Tuesday 28 February 2017

The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises by Kellie Hailes

The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises

The Cosy Coffee Shop of Promises by Kellie Hailes
Published: 10th February 2017
Publisher: HQ Digital
Pages: 155
Available on Kindle
Rating: 4/5

Blurb
Mel’s dream of opening a coffee shop is finally a reality! A cosy little place turning out the best flat whites and most delicious pastries in Devon. In the picture-perfect town of Rabbit’s Leap no one can stand in her way – especially local pub owner, Tony. She doesn't care how gorgeous he is, she will not let him steal her customers with his fancy new coffee machine!
There is only room in their small town for one coffee shop…but when Hurricane Val – aka her mother – is due to blow into town, Mel is in desperate need of an instant boyfriend. She can’t face another hunt to 'find a man' and while Tony may be her business rival, Mel can’t help but notice he’d make the perfect fake fiancé…
If they can strike a deal all they need to do is stick to it, no falling in love, no real feelings and definitely no dreams of a happy-ever-after!

Review

Mel has been living in the small Devon town of Rabbits Leap for just over a year and her coffee shop is providing her with a small but steady income, probably because it’s the only place in the village to buy a cup of coffee. So imagine her surprise when she goes to the local pub and sees that landlord Tony has installed a brand new state of the art coffee machine. Mel’s heart sinks as with competition her coffee shop may not survive. So she and Tony make a plan to help keep both of their businesses going. Mel will help Tony learn to cook so he can improve his pub meals and make more income that way and in return Tony must not serve coffee until after three in the afternoon when Mel’s coffee shop closes. Oh and he must pretend to be her fiancé when her mother Val comes to visit. Can these promises help save both their businesses and are their feelings between these two hidden among all the pretence?

This is a lovely light-hearted read which is a great debut for Kellie Hailes. I instantly loved the chemistry and playful banter between Mel and Tony right from the start and it’s fairly obvious how this story will end but I loved the entertaining journey on how they got there.

Mel seems a fairly quite girl who has something troubling her and although being in Rabbits Leap a year has kept herself to herself. I loved how when she helps Tony out in the pub she became more a part of the village community and began to blossom.

Tony himself has the reputation of being the local Lothario and only seems to be committed to preserving the pub exactly as it was when his mum died, despite it desperately needing updating. I loved the way that Mel gave him a new insight into life and showed him that changes aren’t always the worst thing that can happen.

Mel’s mum Val is quite a character, she seems determined to be with a man at all costs and thinks Mel should be too, hence the pretend relationship with Tony. Although coming across as over bearing and in your face I think she had her heart in the right place and just didn’t want Mel to be lonely.

I was expecting more of the story to take place in the coffee shop as the title suggests but it’s mostly carried out in the pub, which I actually enjoyed as loved seeing the transformation it went through. I guess the title relates to where the actual promise between Tony and Mel takes place.

This was a joy to read and I’m very much looking forward to see what Kellie Hailes writes next, perhaps a return to Rabbits Leap with Tony’s sister Jody?

Thank you so much to HQ Digital and Netgalley for the copy, which I have reviewed voluntarily.


Monday 27 February 2017

Blog Tour: The Folower by Koethi Zan, Extract and Review



The Follower by Koethi Zan
Published: 23rd February 2017
Publisher: Vintage
Pages:330
Available on ebook
Rating: 3/5

Blurb
SHE'D DO ANYTHING FOR HER HUSBAND.
Julie has the perfect life
A kind boyfriend, loving parents and good grades. She has everything ahead of her.
Cora’s life is a nightmare
A psychopath for a husband, a violent father and a terrible secret. There’s no way out.
But one night, their worlds collide
Locked in an isolated house together, they must work out what has happened – and who they can trust to set them free.


