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Blog Tours book reviews

Spirited by Julie Cohen

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Published: July 9th, 2020
Publisher: Orion
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this captivating novel. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and Orion for tbr gifted copy.

SYNOPSIS:

A moving and gripping story about three women who keep unspeakable truths, from the Richard & Judy recommended bestselling author Julie Cohen.

‘Haunting, tender and true – this story cast a spell on me’ Kirsty Logan

Viola has an impossible talent. Searching for meaning in her grief, she uses her photography to feel closer to her late father, taking solace from the skills he taught her – and to keep her distance from her husband. But her pictures seem to capture things invisible to the eye . . .

Henriette is a celebrated spirit medium, carrying nothing but her secrets with her as she travels the country. When she meets Viola, a powerful connection is sparked between them – but Victorian society is no place for reckless women.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, invisible threads join Viola and Henriette to another woman who lives in secrecy, hiding her dangerous act of rebellion in plain sight.

Faith. Courage. Love. What will they risk for freedom?

Driven by passionate, courageous female characters, SPIRITED is your next unforgettable read!

MY REVIEW:

“All stories are true or none. I find more beauty if they are all true.”

Viola and her new husband Jonah have moved to the south coast to begin their married life together. But instead of the closeness they once shared growing up, they seem to be growing further apart with each day. Henriette, a celebrated medium, arrives in town and is immediately drawn to Viola. With her encouragement, Viola starts to take photographs again and discovers an astonishing talent that sends shockwaves through society. Meanwhile, Jonah is grappling with a secret trauma from his time in India that he feels unable to share with his new wife.

The author explores themes of love, gender, sexuality, faith, prejudice and freedom in the victorian era in this wonderfully written story. Captivating, evocative, haunting and tender, I savoured every word. The extracts from books, newspapers and webpages gave the story an authentic feel and I found myself googling the characters to be sure I was reading fiction. This was my first time reading this author and I now understand why people rave about her books and can’t wait to read more of her work.

The characters are compelling, memorable and richly drawn and the author has created strong, fascinating female characters that go against the cultural norms of their societies to live the life they want for themselves, rather than the one they are told they should have. I liked Viola but it was Henriette, the fiesty, wiley and charming medium, who I loved most of all. Despite her duplicity, there is a sincerity to her that we slowly saw more of as the story went on, particularly around Viola, and it was this, along with her backstory, that endeared her to me.

Atmospheric, immersive and moving, Spirited is an imaginative piece of historical fiction that I highly recommend.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Julie Cohen Author pic

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Julie Cohen grew up in the western mountains of Maine and studied English at Brown University and Cambridge University before pursuing a research degree in nineteenth century fairies. After a career as a secondary school English teacher, she became a novelist. Her award-winning novels have sold over a million copies worldwide. Dear Thing and Together were both selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club. Julie runs an oversubscribed literary consultancy which has helped many writers go on to be published. She is Vice President of the Romantic Novelist’s Association, founder of the RNA Rainbow Chapter for LGBTQ+ authors, and a Patron of literary charity ABC To Read

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Blog Tours book reviews

The Paper Bracelet by Rachael English

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Published: July 9th, 2020
Publisher: Headline
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Welcome to my stop on the tour for this poignant novel. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tour for the invitation to take part, and Headline for the gifted copy.

SYNOPSIS:

Every paper bracelet held a mother’s heartbreaking secret…

Inspired by heartrending true events in a home for unwed mothers, set in Ireland, Boston and London, this novel is perfect for readers of Jill Childs, Emily Gunnis and Kathryn Hughes.

For almost fifty years, Katie Carroll has kept a box tucked away inside her wardrobe. It dates from her time working as a nurse in a west of Ireland home for unwed mothers in the 1970s. The box contains a notebook holding the details of the babies and young women she met there. It also holds many of the babies’ identity bracelets.

Following the death of her husband, Katie makes a decision. The information she possesses could help reunite adopted people with their birth mothers, and she decides to post a message on an internet forum. Soon the replies are rolling in, and Katie finds herself returning many of the bracelets to their original owners. She encounters success and failure, heartbreak and joy. But is she prepared for old secrets to be uncovered in her own life?

