration as the bright future she hoped for fails to live up to her hopes.

The story is told in two parts.  One follows Polly and her life in the future, 5 years further in the future then she hoped for which of course adds Futher complications as it makes finding Frank more difficult than she hoped.  The other, told in a series of flash backs, focuses on Polly and Frank and the story of their life together.  It is very poignant and beautiful to learn more about this, especially when it impacts the future.  The two stories gradually come together and the ending was very uplifting and satisfying as it was great to see how far Polly had come.

Huge thanks to Ana at Quercus books for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  This is definitely a book I will be thinking about for some time.

About The Author:

Thea Lim’s novel AN OCEAN OF MINUTES is forthcoming in Summer 2018. She holds an MFA from the University of Houston. She has worked as a farmhand, a cocktail server, a souvlaki grill cook, a theatre usher, and an elevator courier; she is now a professor of Creative Writing. She grew up in Singapore and lives in Toronto with her family.

Follow The Blog Tour:

If you liked the sound of this book from my review please follow the blog tour and find out what these other fabulous bloggers are saying.

Book Synopsis:

It’s 1944 and Britain is a country at war. The young women of the Phoenix munitions factory are giving their all to the cause, but romance is beckoning . . .

The life of a Bomb Girl isn’t usually glamourous. But Maggie is getting married, so she is going to make sure her wedding day is – even if she does have to spend every other day slaving on the factory floor.

This blasted factory was not what Julia had in mind either. She had always dreamed of attending Oxford University rather than getting her hands dirty and the easy laughter of the other women intimidate her terribly.

But they are all here together in this munitions factory in a Lancashire mill town, sharing firsts, pitching in and getting on. Despite rationing, dangerous hard work and new situations these Bomb Girls are going to do their best at work, and in love.

The Bomb Girl Brides is available in ebook and paperback now, you can purchase your copy of both here.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this wonderful saga based on a intriguing part of world war two.

The setting of a bomb factory was fascinating to read about especially learning about daily life working there.  The details about the different work involved in making the bomb and the conditions the girls had to work in was very interesting as they were something I didn’t know or hadn’t thought about before. I was also very interested to learn that women were conscripted to war work and didn’t just volunteer as I had previously thought.  It made be wonder what difficulties or problems this might have caused some of them, especially if they had kids.

Unusually for me I loved all of the main characters in this book.  The girls are all obviously very close and I enjoyed reading the heartwarming scenes depicting the interactions and the banter between them.  I did have a bit of a soft spot for Nora especially when she manages to put her foot in it.  I had a lot of empathy for her in yhit regard as it’s something I’m very good at doing.

This isn’t a fast paced book nor should it be as it really wouldn’t suit the type of book it is.  Instead Daisy styles has created a very intriguing story, with some fabulous characters that fully immersed me into it.  There is a bit of action and intrigue to make the story flow brilliantly and helps keep the reader interested but you don’t just keep reading for that.  I kept reading as to keep in touch with the bomber girls and find out more about what happens to them.

This is the first book by this talented author I have read and I really look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Katie at Michael St Joseph for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  If you like I brilliantly written, intriguing historical saga’s with characters you can fall in love with then you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

Daisy Styles grew up in Lancashire surrounded by a family and community of strong women whose tales she loved to listen to. It was from these women, particularly her vibrant mother and Irish grandmother, that Daisy learned the art of storytelling. There was also the landscape of her childhood – wide, sweeping, empty moors and hills that ran as far as the eye could see – which was a perfect backdrop for a saga, a space big enough and wild enough to stage a drama, one about women’s lives during the Second World War.

Follow The Blog Tour:

Im the last spot on this blog tour but please go back and see what these other fabulous bloggers thought.

Book Synopsis:

In this gripping new work of suspense from the author of The Double Game, a young woman discovers a nefarious truth at the heart of the CIA’s operations in postwar Berlin and goes on the run for her life; years later she’s gruesomely murdered along with her husband, and her daughter begins to chase down these startling secrets from her past.

West Berlin, 1979. Helen Abell oversees the CIA’s network of safe houses, rare havens for field agents and case officers amidst the dangerous milieu of a city in the grips of the Cold War. Helen’s world is upended when, during her routine inspection of an agency property, she overhears a meeting between two people unfamiliar to her speaking a coded language that hints at shadowy realities far beyond her comprehension. Before the day is out, she witnesses a second unauthorized encounter, one that will place her in the sight lines of the most ruthless and powerful man at the agency. Her attempts to expose the dark truths about what she has witnessed will bring about repercussions that reach across decades and continents into the present day, when, in a farm town in Maryland, a young man is arrested for the double murder of his parents, and his sister takes it upon herself to find out why he did it.

Safehouse is available now in ebook and paperback, you can purchase a copy of bothhere.

My Review:

This was a fantastic spy thriller that I really enjoyed.  The story is told in two parts one based in cold war Berlin and one in 2014.  The Cold War has always held a lot of intrigue for me, not least because my dad was posted to Germany when the wall was still present.  The tension is created naturally in this timeline as the there is a general feeling of mistrust and fear amoung the residents.