Extract
It was a beautiful late-September night. The air was still warm. The stars, such as they were this close to the city, shone with full force. She took out a pack of cigarettes and knocked it against the post of the wooden porch that encircled the building. Instead of going in, she sat on the bench just under the windows, lit a cigarette, and took a long slow drag. Her parents disapproved of the habit and she agreed with them technically, but, this, her first cigarette in two days, was going down beautifully.

She blew out a long puff of smoke and absentmindedly rubbed the zipper of her bag. This paper was better than anything she’d done last year. She wondered if she should submit it for publication. Professor Greenfield would know the best places for it. Even if she didn’t publish it, this was one more step toward the J. Burden Senior English Award next year.

She stood up and walked over to the steps that led to the tracks, took a final hit on the cigarette, and dropped it on the sidewalk. She rubbed it out with her shoe and then lifted her foot to check underneath. She had this thing about cigarette stubs. Bad luck if they stuck to you. But her sole was clean. She laughed to herself. Yes, she thought, her soul was clean.

She took out her phone, checked the time. Twelve minutes until the train would arrive. She opened Instagram, scrolled through some posts, liked a couple. Boring. She checked the New York Times. Sent a text to Mark. Luv u.

She waited. He didn’t text back. Must not have his phone on him. She watched for a couple more seconds waiting for the dots to appear. Nothing.

Eleven minutes.

Should she read on the train or try to doze off? It was always a gamble as to whether she could sleep on the Metro North seats. She was so sensitive to smells and that horrid faux leather stuck to her skin whenever she moved. She could always read that New Yorker article she’d emailed herself.

Suddenly, the lights inside dimmed. She turned around, puzzled. Was Kurt leaving early? She leaned in toward the glass, but the interior office door was closed. She walked over to the side door and pulled hard but it was stuck fast. Locked. He’d gone home. She would have expected him to have said goodnight before he left or even to have waited with her. Unless he hadn’t noticed her out there. She glanced at the parking-lot exit, and, sure enough, a car was turning out onto the road. But why would he leave now? Did they change the train schedules?

Damn it. This had happened to her once before. She took a step toward the board to check the timetable, but suddenly felt the eerie sensation that she was not alone. She turned to see who it was, but before she’d gone full circle, a leather-gloved hand smothered her face and forced her head back. All she thought of at first was the pain.

That fucking hurts.

She was too disoriented to understand what was happening until he was dragging her by her head and neck across the parking lot. Her feet struggled to keep up, to stay planted on the ground; otherwise the arm squeezing her throat would strangle her.

Review

Julie Brookman has the perfect life. She has many friends, a boyfriend she loves, an affluent family and promising career ahead of her, until one night all that changes. Waiting alone at a deserted train station Julie is kidnapped by James a religious cult leader who believes Julie will bring him his destiny. Locked away in his house Julie struggles to cope and tries her hardest to communicate with James’ crazy “wife” Cora, who could turn out to be more dangerous than Julie first realised. The Follower is the gripping tale of two women whose lives have collided in a horrific way, can either of them find a way to set themselves free before it’s too late.

The narrative in The Follower flips between the story of Julie’s abduction, Cora’s life as a child where we learn some horrific things about her life and the story of Adam, an ex-cop on a one man crusade to find Laura Martin a girl he believes was abducted when she was seven years old.  This was a clever way of telling the story as the more we find out about Cora’s life as a young girl the more fearful we become for Julie’s safety. It’s definitely writing which draws you into its sinister plot.

It was a very different story from what I was expecting after reading the blurb. There is a lot more blood and violence than I’m used to reading and it’s probably not a book to read on your own.

I struggled to like any of the characters in this book. Julie is a girl who although very popular seems to have always gotten her own way either by using her looks or her speech to manipulate people to do want she wants, giving their thoughts or feelings very little concern and she comes a bit unstuck when this doesn’t work with Cora. I could sort of see the motivation behind Cora’s behaviour as she has had such a troubled childhood which would leave anyone desperate for affection, even if James was definitely not the character to give that affection to. The character I disliked the most was Adam. He’s spend years wasting his life chasing Laura Martin in an effort to save her from her captors  in order to redeem the ghosts of his sister Abigail. But Adam is one of those men who will never be the hero as he’s too buried in his paperwork and his beliefs to really help anyone. There are a couple of times in the book where he’s given a chance to change his life and be someone’s hero and he runs away, I found him so weak.

