Author: emmasbibliotreasures

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus books and Holly Cave for the chance to read and review this novel.

An Afterlife of your own design – what could go wrong?

Isobel is a Heaven Architect. In Fact she’s the best Heaven Architect there is, acclaimed for the beautiful and perfect heavens she creates. Each client’s personalised heaven is comprised of their chosen memories, ensuring them an eternity surrounded by those they love in the highlight reel of their lives. Isobel loves her job but then risks everything when she falls for her newest client, Jarek. When his wife is murdered Isobel is the only one who can prove his innocence and finds that it leads her to the unsavoury side of the business and her whole life crumbling around her.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. The premise was like nothing I’d read before and had my interest piqued with the unique storyline of artificial heavens.You feel like you’re reading about the present day but then little things that are woven in remind you that it is actually the not too distant future. Holly Cave has a beautiful way of writing that paints vivid pictures in your mind as you read.

The book got off to a slow but intriguing start and I found it addictive once the pace increased and suspense heightened further into the story. I was eager to find out who killed Sarah and couldn’t read fast enough as I tried to figure out the answer myself. There were some great twists and the outcome was not one I would’ve predicted at the start of the book, or even until it was almost revealed, my own disbelief at the truth mirroring Isobel’s.

A combination of romance, mystery, thriller and sci-fi all interlaced together to make an unusual, exciting and brilliant read.

Out September 20th (picture courtesy of Quercus books).

First of all, let me introduce myself ; I’m Emma, I live in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with my partner, our two teenage boys and two crazy cats. I’m a coffee and coke zero addict (I need my caffeine lol) and my obsessions besides books are anything purple, butterflies, The Wizard of Oz and The Little Mermaid. I also never met a cheesecake I didn’t like. I can’t remember a time I didn’t love books and reading. For years I’ve been obsessed with buying books and anything related to them. I was certainly born with a tbr pile I will never finish 😂

I have Fibromyalgia, M.E and a number of other chronic illnesses (if you’d like to follow that journey my personal insta is @emma_butterfly) and haven’t been able to work for about 7 years now. Fibro and M.E also impact my reading as the brain fog makes it hard to take in what I’m reading, the fatigue can make comprehension impossible and holding a book is painful and often unmanageable. The latter is why at Christmas I finally relented and got a kindle. While I will never not love books, the kindle is so much easier. I can highlight and make notes so I can remember things and it sits on my cushion most of the time so I don’t even have to hold it. I’ve gone from hardly being able to read to being on book 78 this year.

I have an eclectic taste in books and enjoy most genres, though my favourites are crime fiction, thrillers, mystery, true crime, and I’ve got into YA fiction quite a lot this year too. Some of my favourite authors are Jodi Picoult, Tess Gerritsen, M. J. Arlidge and John Grisham, John Marrs, Matt Haig, Mark Edwards and Shari Lapena.

I decided to start reviewing books as I’d sometimes post thoughts on a book online and got lots of positive comments. So, I decided to start taking it seriously as a way to give me something to focus on. It’s great to feel like I’m doing something more worthwhile with my time and I’m loving being a part of the #bookstagram community. I started my page on Instagram on 9th August and decided to as a one month celebration to start an official blog. I’m new to this so please bare with me as I learn the ropes.

Emma 💜🦋📖