My favourite character was Helen who is the only women in an all male team.  She’s struggling to do her job properly or get noticed.  Her boss I very secist and doesn’t believe woman are capable of doing agent work, an opinion that is echoed by a lot of her colleagues.  I really admired her feterdetermin to try to make a difference and make the best of the situation.  I did also feel sorry for her as the lack of confidence her colleagues had in her must have been hard to handle.

This was quite a fast paced book for me and I really enjoyed watching the story unravel. I was pleased that Helen decided to try and solve the case and really wanted her to succeed.  I kept reading, turning the pages faster and faster as the mystery was solved.

This is the first book by this author I have read and I really look forward to reading more from him in the future.  If you like fast paced crime thrillers that have a bit of a classic feel to them you’ll like this book.

Huge thanks to Abby and Knoff publishers for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Dan Fesperman’s travels as a writer have taken him to 30 countries and three war zones, beginning with the Persian Gulf War in 1991. But it was his introductory trip to the besieged city of Sarajevo in January 1994 that inspired his first novel, Lie in the Dark. In the ensuing years he has drawn on the exotica and intrigue of similarly far flung locales for setting, character and plot.

He grew up in North Carolina, where he was educated in the public schools of Charlotte before graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Anyone wondering about the university’s influence, particularly with regard to basketball, need only consult page 67 of The Small Boat of Great Sorrows(p. 79 in the UK edition).

As a journalist he worked at the Fayetteville (N.C.) Times, Durham Morning Herald, Charlotte News, Miami Herald, and The Sun and Evening Sun of Baltimore, contributing heartily to the eventual insolvency of two of those newspapers. But it was the Sun which catered most grandly to his wanderlust. Baltimore editors dispatched him to cover the Gulf War from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; then sent him to Berlin to run the paper’s Europe bureau during the years of the Yugoslav civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia; and in 2001 assigned him to cover events in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the wake of 9-11. Along the way he also reported from throughout the rest of Europe and the Middle East.

Memories of his three years in Germany eventually helped inspire The Arms Maker of Berlin, and his occasional travels to the Middle East deeply influenced The Amateur Spy. More recent travels, which he now does on his own dime, have contributed to his research for The Prisoner of Guantanamo (where he was a visitor, not an inmate) and Layover in Dubai. But the biggest influence on The Double Gamewas his longtime enthusiam for espionage novels, particularly the classics of the Cold War era.

His work abroad has come with a fair share of adventures, not the least of which include accepting the surrender, along with a colleague, of 10 forlorn and unarmed Iraqi soldiers in the Kuwaiti desert in 1991, and surviving a fatal ambush on a convoy of journalists traveling through Afghanistan in November 2001. (For details on both, read Dispatches).

Other than sheer laziness, it is hard to say with any accuracy what took him so long to begin writing any fiction apart from the occasional short story, usually of the variety routinely savaged by writing workshops. He has written those off and on since the age of 20, but didn’t begin his first novel until he was 38. Hoping to make up for lost time, he plans to be well over the hill by 65.

Unlike Skelly, the American correspondent depicted in The Warlord’s Son, Dan’s occasional vagabond existence has not rendered him too restless for steadfast marriage and fatherhood. Since 1988 he has been married to Liz Bowie, also a journalist, and they live in Baltimore. Their children, Emma and Will, have graduated from college and are making their mark at home and abroad.

Book Synopsis:

As Daniel watches the life ebb from Grace’s body, he wishes they had more time, knew each other when they were young. His wife surprises him by insisting they did. And then she’s gone.

He knows this can’t be true. Can it? They only met later in life, so why would Grace’s departing words hint at a shared youth? Haunted by this notion, Daniel journeys into the past to discover the truth.

‘Remember’ is a unique love story. Find out how it really began…

Remember is available in ebook and paperback now.  The ebook is currently the bargain price of 99p.  You can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

Remember is a beautiful book with a very unusual love story at its centre.  I loved the idea that our souls and what we encounter in heaven can help influence our lives on earth.  Its also nice to think that family members do meet up and continue living together in heaven it certainly gives me a lot of comfort.

Daniel was an interesting character and one that grew on me as the novel progressed.  He had definitely had a hard childhood and I did like that he got a second chance of happiness with Grace.  He was a rather troubled character who seemed on the edge of things at times and was rather rude and selfish in some of his dealings that made me very unsure of him.

I struggled a bit with the love story though very cute was a bit too soppy for my tastes though I know of a lot of other bloggers who have loved it! I don’t tend to read a lot of romance books for this reason and I once dumped a guy as he was too romantic so im maybe not the target reader here.

This is quite a fast paced book with quite short chapters which made it an eady read.  It’s quite dark in places which took me by surprise and might not be to everyone’s taste but overall it’s a wonderful, uplifting book.  If you like The Lovely Bones I think you’ll like this book as I felt it was similar.

Thanks to Caroline for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until recently that it just seemed to click. I’ve had stories locked away, but suddenly, and unexpectedly, they now need to get out. I completed the first draft of “The Devil’s Lieutenant” in just two months, and that was as a result of writing when I had the opportunity to do so. My 8-5 job and family still came first. I look forward to the day when I can be a full time writer who can take my children to school, pick them up and chauffeur them to various activities, with a healthy dose of writing in between.