The intense way this book was written I was expecting that when these three stories finally worked themselves together that there would be an epic and shocking ending, instead the ending felt a bit like a circus act with clowns and left me disappointed.

This is a book about abduction, cults, the destruction alcohol and bullying causes and redemption. It’s a book full of violence and living in fear, it’s a book which I found gripping and intense in places and a book which has stretched me as it’s quite far out of my comfort zone.

I’d like to thank the publishers Vintage for this copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for The Follower.

Julie Brookman has the perfect life. She has many friends, a boyfriend she loves, an affluent family and promising career ahead of her, until one night all that changes. Waiting alone at a deserted train station Julie is kidnapped by James a religious cult leader who believes Julie will bring him his destiny. Locked away in his house Julie struggles to cope and tries her hardest to communicate with James’ crazy “wife” Cora, who could turn out to be more dangerous than Julie first realised. The Follower is the gripping tale of two women whose lives have collided in a horrific way, can either of them find a way to set themselves free before it’s too late.

The narrative in The Follower flips between the story of Julie’s abduction, Cora’s life as a child where we learn some horrific things about her life and the story of Adam, an ex-cop on a one man crusade to find Laura Martin a girl he believes was abducted when she was seven years old.  This was a clever way of telling the story as the more we find out about Cora’s life as a young girl the more fearful we become for Julie’s safety. It’s definitely writing which draws you into its sinister plot.

It was a very different story from what I was expecting after reading the blurb. There is a lot more blood and violence than I’m used to reading and it’s probably not a book to read on your own.

I struggled to like any of the characters in this book. Julie is a girl who although very popular seems to have always gotten her own way either by using her looks or her speech to manipulate people to do want she wants, giving their thoughts or feelings very little concern and she comes a bit unstuck when this doesn’t work with Cora. I could sort of see the motivation behind Cora’s behaviour as she has had such a troubled childhood which would leave anyone desperate for affection, even if James was definitely not the character to give that affection to. The character I disliked the most was Adam. He’s spend years wasting his life chasing Laura Martin in an effort to save her from her captors  in order to redeem the ghosts of his sister Abigail. But Adam is one of those men who will never be the hero as he’s too buried in his paperwork and his beliefs to really help anyone. There are a couple of times in the book where he’s given a chance to change his life and be someone’s hero and he runs away, I found him so weak.

The intense way this book was written I was expecting that when these three stories finally worked themselves together that there would be an epic and shocking ending, instead the ending felt a bit like a circus act with clowns and left me disappointed.

This is a book about abduction, cults, the destruction alcohol and bullying causes and redemption. It’s a book full of violence and living in fear, it’s a book which I found gripping and intense in places and a book which has stretched me as it’s quite far out of my comfort zone.

I’d like to thank the publishers Vintage for this copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour for The Follower.

Friday 24 February 2017

My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon

My Sweet Revenge

My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon
Published: 12th January 2017
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 416
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.
Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.
I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care. He won't just think, 'Oh good'.
I want it to hurt.

Review
My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon is the story of Paula as she seeks revenge on her husband after finding out he’s having an affair. Paula innocently catches a text message on her husband’s phone implying he’s having an affair, which would probably send most women for the tissues and ice-cream, not Paula. She decides that she will get her own back on husband Robert and kick him where it really hurts in his ego! Paula begins to transform herself in a bid to make Robert fall in love with her, then she can tell him she knows what he’s been up to and kick him out for good.

I loved the sound of this book from the blurb and once reading it found it was very easy to get lost in all the twists and turns that this story takes. There were so many ups and downs it was like a rollercoaster ride, a very addictive ride as I found this book hard to put down. There were moments when I became a little confused as to what was actually happening as so many different versions of events are from different characters it was hard to keep everything straight in my head, but I love books like that and can see this is one which I will enjoy reading again.

I loved the transformation that Paula went on and found her a real inspiration. I know how hard it is to change something about yourself so kudos to her for really going for it. She went from the curvy, unfit, settling woman to one who loved her body and could run like the wind and she became strong enough to go for what she really wanted. There were a couple of times where I thought she was going to give up her plan and let Robert back in and I found myself wanting to shout at her “No don’t do It”. Because Robert was a horrible character, so self-absorbed and vain with very little interest in the lives of Paula or their lovely daughter Georgie that he didn’t deserve lovely Paula and I was so looking forward to her kicking him out.

There were times when I did feel Paula’s and some of the others characters antics were going a little too far and maybe immature but these provided some very humorous scenes which Jane Fallon can write so well and which made the book a joy to read. If you’re looking for a book with a strong feisty female then this is your book. It will make you laugh, cry and overall inspire you to be who you want to be and not take any stick off anyone. Women everywhere should read this book.

I’d like to thank the publishers, Netgalley and Jane Fallon for sending me a copy of this wonderful book to read and review.

Wednesday 22 February 2017

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Everything You Told Me

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson
Published: 5th January 2017
Publisher: Corvus
Pages: 336
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 4/5

Blurb
You went to bed at home, just like every other night.
You woke up in the back of a taxi, over 250 miles away.
You have no idea how you got there and no memory of the last ten hours.
You have no phone, no money; just a suicide note in your coat pocket, in your own writing.
You know you weren’t planning to kill yourself.
Your family and friends think you are lying.

Someone knows exactly what happened to you.
But they’re not telling…

Review

After reading Lucy Dawson’s You Sent Me a Letter last year I was expecting Everything You Told Me to have the same epic opening and it sure did. Sally finds herself 400 miles away from home on the edge of a cliff with a suicide note in her pocket and no idea how she got there. After the police return her home Sally and her family struggle to make sense of the previous evenings events and with everyone walking on eggshells, everything everyone says is over analysed. So will we ever work out whose telling the truth and who’s lying?

This is a book which can be read in two ways depending on how much you believe Sally’s story. You can believe Sally has no idea what happened and someone is out to get her or you can believe her family and believe she went off to commit suicide, either way you read it, it’s a fabulous twisty road to the end.

I tended to sympathise with Sally as she seemed exhausted and unhappy but not enough to try and kill herself. She’s struggling to cope with six month old Theo who will not sleep and four year old Chloe and keep the house in order with little help from husband Matthew, so it’s totally understandable that she’s almost at breaking point. If she’d has more support from husband Matthew and mother in law Caroline who lives close by things could have been very different.

This book has masses of different emotions floating round in it and as the tension slowly begins to build I was waiting for everything to boil over and explode. Just when I thought we’d reached that point Lucy Dawson throws in another twist so the intensity just deepens until the very end when we reach a truly shocking ending.

I did really enjoy reading this book but I found that there is a lot of repetition of events as Sally tries to make sense of things in her head and explain them to others and although necessary for the plot I did start to find this annoying.

I had a feeling which character was lying and I was right to an extent, but it wasn’t quite as simple as I thought it would be. I highly recommend you give this a go if you’ve enjoyed any of Lucy’s other books. I’ll also say the less you know beforehand about what actually happens the more you will enjoy the book.

Although I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as You Sent Me a Letter it’s still a great read and Lucy Dawson has a real talent for writing twisty intense psychological thrillers that will get stuck in your head days after you’ve finished them. I’m so looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to the publishers Corvus for sending me this copy to review if I chose.

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Blood Lines by Angela Marsons

Blood Lines (D.I. Kim Stone, #5)

Blood Lines (D.I. Kim Stone #5) by Angela Marsons
Published: 4th November 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 380
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?
A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for
Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.

When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from
Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.

As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them…

Review
Wow, wow, wow my favourite Queen of Crime Angela Marsons has done it again and produced another sublime crime novel with my favourite female crime fighter Detective Inspector Kim Stone. This is a series which just seems to get better and better with each book and Angela has become my most anticipated author to read (hope book six isn’t too far away).
In Blood Lines Kim and her team are given a baffling case. A woman is found dead in her car with one single stab wound, indicating a cold and heartless killing but as usual Kim’s gut is telling her there’s more to this case than the team initially think. As a second body of a young drug dealer is found with an identical wound, Kim knows the two murders are linked but proving it is going to be tricky as nothing seems to link the two victims.
As Kim gets stuck into the case she receives notice that her mother, who is under psychiatric care is due to be released from her care facility. When Kim enquires about why this is happening she is informed it’s due to her encouraging and forgiving letters which she has been sending. Kim knows she would never ever have done such a thing and knows instantly who would be so cruel…Dr Alexandra Thorpe an old advisory of Kim’s who is out for revenge. Can Kim work out what on earth Alex is up to before her mother is released? Even behind bars Alex seems to be able to manipulate Kim but can she be outwitted a second time?
I think the thing I loved most about this book was the return of Dr Alexandra Thorne from the second Kim stone book Evil Games. She’s such an evil and manipulating character that I was just hooked on reading what depths so was going to sink to this time. I think if you haven’t read Evil Games yet then you definitely should so you get the maximum effect of just how bad Alex can be and how easily she is able to push Kim’s buttons which doesn’t seem to happen often.
Another thing I loved about this book was that we gain more insight into some of the background characters which have appeared in previous books. We get to learn a little bit more about Stacey, a character who has seemed a bit of mystery before now, I’d still like more from her in the next book. I also liked that we got to see a softer side to Woody Kim’s boss, which makes him a more likable character to me. We also finally get see Kim face to face with her mother, something which I didn’t think would ever happen and I loved seeing how this encounter affected Kim. The way Angela Marsons is adding more and more details to her main characters as the series continues is just fascinating and has really made the books come alive for me.
The murder plot in this book is yet again another one I couldn’t work out and just when I thought I had it cracked we got given another twist to the tale. Just brilliant, I love Angela’s writing and hope we have many more Kim Stone books to come.
Thank you so much to the publishers Bookouture for this copy to review I adored it and cannot wait for the next one.

Monday 20 February 2017

The Good Girlfriend's Guide to Getting Even by Anna Bell

The Good Girlfriend's Guide to Getting Even

The Good Girlfriends Guide to Getting Even by Anna Bell
Published: 26th January 2017
Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre
Pages: 432
Available in paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Blurb

When Lexi's sport-mad boyfriend Will skips her friend's wedding to watch football - after pretending to have food poisoning - it might just be the final whistle for their relationship.

But fed up of just getting mad, Lexi decides to even the score. And, when a couple of lost tickets and an 'accidentally' broken television lead to them spending extra time together, she's delighted to realise that revenge might be the best thing that's happened to their relationship.

And if her clever acts of sabotage prove to be a popular subject for her blog, what harm can that do? It's not as if he'll ever find out . . .

Review

Having loved Anna’s previous novel The Bucket List to Mend a Broken Heart last year I was really excited to read her new book The Good Girlfriend’s Guide to Getting Even and it did not disappoint, in fact I think it was better than her last book.

Lexi and Will have been together seven years, seven years where Lexi has patiently put up with Will’s extreme love of watching sports, but that’s about to change. On the day of her best friend’s wedding Lexi is optimistic that Will has changed his ways and will go with her without a fuss knowing how special the day is to Lexi. Oh no Will has other ideas, he fakes food poisoning to avoid going to the wedding and instead goes to watch his beloved Southampton play football. When Lexi receives a text showing Will at the game she is furious.

Knowing getting mad with Will will not make her feel better Lexi decides to get even. After a couple of her revenge plans result in bringing her and Will closer together Lexi is over the moon, this is exactly the relationship she wants, so she carries on. When challenged by her writing class Lexi decides there will be no harm in writing about antics in her new blog and loves it when the blog hits keep rising….surely there is no way Will will ever find out right?

The Good Girlfriends Guide to Getting Even may be a book with a very long title but it’s a book I loved. It’s light hearted and full of humour which kept me entertained all the way through.  I loved wondering just what crazy plan Lexi would come up with next and just how far she would push Will to get her revenge.

I liked Lexi as a character as she seemed initially to have good intentions about her plans especially when she got more quality time with Will as a result. I did start to think she was maybe going a little too far and I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Will, he must have been a bit bewildered as to why things kept going wrong with all his sports plans. I enjoyed the rest of the characters in the book which Anna has brought to life so well, my favourite had to be sex-obsessed Cara and her secret slipper wearing boyfriend.

This book was a joy to read and Anna is quickly becoming one of my go to authors when I want a book which will cheer me and leave a smile on my face. If you’re a fan of Sophie Kinsella or Christie Barlow then I’m sure you will enjoy this book.

Thank you so much to the publishers who sent me a copy of this book to review if I chose, it was brilliant.

Sunday 5 February 2017

Blog Tour Review: The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley


The Good Enough Mother by Anoushka Beazley
Published: 3rd July 2016
Publisher: Anoushka Beazley
Pages: 330
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Rating: 3/5

Blurb
Gatlin - a leafy affluent town; Chelsea tractors and ladies who lunch. However, all is not as it seems. Drea, a most unnatural mother, struggles to find private school fees for her step-daughter Ava after her boyfriend leaves her for another woman. Watching the yummy mummies she becomes inspired, hatching a daring and criminal plan...unleashing all hell in the quiet town of Gatlin. Can Drea survive the fallout and the wrath of the PTA? A satirical and hilarious black comedy about love, motherhood and the human condition.

Review
Drea’s long term partner Alex has left her and moved to France to live with his research assistant Penny. Drea is devastated as she has been planning her perfect suicide for a while but now she will have to put her grand plans to the side and care for fourteen year old Ava, Alex’s daughter from his previous marriage. There’s just one small problem Ava goes to the best private school in Gaitlin and with fees of over £17,000 pounds to find now Alex has gone Drea is in trouble. But she does what any mother does makes the most of the resources available to her, only Drea doesn’t have so many skills so carrying out armed robbery on some of Gaitlins richest yummy-mummies seems like the best plan. Until one of the yummy mummies is found murdered. Can Drea find out who the real killer is before the police work out who committed the robberies and pin the murder on her too?
I found Drea a very hard character to connect with emotionally she’s up and down, one minute she’s depressed and on the verge of suicide the next she’s in some angry whirlwind intent on bringing down anyone who gets in her way. Her erratic behaviour mostly just left me confused and this hampered my enjoyment of the story. Her relationships throughout the book were also strange, she seems to have very little contact with her elderly father who lives with her which I just found odd. She has no aspirations to be part of the community around her, particularly to have any involvement with Ava’s school PTA. She does however seem to have a good relationship with Ava who seems closer to Drea than her own father. Drea obviously loves Ava as that seems to be the driving force behind her crazy antics.
Anoushka definitely has a distinct writing style, its fast paced, surprising and in places very funny. This was a book that was full of unexpected twists, some of which were believable and some which were not so. My favourite little twist I think was finding out exactly what Drea’s father had been up to.
This is a book which highlights the extremes mothers will go to, to give their children what they believe is the best. It’s a book about finding our place to belong and making the best of what we’ve got. It’s a book which I enjoyed in parts but there were parts I felt could be better. Anouska has created an interesting collection of characters and her descriptions of the town of Gaitlin really brought it alive for me, I just found that the plot could have been tighter.
Thank you to Anoushka and Neverland Blog Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour.
Giveaway

To win one of 10 copies of The Good Enough Mother please click on the rafflecopter link below

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