MY REVIEW:

“For the first time, she was seeing how the sins of the past reverberated around them. She’d realised that the story wasn’t confined to black-and-white film and bleached-out Polaroids. The women weren’t exhibits in a museum.”

Moving, powerful, compelling, and utterly heartbreaking, The Paper Bracelet is a fictional novel based around the infamous unwed mother and baby homes and forced adoptions that took place in Ireland in our not too distant history. 

Told in dual timelines from multiple points of view, we follow Katie, a former nurse at Carrigbrack, a home for unwed mothers in west Ireland, as she tries to reunite babies born during her time at the hospital with their paper identity bracelets, which she has kept secretly in a box for nearly fifty years, and twenty-year-old Patricia, an unmarried, pregnant woman who is taken to Carrigbrack under a cloud of shame. But there is more to Katie’s story of her time at the home than she’s admitting. Is she ready for her own secrets to be revealed?

What an emotional read. This is certainly one of those books where you need a pack of tissues close to hand whilst reading. I have obviously heard of the homes for unwed mothers in Ireland and some of the horrors that took place there, but it isn’t a subject I’d read a lot about. Rachael English has clearly done a lot of research, and her wealth of knowledge, along with richly drawn and believable characters, made the novel feel so authentic it was like I was reading Katie and Patricia’s memoirs, rather than a work of fiction. This was my first read by the author and I will be buying her previous books after falling in love with her wonderful storytelling. 

While the whole novel is moving, it was the flashbacks to Patricia’s time at Carrigbrack and the stories of what happened to the young women forced to live in the homes, that touched me most of all. Patricia is a twenty-year-old woman studying to be a nurse when she falls pregnant. Knowing that if this had happened just a decade or two later, she would have not been sent to a home and been allowed to make her own choice about whether or not she kept her child was devastating. The lack of autonomy she had, even as a grown woman, was unimaginable to those of us living in the UK in 2020. While there is nothing graphic, it was still difficult, and eye-opening, to read about the bleak, cruel life they were forced to live at the home and the appalling way in which they were treated. I don’t want to say more about the storyline or characters as I don’t want to ruin the book for those yet to read it. 

The Paper Bracelet is a  poignant, affecting and beautifully written novel. There are still many people living today that are living with the repercussions of the events depicted and it is vital we remember them and what they were subjected to. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Rachael English Author PIc

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Rachael English is a presenter on Ireland’s most popular radio programme, Morning Ireland. She lives in Dublin, but was born in England and grew up in County Clare on Ireland’s west coast. Her first novel, GOING BACK, was shortlisted for the most-promising newcomer award at the 2013 Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards.

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The Silent Wife (Will Trent Book 10) by Karin Slaughter

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Published: June 23rd, 2020
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this electrifying thriller. This was one of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures for June and exceeded expectations. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and HarperCollins UK for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

He watches.

A woman runs alone in the woods. She convinces herself she has no reason to be afraid, but she’s wrong. A predator is stalking the women of Grant County. He lingers in the shadows, until the time is just right to snatch his victim.

He waits.

A decade later, the case has been closed. The killer is behind bars. But then another young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead, and the MO is identical.

He takes.

Although the original trail has gone cold – memories have faded, witnesses have disappeared – agent Will Trent and forensic pathologist Sara Linton must re-open the cold case. But the clock is ticking, and the killer is determined to find his perfect silent wife….

MY REVIEW:

“Witnessing an unnatural death came with the job, but something about this particular victim, this particular case, sent dread into every fiber of his being.

He has hunted his share of murderers and rapists.

He had never before hunted a predator.”

A sly and sadistic killer is brutally raping and murdering women and then managing to make it look like an accident while another man sits behind bars for his earlier crimes. But was it a set up like he claims or a mistake? In this sizzling new installment of the Will Trent series, agent Will Trent and pathologist Sara Linton are not only hunting a predator but trying to determine if there is evidence of police corruption in the first investigation. But it’s been a decade since the murders started, memories have faded and not all those involved are still alive to tell their side of the story. Can they find the truth and their killer before he strikes again?