Good evening everyone and welcome to my spot on the blog tour where I have a fantastic guest post to share with you.

A Flicker Of Steel in the second book in The Avalon Chronicles and is available in ebook and paperback now.  You can purchase your copy of both here.

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

Book Synopsis:

Avalon stands revealed, but the war is far from over. For Layla Cassidy, it has only just begun.

Thrust into a new world full of magic and monsters, Layla has finally come to terms with her supernatural powers—and left her old life behind. But her enemies are relentless.

Sixteen months after her life changed forever, Layla and her team are besieged during a rescue attempt gone awry and must fight their way through to freedom. It turns out that Avalon has only grown since their last encounter, adding fresh villains to its horde. Meanwhile, revelations abound as Layla confronts twists and betrayals in her own life, with each new detail adding to the shadow that looms over her.

As Layla fights against the forces of evil, her powers begin to increase—and she discovers more about the darkness that lies in her past. As this same darkness threatens her future, will she be ready to fight for everything she holds dear?

Guest Review: Why Are Book Covers So Important?

There’s an old saying that I’m pretty sure everyone ever knows, that says “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. While the sentiment of not judging someone by how the look is a noble one, when it actually comes to books the whole thing breaks down.

The entire job of a book cover is to be judged. That’s it. It’s to sell your book to anyone who looks at it. It’s to entice a new reader and make them think, “wow, this looks awesome.” If that weren’t the case, book covers would just be a blank page.
Along with your title, and the blurb on the back, the book cover is there to sell your work. Those three things need to sing in harmony together. A bad title, blurb, or cover might well cost you a sale, but if all three suck then there’s an excellent chance that your book isn’t going to do as well as it could.
When I self published my first book back in 2012, the cover was all down to me. No one else had a say, and if I’d stuffed it up it might well have gone horribly wrong, but I think it worked out okay. Now that I’ve been working with my publisher, 47North, for the last 8 published books, I’ve come to know more about what is and isn’t possible on a cover.
Yes, your artwork might be amazing, but you need to think about how it looks with your name and title on it. And more importantly, it needs to look good in a tiny window on places like Amazon. Your cover doesn’t only need to be good, it needs to be able to scale too. You don’t want to shrink it and it all look like a blur.
I don’t get final say on covers anymore, although I do still get to take part in that process, which I’m very grateful for. And I’m okay with that. The author doesn’t necessarily know what will make the best cover for their book, and there have been several occasions when I’ve been asked for what I’d like to see, and they’ve looked at me like I’ve lost my mind. Which is probably an issue for another day.
So, make your cover sing. And along with a good title and well thought out blurb, you’ve given yourself a much better chance of someone looking at your book and thinking, “yeah, that sounds interesting.”
Writing a book is hard. Publishing and selling a book is just as, even not more difficult. So, if you’re self publishing, you want to do everything in your power to make it work. And if your traditionally publishing, work with your publisher to create the best cover you can. Even if it wasn’t how it looked in your head, it’s better to be working alongside people than stood at a distance having no say over what happens to the cover of your story.

About The Author:

Book Synopsis:

Paul finally has his life back on track. After losing his wife, Helena in a horrific car crash, he has found love with Sally and moves into her country cottage.

As a former high-ranking Naval Officer, Paul now works as Head of Security at MI5.

Paul has no memories from before he was ten years old. An accident left him in a coma for 9 months.  But was it really an accident?

Soon Paul starts to have flashes of childhood memories, all involving his childhood friend, Owen.

Sally introduces him to her friend, Juliet, the owner of a craft shop. Paul is shocked when he meets Juliet’s partner, his old friend Owen.

Flashes of memories continue to haunt Paul, particularly the memory of his first wife Helena burning in the car crash.

As dark things start to happen, and local people begin dying in horrific accidents, Paul must face his past and will end up fighting for his life.

The Bitter End is available in ebook and paperback now, the ebook is currently only 99p.  You can purchase a copy here.

Kirsty’s Review:

I must admit I was a little thrown when I started reading this book – The blurb reads like a standard psychologically thriller, what I wasn’t expecting was the supernatural element. The book starts in Auschwitz with a lady that survives the gas chamber and is taken to see Hitler. Where she is then processed by a demon. The story then jumps forward several decades.

Paul is the main character in this book, a complicated person who has no memories before the age of 10 and later loosing his wife in an awful accident. He meets Sally and moves in with her back to his childhood village, I liked them both as a couple, warm and loving. It was interesting to see Paul’s memories unfolding, especially after meeting his childhood friend. This is mainly told through a series of flash backs.

As expected the lady that survives Auschwitz plays quite a crucial role in this novel, I enjoyed trying to work out what she was up and how she entwined her self in the plot. I did ultimately end up feeling very sorry for her – what an awful life she must have led.

The pace proceeds at a steady clip, with the story unfolding nicely as you go. If you are looking for an easy summer read with a darker element then this is a book for you. Many thanks to Bloodhound books and NetGalley for allowing me a copy to review.

About The Author: