Book Synopsis:

Can three sisters stitch their family back together?

Loretta loves running the little village sewing shop in Butterbury. Some of her most precious memories are sitting with her three daughters Daisy, Ginny and Fern, stitching together pieces of material – and their hopes and dreams.

But this Christmas the family is coming apart at the seams: Fern feels like she’s failing at motherhood and marriage, Ginny’s passion for her job as a midwife is fading, Daisy is desperate to prove she ‘ s changed since her wild younger years – and most of all, Loretta seems to be hiding something…

As they come together to create a new festive quilt, the bond between the sisters begins to heal. But when Loretta reveals the real reason she’s brought them all home, can the sisters mend the quilt, and their family, in time for Christmas?

Full of kindness, community and festive magic, this is a treat to curl up with this Christmas! Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Jenny Colgan and Ali McNamara

My Review:

Christmas At The Village Sewing Shop is a beautifully written, emotional but uplifting book that makes a fantastic Christmas read.

Firstly I absolutely loved the setting for this book and wished I could visit the sewing shop in real life. There is just something so lovely about a small village setting where all the characters seem to know each other and look out for each other. It made the village seem like a really great place to live and made me wish I lived there too. The descriptions of the sewing shop was great to read about and has made me want to start sewing again soon as I’ve had lots of inspiration from this book.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about the sisters, their lives and discovering some of their secrets. They’ve all been affected by loss and it was interesting to see how they were coping with this. All three deal with it in different ways and it was lovely to see them all come together eventually, discovering a bit about themselves on the way.

This was a perfectly paced, absorbing book which I found very difficult to put down as I really didn’t want to leave the village. There was lots of action, drama and twists to keep me glued to the story. I loved the subtle message behind this book about how you didn’t need to try to be perfect all the time, it’s ok to make mistakes. This is definitely a book that will stay with me.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orion for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Helen Rolfe writes contemporary women’s fiction and enjoys weaving stories about family, friendship, secrets, and relationships. Characters often face challenges and must fight to overcome them, but above all, Helen’s stories always have a happy ending.

Location is a big part of the adventure in Helen’s books and she enjoys setting stories in different cities and countries around the world. So far, locations have included Melbourne, Sydney, New York, Connecticut, Bath and the Cotswolds. She also loves creating village settings or places with a small-town feel and a big sense of community.

Born and raised in the UK, Helen graduated from University with a business degree and began working in I.T. This job took her over to Australia where she eventually turned her attentions back to the career she’d dreamt of when she was fourteen. She studied writing and journalism and wrote articles for women’s health and fitness magazines. Helen began writing fiction in 2011 and hasn’t missed the I.T. world one little bit… in fact she may just have found her dream job!

Book Synopsis:

Very few people get to stay here. And some don’t get to leave …

Zoey doesn’t remember anything about last night. But she knows something went badly wrong. For she is no longer in New York. She’s woken up in the desert, in a white building she doesn’t recognise, and she’s alone.

When she discovers she’s been admitted to The Sanctuary, a discreet, mysterious, isolated refuge from normal life, to avoid jail, she is stunned. She knows she has secrets, troubles, but she thought she had everything under control. But as she spends more time with other residents, she begins to open up about what she’s running from. Until she realises that not everyone in The Sanctuary has her best interests at heart, and someone might even be a killer . . .

My Review:

Wow I absolutely loved this gripping, claustrophobic thriller which I managed to finish in a couple of days.

I was immediately pulled into the story and into the weird situation Zoey finds herself in. I think I’d have completely freaked out if I’d woken up in the desert with no memory of how I got there but, although obviously scared too, I loved how Zoey fought back and didn’t just accept her situation.

The setting of the desert in this book is brilliant and helps create a locked room environment which I always enjoy. The heat helps add to the claustrophobic atmosphere and I almost felt like I could feel it myself at times. There are only a few characters in this book so it was easy to remember them. Some I liked instantly and some made my skin crawl as I really wasn’t sure about them.

Overall, as you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this book. It quickly becomes clear that things aren’t as tranquil as they first appeared and I loved following Zoey as she tried to unravel all The Sanctuary’s secrets. There were lots of twists and the tension slowly increases until it becomes almost unbearable. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

Huge thanks to Jenny Platt for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Emma Haughton grew up in Sussex; after a stint au pairing in Paris and a couple of half-hearted attempts to backpack across Europe, she studied English at Oxford University then trained in journalism. During her career as a journalist, she wrote many articles for national newspapers, including regular pieces for the Times Travel section.

Following publication of her picture book, Rainy Day, Emma wrote three YA novels. Her first, Now You See Me, was an Amazon bestseller and nominated for the Carnegie and Amazing Book Awards. Better Left Buried, her second, was one of the best YA reads for 2015 in the Sunday Express. Her third YA novel, Cruel Heart Broken, was picked by The Bookseller as a top YA read for July 2016.

The Dark, Emma’s chilling new thriller for adults, was published by Hodder in August 2021.

Book Synopsis:

The answers to her past and present lie far across the ocean…

December 1913. Clara Thornton won’t allow being jilted at the altar to squash her spirit. Against the wishes of her aunt and uncle, Clara decides to travel to Madagascar to learn more about the tragic shipwreck that took the lives of her missionary family, and marked her forever.

Clara is escorted abroad by Xavier Mourain, a handsome young merchant who works with her uncle. The two of them start off on the wrong foot, but Clara can’t help but be drawn to the mysterious Frenchman who helps her unravel the mystery that has always haunted her. But as their love blossoms, war begins. And the world will never be the same again.

For Clara, all the answers seem to lie far across the ocean. But some of them might be closer than she thinks…

My Review:

Far Across The Ocean is a compelling, emotional read from a new author for me.

I was immediately drawn into the book and thrown into the action with the family’s dramatic exit from Madagascar as they escape from the French uprising. This was a period of history I knew nothing about so I loved learning more about this period and looking up more about it on line. The author does a great job of setting the scene here so I felt that I could really picture life in Madagascar at that time. Suzie has clearly done her research and I loved all the little details that made the period come to life and the story more realistic.

I was expecting this book to be just a romantic read so I was pleasantly surprised to discover there was lots more to it then that. Yes there is a wonderful romantic storyline but there was also some drama and some very emotional, harrowing moments too. Clara was an absolutely wonderful main character and I loved following her throughout the book. She was such a brave, determined character that you couldn’t help but admire her. I enjoyed following her search for her family and watch her romance with Xavier blossom, particularly as I felt she deserved some happiness after all she’d been through.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author soon. There were lots of different elements to the story that I enjoyed watching coming together and lots of action that ensured I couldn’t put the book down. There were a few twists in the story to keep me guessing and took the story in an unexpected direction.

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

About The Author:

Award winning author Suzie Hull lives in Northern Ireland with her family and numerous rescue cats.

As a child she dreamt of being a ballet dancer but instead trained as a Montessori Nursery teacher and has spent the last thirty years working with children in a variety of settings. Suzie has always had an enduring passion for reading and history.

In This Foreign Land won the RNA Joan Hessayon Award 2022.

Far Across the Ocean is due to be released in Autumn 2022, set in Madagascar and France on the eve of #WW1.

Suzie is always keen to hear from readers and can be found on twitter: @SuzieHull1 Instagram: @suziehull1 and Facebook.

Good morning everyone I’m sharing my November Orenda subscription from Bert’s books today. I was very excited to get a copy of The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave as I’m a huge fan of this author and have heard great things about this book.

If you would like an Orenda subscription check out Bert Books website.

Book Synopsis:

How do you catch a killer…
When the only evidence is a dream?

James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.

But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help. Especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…

About The Author:

Paul Cleave is currently dividing his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where all of his novels are set, and Europe, where none of his novels are set. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages. He has won the Saint-Maur book festival’s crime novel of the year in France, has been shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award, the Edgar Award, the Barry Award, and has won the Ngaio Marsh award for NZ crime fiction three times.

The New Zealand Listener said that Cleave writes with ‘an energy that conventional crime novels lack’, and he has been called ‘the next Stephen King’, ‘a rising star of the genre’ and ‘a writer to watch’. Publishers Weekly have said ‘a pulse-pounding serial killer thriller. The city of Christchurch becomes a modern equivalent of James Ellroy’s Los Angeles of the 1950s, a discordant symphony of violence and human weakness… the book’s real power lies in the complexity of its characters,’, and

Cleave numbers among his fans top crime and thriller writers such as Mark Billingham, who wrote: ‘Most people come back from New Zealand talking about the breathtaking scenery and the amazing experiences. I came back raving about Paul Cleave.’ John Connolly called Blood Men ‘dark, bloody, and gripping . . . classic noir fiction’, and said that in Paul Cleave ‘Jim Thompson has another worthy heir to his throne’. The Lab’s John Heath calls Cleave’s writing ‘uncompromising, unpredictable, and enthralling’, adding, ‘Made me vomit — seriously, it’s that good.’ Simon Kernick said ‘Cleave writes the kind of dark, intense thrillers that I never like to finish. Do yourself a favour and check him out,’ and S.J Watson said ‘An intense adrenalin rush from start to finish. It’ll have you up all night. Fantastic!’ Lee Child lists him as an ‘automatic must-read’.

Book Synopsis:

He doesn’t just want your identity. He wants your life…

No one sees him coming.
A stock-market trader is pushed from a high-rise balcony and falls to his death on the street below. The only clue the police can find is a box of matches.

No one survives for long.
The decomposing body of a member of the Saudi Royal Family is discovered in a car. Evidence suggests the killer took the man’s life, then stole his identity, wore his clothes and lived in his hotel room – before vanishing into thin air like smoke.

Nothing but matchsticks are left behind.
Dr Bloom realizes the only thing linking these murders is a trail of burnt matches and broken lives. Time is running out – and if she isn’t careful, she might be the next to burn …

My Review:

I’ve been a huge fan of this series from the start so couldn’t wait to start reading this book. This author’s writing is just so addictive that I was quickly drawn into the story, unable to put the book down as I was enjoying it so much.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is that the author takes the reader into the mind of the serial killer which I found utterly fascinating. It was very interesting to learn more about their mental health and discover how that would affect their personal life. It helped me to understand the killer’s motives and what would make them commit murder.

I thought this book was perfectly paced and really enjoying following the characters throughout the book. There were lots of twists that kept me guess and red herrings which I always enjoy. I actually thought I had figured it all out but a huge twist towards the end took the story in a completely different direction which I always love. The author cleverly weaves the two timelines together to make a really satisfying ending.

This is the fourth book in the series but I think it could easily be read as a standalone as anything you need to know is explained but I’d recommend starting from the beginning as this series is fabulous! I’m hoping this isn’t the last Dr Bloom book as I’m not ready for this series to end yet.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Transworld for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Leona Deakin started her career as a psychologist with the West Yorkshire Police. She is now an occupational psychologist and lives with her family in Leeds. This is her debut thriller.

Book Synopsis:

A glamorous ship

During a New Year’s Eve party on a large, luxurious cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship’s dancer, Lola, goes missing.

Everyone on board has something to hide

Two weeks later, the ship is out of service, laid up far from land with no more than a skeleton crew on board. And then more people start disappearing…

No one is safe
Why are the crew being harmed? Who is responsible? And who will be next?

Find out in the twisty new thriller from the queen of glamorous crime, Catherine Cooper.

My Review:

I’m a big fan of this author’s books so when I was offered the opportunity to review her latest book I absolutely jumped at the chance. The Cruise is another gripping and intriguing read which kept me reading far too late at night. It’s going to be a difficult book to review as I really don’t want to give anything away.

The story is told in the present day from multiple crew members and in flashbacks from 8 years ago following the story of a girl called Laura. I found this very intriguing as it quickly becomes apparent that each oth the crew members featured have secrets that they are trying to hide from the others. Each have seen Lola on the night she disappeared and I enjoyed the slow reveal of what actually happened. Laura’s story was more complex and while I guessed fairly early on her relevance to the story I did enjoy learning more about her. Hers was definitely an emotional story and my heart went out to her as I read more about her life and what she had experienced.

I found this book very hard to put down as there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. The chapters are fairly short and snappy so I kept promising myself I’d read just one more chapter and then look up to see it was an hour later. I loved watching the two strands of the story coming together and figuring out who the murderer was – especially what their motives had been.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper for my copy of this book. I read it digitally for the blog tour but bought myself a copy so I could lend it out to friends – anyone else do that?

About The Author:

I am a freelance journalist living in the South of France with my husband and two teenage children. We moved from London in 2009 so that the children could grow up bilingual and we could all ski more, and to enjoy a more relaxed pace of life.

I learned to ski on a school trip when I was 14 and have loved it ever since.

I’m an avid thriller reader and have been since I discovered Agatha Christie as a child.

The Chalet is my first published full-length novel, though I have also written several (unpublished) thrillers for teens and a (what used to be called) chick lit novel set in TV production.

Other than skiing and reading I love travel, rollercoaster, and I spend far too much time on social media. Some of my other favourite things include Alan Partridge, sparkly flip flops and salt and vinegar crisps.

You can follow me on Twitter @catherinecooper, Instagram @catherinecooperjournalist or Facebook @catherinecooperauthor

Book Synopsis:

What if your dream house became your worst nightmare?

Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it.

But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake.

Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about.

Something to do with the people before…

My Review:

The People Before is a creepy, atmospheric read that I really enjoyed.

Firstly I really felt for the characters and the scary situation they find themselves in which seemed more chilling as it seemed so real. I’ve often thought how nice it would be to move to the country but this book has rather put me off. I especially felt for Jess when the dream move turns into a nightmare with the house needing more work than anticipated and the creepy feeling Jess gets that someone is watching them.

The story is told from the point of view of Jess and then Eve, Jess’s new friend who runs the local art gallery. I liked following both points of views and seeing the situation from the different angles. It helped shed some light on the two women and made me wonder who I could trust. This helped increase the tension in the book for me as I tried to work out who was telling the truth and what was happening.

Overall I loved this book which I sailed through in a couple of days. I was gripped from the beginning and the slow build up of tension made the book hard to put down. The slow reveal of secrets was very intriguing and the big twist near the end was really surprising which I always love.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Charlotte Northedge is joint Head of Books for the Guardian. She has previously written for a range of newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, Psychologies and Cosmopolitan.

She has an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature from Birkbeck and is an alumna of the Curtis Brown Creative writing course.

The House Guest is her first novel. You can find her on Twitter: @charnorth, on Instagram: charlotte_north and on her Facebook author page: @charlottenorthedgeauthor

Book Synopsis:

A thrilling debut that has been likened to John Le Carré and Raymond Chandler . . .

Paris, 2037. Alexandre Lamarque of the French external security service is hunting for eco-terrorists. Experience has taught him there is no one he can trust – not his secretive lover Mariam, not even his old mentor, Professor Fayard, the man at the centre of the web. He is ready to give up. But he can’t.

In search of the truth, Alex must follow the trail through an ominous spiral of events, from a string of brutal child murders to a chaotic coup in North Africa. He rapidly finds himself in a heart-thumping race against chaos and destruction. He could be the world’s only hope of preventing THE COMING DARKNESS . . .

My Review:

Coming Darkness is a fantastic, fast paced thriller which is hard to believe is a debut novel.

The reader is immediately thrown into the story and into the action. I loved the main character Alex who was an intelligent, loyal man who I loved following throughout the book. His grit and determination was brilliant to witness. I was immediately on his side and wanted him to succeed.

The world that the author has created was a fantastic one that I loved exploring alongside the characters. It’s a world set in the near future, one that is eerily similar to our current world but with enough difference to send a shiver down my spine as I read. It’s a world that is very plausible and I could sadly see becoming reality.

This is a fast paced thriller with lots of twists and plenty of suspense to keep the reading glued to the page. It did take me a little while to get my head around all the characters but I soon had them straight and enjoyed learning more about them. I loved the way the different threads come together in the end in a way I hadn’t guessed. I’m really hoping there will be a sequel as I’d love to visit Alex again.

Huge thanks to Sophia from Midas for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publishers for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

A theatre director, playwright and actor Greg Mosse is the founder and director of the Criterion New Writing programme at the Criterion Theatre in London, running workshops in script development to a diverse community of writers, actors and directors. In addition, since 2015, Greg has written, produced and stage 25 plays and musicals.

Greg set up both the Southbank Centre Creative Writing School – an open access program of evening classes delivering MA level workshops – and the University of Sussex MA in Creative Writing at West Dean College which he taught for 4 years. 

The husband of the bestselling novelist Kate Mosse, Kate’s hit novel Labyrinth was inspired by a house that Greg and his mother bought together in the French medieval city of Carcassonne, where the couple and their children spent many happy summers. Following the success of Labyrinth, Greg created the innovative readers-and-writers website mosselabyrinth.co.uk MosseLabyrinth. The first of its kind MosseLabrynth was the world’s first online accessible 3D world, and the inspiration for Pottermore – the popular Harry Potter website. 

A multilinguist, Greg has lived and worked in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Madrid and has worked as both an interpreter at a variety of international institutions and a teacher in the UK.

Greg and Kate live in Chichester, where Kate’s parents founded the Chichester Festival Theatre, they have two grown up children.

The Coming Darkness was written during lockdown and is Greg’s debut novel. 

Book Synopsis:

When Cherry lost Terry one day,
Where was he? Could anyone say?
Asleep in a tree?
Or down by the sea?
He couldn’t be too far away.

The animals searched high and low,
Unsure what to do, where to go.
Would Terry appear?
The story is here…
Just read it – and then you will know!

When Cherry Lost Terry is a heart-warming and funny tale of friendship and adventure told in twenty-six limericks. There’s one for every letter of the alphabet, each featuring a different animal — from Ann the Antelope to Zack the Zebra. With wonderfully detailed and characterful illustrations by Clare Mallison, it’s perfect bedtime reading for the 3-to-6-year-old animal lover starting out on a lifetime of reading delight.

My Review:

When Cherry Lost Terry is a beautiful, gently rhyming children’s book that is perfect for sharing with your little ones. My kids absolutely loved this book and it’s quickly become a bed time favourite.

In the book we follow Cherry as she tries to find her friend Terry along with some fantastic friends she makes along the way. The story is told in a gentle rhyming pattern that was easy to get used to and made the story easy to read out loud. My kids loved following the animals adventures and due to the rhyming could often guess where the story was going – shouting out the word to finish the sentence. I also loved the fact the author uses different animals to those I’d have expected for each letter as it made the book more interesting and the kids loved learning about new animals.

The story is accompanied by some truly beautiful illustrations which my kids absolutely loved. They poured over the pictures for ages trying to spot hidden clues and see little details they hadn’t seen before. Their particular favourite was the full page illustration of the tiger hiding in the bush and the picture of all the animals riding the whale.

This book is aimed at 3-6 year olds and I’d say that was accurate as my 4 & 7 year olds both really enjoyed it. I was sceptical that it would be too long to hold my 4 year olds attention but he loved the book and keeps asking for it as his bedtime story. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who has young kids and will be buying a few copies to give as Christmas gifts.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publishers for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Penny Phillips began making up poems when she was four, which was far too long ago. Having worked as an editor in publishing for over 30 years, she finally got round to writing a book herself. When Cherry Lost Terry has been extensively tested on children but not on animals. Penny is now the Sub-editor of The Oldie and lives in London with her husband.

About The Illustrator:

Clare Mallison has only one photograph of herself in which she is not eating or drinking. She has worked as a freelance illustrator for various publications, including The Times, Financial Times, New Statesman and New York Times. When Cherry Lost Terry is her first book.

*Disclaimer: some of the animals featured in my picture aren’t in the book. The white tiger was the nearest I could get to a white cat so I thought would work as the cat and the tiger. Yes we have a white tiger toy but not a cat toy….. I’ll let that sink in for a minute 😂

Book Synopsis:

Icel is a lone wolf no more…

Oath sworn to Wiglaf, King of Mercia and acknowledged as a member of Ealdorman Ælfstan’s warrior band, Icel continues to forge his own destiny on the path to becoming the Warrior of Mercia.
With King Ecgberht of Wessex defeated and Londonium back under Mercian control, the Wessex invasion of Mercia is over.
But the Wessex king was never Mercia’s only enemy. An unknown danger lurks in the form of merciless Viking raiders, who set their sights on infiltrating the waterways of the traitorous breakaway kingdom of the East Angles, within touching distance of Mercia’s eastern borders.
Icel must journey to the kingdom of the East Angles and unite against a common enemy to ensure Mercia’s hard-won freedom prevails.

My Review:

Warriors Of Mercia is another fantastically, gripping read from one of my favourite historical authors.

Firstly it was great to be back with Icel who we’ve followed throughout the series. He’s started to feel like a friend to me so I enjoyed reading about his exploits in this book. Some of the scenes had me holding my breath and deeply worried for him as I really wanted him to be ok and survive.

The author has an amazing way of making history come to life so that the reader feels like they are actually there experiencing everything alongside the characters. This is particularly true of the battle scenes in this book which were vividly described and made me feel like I could almost smell the blood and sweat of the battlefield.

Overall I loved this book and can’t wait to read more in this series. The story is incredibly absorbing and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. The author has clearly done his research and I loved learning more about the time period. I really hope there are more books to come as I’m not ready to say goodbye to Icel yet!

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Boldwood for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. They were raised in the shadow of a building that they believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so their writing destiny was set. The first novel in their new Anglo-Saxon series for Boldwood Son of Mercia was published in February 2022.

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