Dark, sinister, gritty and compelling, The Silent Wife is the twentieth book in twenty years from the thriller queen. When you read a Karin Slaughter novel you know you’re getting a first-class thriller. The writing is sharp, intelligent, bold and filled with dark humour. The Silent Wife is all this and more as creeping menace, dread and tension drip from every page, creating a heart-pounding, atmospheric read.

“She had seen first-hand evidence of his madness. He hadn’t been content to rape the women. He had destroyed them.”

Ms. Slaughter’s novels aren’t for the faint hearted, and this one was certainly no exception, with some gruesome, stomach-churning descriptions that made even this seasoned thriller reader have to pause to collect myself at times. But it never feels gratuitous. The villain in this book is also without a doubt one of the most cruel, cunning and sadistic predators I’ve read. A number of times there are comparisons between the man they are hunting and Ted Bundy and reading this certainly gave me the same chills that I got from reading about Bundy and his crimes. This is a villain who will stay with me for a long time. The author uses this character’s crimes to highlight the sickening ways women are sometimes brutalised and the long term physical and psychological effects that it can have on the victim. She discusses her decision to do cults in a letter to the reader at the end of the book.

When you reach the tenth book in a series you get to know the characters pretty well so reading them feels a little like meeting up with old friends. I will confess that I haven’t read all the books in this series; but I was an avid reader of the author’s earlier Grant County series and read the last book in this series. So while part of me felt like I was among friends, it was also like being with a new crowd where you don’t know all the in-jokes. But Ms. Slaughter has a way of catching you up in a concise manner so you can read it with or without having read the rest of the series. 

The Silent Wife is a wonderfully dark and twisted thriller that will leave you breathless.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

Published in 37 languages, with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her nineteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter. Her most recent novel, The Last Widow, features Sara Linton and Will Trent. A native of Georgia, Karin currently lives in Atlanta. Her novels Cop Town, The Good Daughter, and Pieces of Her are all in development for film and television.

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Blog Blitz: The First Lie by A.J. Park

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Published: June 25th, 2020
Publisher: Orion
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Domestic Fiction

Happy Publication Day to this gripping debut thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part. 

SYNOPSIS:

“A. J. Park is a master of suspense who knows how to keep readers hovering tensely over the edges of their seats.” 
Sophie Hannah
“This is a real page-turner. I finished it in one go!”
Martina Cole

A husband and wife cover up a murder. But the lie eats away at the fabric of their relationship and things unravel till they can’t trust anyone – even each other.

“A great thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.”
Luca Veste

A freak accident. An impossible choice. But what was the first lie?

When Paul Reeve comes home to find his wife in the bathroom, bloodied and shaking, his survival instinct kicks in.

Alice never meant to kill the intruder. She was at home, alone, and terrified. She doesn’t deserve to be blamed for it. Covering up the murder is their only option.

But the crime eats away at the couple and soon they can’t trust anyone – even one another…

But there is much more at stake than anyone realises – and many more people on their trail than they can possibly evade…

“Fast-moving, gripping, the ground shifting perpetually beneath your feet as you read… I read it in one sitting.”
Alex Marwood

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MEET THE AUTHOR:

A.J. Park is the author of The First Lie, published by Orion Fiction. The paperback will be released on June 25th 2020. A second psychological thriller will arrive in July 2021. The translation rights to The First Lie have been sold to publishers in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

A.J. Park’s real name is Karl Vadaszffy. Karl Vadaszffy is the author of three novels: The Missing, which was twice a Kindle top ten bestseller in the UK, peaking at number 6, as well as a number one bestseller in Australia, Sins of the Father and Full of Sin. He is also a freelance journalist and the Head of English at a secondary school in Hertfordshire.

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THE FIRST LIE all quotes

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The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith

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Published: July 9th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda
Format: Paperback, Kindle
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Adventure Fiction, Science Fiction, Urban Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this outstanding and timely thriller. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and Orenda for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

Decades of spiralling drug resistance have unleashed a global antibiotic crisis. Ordinary infections are untreatable, and a scratch from a pet can kill. A sacrifice is required to keep the majority safe: no one over seventy is allowed new antibiotics. The elderly are sent to hospitals nicknamed ‘The Waiting Rooms’ … hospitals where no one ever gets well.

Twenty years after the crisis takes hold, Kate begins a search for her birth mother, armed only with her name and her age. As Kate unearths disturbing facts about her mother’s past, she puts her family in danger and risks losing everything. Because Kate is not the only secret that her mother is hiding. Someone else is looking for her, too.

Sweeping from an all-too-real modern Britain to a pre-crisis South Africa, The Waiting Rooms is epic in scope, richly populated with unforgettable characters, and a tense, haunting vision of a future that is only a few mutations away.

MY REVIEW:

“No one touches each other’s hands anymore. Not unless they’re intimate.” 

When I first heard about this book at the beginning of the year it sounded like a Sci-Fi movie; something that felt both imaginable and unimaginable. Wearing masks and gloves and being unable to touch. Illness that is untreatable and deadly. That sounded like something from the Victorian era or a third world country where they can’t afford the medicine we have.  Fast forward a few months and reading it during the current pandemic felt like getting a glimpse into our future. This book was suddenly a lot scarier and incredibly timely. 

“Do you have any idea what it’s like growing up in this ‘safe world’ of yours? How fucking suffocating it is? Nothing left to chance, endless checks and scans?

… I’ve seen the films: people rolled into bed with complete strangers! No body scans. No STD checks. No profile searches. I can’t even hug a friend without asking!”

Multilayered, exquisitely told and tightly plotted, the novel weaves through different timelines to tell the story of the Crisis and our three narrators. As long-buried secrets are slowly unearthed, the full picture emerges to a shocking conclusion. The characters are richly drawn and I have to say that I had a soft spot for Lily. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to approach an age knowing that something treatable will likely kill you as you are deemed disposable and unworthy of treatment. My own grandmother has recently beat Covid-19 at the age of 93 thanks in part to antibiotics and all I kept thinking how awful it would have been knowing she simply wasn’t getting that help because of her age. 

It is clear that the author has done a lot of research on antibiotic resistance from how intelligently written this novel is.  Even without the current pandemic this would read as something that could actually happen and it certainly made me think about things such as how we farm out animals. At the end of the book she writes about how she got her inspiration for the novel after reading frightening data about antibiotic resistance and has posted more information for readers on her website. 

The Waiting Rooms is a captivating and thrilling debut that is both topical and timely. I highly recommend this thriller and can’t wait to read more from this author.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Eve Smith Author pic

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Eve Smith’s debut novel The Waiting Rooms was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award. Eve writes speculative fiction, mainly about the things that scare her. She attributes her love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and black-and-white Edgar Allen Poe double bills.

Eve’s flash fiction has been shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award and highly commended for The Brighton Prize. In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, she believes storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues.
Eve’s previous job as COO of an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places. A Modern Languages graduate from Oxford, she returned to Oxfordshire fifteen years ago to set up home with her husband.
When she’s not writing, she’s chasing across fields after her dog, attempting to organise herself and her family or off exploring somewhere new.

Website | Instagram |Twitter

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Unbroken by Madeline Black

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Published: April 4th, 2017
Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Genre: Autobiography

Trigger Warning: Rape

Today is my spot on the blog tour for this powerful story. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Madeline Black for the gifted copy.

SYNOPSIS:

For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented… difficult to piece together. It was too extreme, too violent for me to understand.

Violently gang-raped when she was thirteen years old, and raped three more times before the age of eighteen, Madeleine has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.

Living in a state of shock and self-loathing, it took her years of struggle to confront the buried memories of that first attack and begin to undo the damage it wrought, as men continued to take advantage of her fragility in the worst possible way.

Yet, after growing up with a burden no teenager should ever have to shoulder, she found the heart to carry out the best revenge plan of all: leading a fulfilling and happy life. But the road to piecing her life back together was long and painful. For Madeleine, forgiveness was the key. True forgiveness takes genuine effort. It takes a real desire to understand those who have done us so much harm. It is the ultimate act of courage.

In Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity. We are not defined by what knocks us down – we are defined by how we get back up.

MY REVIEW:

“For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented, difficult to piece together and distant to non-existent. It was too extreme, too violent to understand.”

A harrowing, moving and powerful story of survival. 

At just thirteen-years-old Madeline Black was brutally raped and tortured by two men. Too terrified to tell anyone after her life is threatened, and filled with shame and guilt, she internalises and buries the ordeal. But it seeps out in other ways and she begins to act out, take drugs and act promiscuously. Every time her parents try to warn her that something bad might happen, the truth that it already has gets stuck in her throat, filled with words she feels unable to speak. Before she turns eighteen Madeline is raped on three more occasions and spends time in a psychiatric hosptial after attempting suicide. She had endured more in her short life than most of us ever will. 

“In that moment, I declared to myself that my best revenge on those who assaulted me would be to lead a good and happy life.” 

But this is a story that is so much more than the horrors she endured. This is the story of how she recognised her trauma, faced it and took the ultimate revenge on her attackers by thriving and going on to lead a happy and fulfilled life. 

Understandably this was not an easy book to read. I fought back tears and nausea and even had to put the book down a few times as the scenes depicting what she was subjected to were so horrifying. While that part of her story is necessary, the prevailing memory and message of this story is one of hope, bravery and survival. A reminder that you can survive a traumatic experience and turn it into something good, which Madeline does by not only living a happy life, but also working with the Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis and training as a psychologist. 

“I didn’t think my journey was so extraordinary, but the more I opened up to people, the more evidence I received to show me it was.”

Madeline is an incredible woman. To endure all she has and still thrive is remarkable and I am so glad that she felt able to share her story. I am filled with admiration for the strength and bravery she has shown and in her ability to find a path to forgiveness. 

Unbroken is an inspiring and empowering story that you won’t forget. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✫

Madeleine Black

MEET THE AUTHOR:

The sharing of her story on The Forgiveness Project’s website in September 2014, opened many doors for Madeleine in ways she never imagined and the invitations started to pour in.

She has taken part in both TV and radio interviews and has been invited to share her story at conferences, events and schools.

She recognises that she was a victim of a crime that left her silent for many years, but has now found her voice and intends to use it. Not just for her, but for so many who can’t find theirs yet.

She is married and lives in Glasgow with her husband, three daughters, her cat, Suki, and dog, Alfie.

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Blog Tours book reviews

Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: May 14th, 2020
Publisher: Orenda
Format: Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense,  Lesbian Literature, Youth Novel

TRIGGER WARNING: Child Abuse

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

Single-mother Fran returns to her sleepy hometown to care for her dying father when a devastating bush fire breaks out. A devastating, disaster-noir thriller from the author of The Cry.

Fran hates Ash Mountain, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.

She returns to her hometown to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.

As old friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…

Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…

MY REVIEW:

“There’s a firestorm coming straight for Ash Mountain.” 

For Fran Collins Ash Mountain is a place that holds unwanted memories and stirs a sense of anger and injustice inside her. She left as soon as she could but is now back to care for her dying father. Little has changed in the rural town where everybody knows your business and never lets you forget. But there are some dark, sinister secrets that are still waiting to be discovered….

The small, sleepy town of Ash Mountain and it’s residents are vividly brought to life in this captivating novel.  From the opening chapter with its descriptions of the sky red and black with fire and the unrelenting heat, the author immerses you in Fran’s world as clearly as if you were watching it on a movie screen. I could see the fire raging towards me, feel it  scorching my skin and the smoke choking my lungs. Later on, when the flames take hold and burn through the town, there are heartbreaking scenes as the residents are caught in its clutches and descriptions of charred bodies that serve as a stark reminder of the true cost of disasters such as these.

Though there are multiple narrators and the book tells the stories of many of Ash Mountain’s inhabitants, it is Fran’s story that is at the heart of the book. When we meet Fran she is in her early 40s and a single parent to sixteen-year-old Vonny. Her son Dante is now twenty-nine, the product of a scandalous one night stand when she was fifteen, and still lives in the small town. Fran is a likeable and relatable protagonist and as the story moves between multiple timelines spanning thirty years, we begin to understand why she has such venom for her hometown and many of its residents. But lurking in the shadows, there is a much darker story waiting to be unearthed. And as the tension rises, harrowing discoveries bring to light the town’s most sordid secrets.

Atmospheric, original and pulsing with tension, this was a quick and fast-paced read. It is the first time I’ve read one of Helen’s novels and I will definitely read more. Don’t miss the acknowledgments and photographer’s note at the back of the book to learn the story behind the book’s beautiful front cover.

Helen Fitzgerald Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of Dead Lovely (2007) and ten other adult and young adult thrillers, including My Last Confession (2009), The Donor (2011), The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and Viral (Out Feb 2016). Helen has worked as a criminal justice social worker for over ten years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband and two children.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

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Blog Tours book reviews Monthly Wrap Up

Monthly Wrap Up – April 2020

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I can’t believe we’re a third of the way through the year already. April has been a strange month for the world with us being in lockdown. For me, that’s meant mostly getting used to not having a quiet house during the day Monday to Friday, which is when I do a lot of my reading and blogging. I’ve also had to hand over my laptop to our eldest as his is broken so I’m restricted in my times I can write.

In terms of reading, April has been another strong month for me. I’ve read thirteen books, taken part in fifteen blog tours, two cover reveals, one readalong and one buddy read. So here is what I’ve read this month:

  1. Mine by Clare Empson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  2. Strangers by C.L. Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  3. The Philosopher’s Daughters by Alison Booth ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  4. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  5. All In Her Head by Nikki Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  6. The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton ⭐⭐⭐.5
  7. The Switch by Beth O’Leary ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  8. I Am Dust by Louise Beech ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  9. What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  10. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
  11. The Thunder Girls by Melanie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  12. The House Guest by Mark Edwards ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  13. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  14. So Many Lies by Paul J. Teague ⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can read the synopsis and reviews for what I’ve read this month by clicking on the links above except for The House Guest, which will be reviewed next month.

So many great books means it’s hard to choose a favourite. And this month it was almost impossible. I loved Hamnet and was sure nothing would top that; until I read the breathtaking debut novel, What’s Left Of Me Is Yours. I still think about that book many times each day and am constantly recommending everyone read it. So if you haven’t yet bought a copy you can use the links in my review to do it now! Other books I feel deserve a shout out are the fantastic thrillers Strangers and All In Her Head, the heartwarming and uplifting The Switch, and the brilliantly sinister I Am Dust. Each of these were also contenders for my book of the month.

Thank you to the publishers for my gifted copies of the books and the blog tour organisers for all their hard work.

What have you read this month and what was your favourite? Comment below.

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews

What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Published: April 21st, 2020
Publisher: W&N
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Literary Fiction

I am thrilled to be opening the blog tour today for this spectacular debut novel. Thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to W&N for the gifted copy of the book.

SYNOPSIS:

A gripping debut set in modern-day Tokyo and inspired by a true crime, What’s Left of Me Is Yours follows a young woman’s search for the truth about her mother’s life – and her murder.

In Japan, a covert industry has grown up around the wakaresaseya (literally “breaker-upper”), a person hired by one spouse to seduce the other in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings.

When Sato hires Kaitaro, a wakaresaseya agent, to have an affair with his wife, Rina, he assumes it will be an easy case. But Sato has never truly understood Rina or her desires and Kaitaro’s job is to do exactly that – until he does it too well.

While Rina remains ignorant of the circumstances that brought them together, she and Kaitaro fall in a desperate, singular love, setting in motion a series of violent acts that will forever haunt her daughter Sumiko’s life.

Told from alternating points of view and across the breathtaking landscapes of Japan, What’s Left of Me Is Yours explores the thorny psychological and moral grounds of the actions we take in the name of love, asking where we draw the line between passion and possession.

MY REVIEW:

“I realised that of all the lies we are told, the very best ones are close to the truth.” 

Do you ever find yourself deliberately slowing down your reading speed so you can savour a book and make it last? That’s what I found myself doing with this novel; feeling the need to soak it all in and appreciate the sheer beauty within its pages. 

Sumiko Sarashima was raised by her grandfather, Yoshi, following her mother’s death when she was just seven years old. She’s always believed that she died in a car accident, but then a phone call from the Ministry of Justice rocks her world – her mother was murdered. Her grandfather has lied her whole life and everything she knows about her mother and herself is an illusion. Sumiko embarks on a quest for the truth, battling the strict and rather antiquated Japanese laws to slowly unravel the mystery of her mother’s death and to find out who she really was.  

What’s Left Of Me Is Yours is, quite simply, a masterpiece. Compelling, evocative, atmospheric and affecting, this is a book you need to read. Themes of truth and justice are woven throughout the story as it reveals the seedy, shadowy underbelly of Japanese law and the devastating long-term effects on its citizens. But at the heart of it is a story about love and the lengths some will go to in the name of it. A tragic story of a family torn apart by love, resentment, secrets and lies, the author explores the long-term effects of grief and learning your life was an illusion. 

Stephanie Scott is an extraordinary new talent. I fell under her spell within the first few pages as the poetic prose tells the story with beauty and fluency. Flawlessly crafted, it has a calm, graceful pace that builds to a tense and shocking climax. One of my favourite aspects of this novel is the fascinating and eye-opening insights into the Japanese beliefs, way of life, laws and culture. I was charmed by things such as the traditional way Sumiko’s name is chosen and shocked at how harsh and austere their laws were and how little rights their citizens have in circumstances such as divorce and as victims of a crime. The work that has gone into this book: the detail and research, jumps from the pages, as does the stunning Japanese landscape that is portrayed with a rich, vivid imagery that transported me to a place I’ve never been and made me feel like I was seeing it right in front of me.

The story is told through a variety of voices: young and old, men and women, that are sensitively and expertly written; each voice is distinct, offering a unique perspective. Sumiko is the only narrator in the present day, the others giving their voices to flashbacks that slowly tell the story of events leading up to, and immediately following, Rina’s death. I loved Sumiko and Rina. Sumiko is a strong woman who knows where she’s going in life until the phone call forces her to reassess everything and begin a journey of self-discovery and being forced to begin the grieving process for her mother all over again. Rina was a character full of so much joy and so many plans for the future. It tore me apart reading it knowing she was living her final months and all that she would live to never see. 

The catalyst for Rina’s tragic death is her love affair with Kaitaro. Their story is beautifully written, a meeting of two souls finding true love, but it is also complex, with so much hidden beneath the surface that casts a shadow over their happiness, unbeknown to Rina. I could not fathom how they would get to a place where he took her life and was convinced he was innocent for so long. 

An absolute tour de force, What’s Left Of Me Is Yours is a lyrical, immersive, thought-provoking, dark and breathtaking debut. Everyone needs to read this book and I will be telling everyone I know, and even those I don’t to read it.  BUY IT NOW!

Stephanie Scott Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephanie Scott is a Singaporean and British writer who was born and raised in South East Asia. She read English Literature at the Universities of York and Cambridge and holds an M.St in Creative Writing from Oxford University.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

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BUY THE BOOK:

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My Pear-Shaped Life by Carmel Harrington – Extract

Final Pear Shaped Life Cover

Published: April 16th 2020
Publisher: HarperCollinsUK
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Genre: Humourous Fiction

Today I’m delighted to share an extract from this heartwarming and uplifting novel as part of the blog tour.. Thank you to Anne from Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part.

MY PEAR-SHAPED LIFE:

Chapter 1

Greta walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. She smiled her thanks to her mam, Emily, who placed a mug of dark brown tea in front of her. The Gales all drank their tea the same way – brewed or, as some might say, stewed.

‘Sleep OK?’ Emily asked.
‘Like a baby,’ Greta replied.
‘You didn’t take any more of those sleeping pills, did you?’ Emily’s forehead wrinkled in a frown.
‘Give over, Mam. I only take the odd one when my insomnia gets out of hand. I keep telling you that,’ Greta said. Her mother worried way too much. Greta had taken one the previous evening, as it happened, but there was no point worrying her mam admitting that. When it came to her parents, some things were better on a ‘need to know’ basis.
Greta opened her phone and flicked through Instagram.

‘Oh Mam look—’ Greta began, but was silenced with a shush and a wave at the TV screen. Mark Cagney, the main anchor of her mam’s favourite breakfast TV show Ireland:AM was speaking. Emily always denied that she had a crush on him, but when he spoke her face softened, and she hung on his every word.

Only when Mark had finished talking did Emily answer, ‘What’s that love?’

Greta pointed to a photograph of Dr Greta Gale, her famous namesake.

In the photo, Dr Gale was sitting on a red-brick wall, with the backdrop of a green ocean behind her, smiling to the camera. ‘Doesn’t she look beautiful?’

‘How does she get her hair to look like that?’ Emily asked, smoothing down her own shoulder-length bob. ‘Maybe I should grow mine out a bit.’

‘She probably has a glam squad at her disposal twenty- four/seven,’ Greta replied. ‘What do you think she means by being the same personally as well as privately and publicly?’

Drgretagale Be the same person privately, publicly and – most importantly – personally. Can I get a hell yeah? #inspirationalquotes #drgretagale #inspire #mindfulness #strong #whatsinyourcupboard

Emily put her glasses on to read the post beneath the photograph. ‘I don’t know. Half the stuff she posts is a load of mumbo jumbo if you ask me.’

‘Mam!’ Greta loved Dr Gale and wouldn’t have a word said against her. And that wasn’t just because they shared the same name – although that was part of it. It was more because Dr Gale epitomized everything that Greta wished she could be herself. Dr Gale was successful, beautiful and loved. She was living her best life. She represented hope for Greta. Maybe one day she too could have everything that Dr Gale had. There wasn’t a single post that Greta had not read. And with each new double tap of love, she felt her connection to her grow stronger.

Greta would lie in bed, late at night, knowing she should be at least making an attempt to sleep, but somehow unable to take her eyes off Dr Gale’s Instafeed. She would lose hours googling books, food, art and restaurants that Dr Gale tagged in a photo. She followed accounts that Dr Gale followed. Last year she bought a green kaftan similar to the one that Dr Gale wore to a beach party, but that had not ended well. On Dr Gale the kaftan looked very boho chic. On Greta it looked as if she’d eaten all the pies.

More than how Dr Gale looked, lately her Instagram posts felt as if they were speaking directly to Greta. Every word seemed like a secret message just for her, as if Dr Gale had looked into Greta’s mind and knew exactly what to say to help her, support her, advise her.

Carmel Author Pic

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carmel Harrington is an internationally published novelist from Co. Wexford, where she lives with her family. She has been shortlisted twice (2016 & 2017) for an Irish Book Award and won both the Romantic eBook of The Year and Kindle Book of The Year in 2013. Her books, all regular chart-toppers, have captured the hearts of readers worldwide and are translated into eight languages to date, sold into eleven territories. My Pear-Shaped Life (Harper Collins) will be published in April 2020. Other books include the number one Amazon and Irish Times bestseller A Thousand Roads Home  (Harper Collins), the official ITV novel Cold Feet The Lost Years (Hodder & Stoughton) and The Woman at 72 Derry Lane (Harper Collins). She is a co-founder of The Inspiration Project, a coaching writing retreat and was Chair of Wexford Literary Festival from 2015 – 2018.  Carmel is represented by Rowan Lawton of the Soho Agency.

Her other bestsellers include The Things I Should Have Told You, Every Time A Bell Rings, The Life You Left and Beyond Grace’s Rainbow.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

Website
Twitter
Facebook

BUY THE BOOK:

Amazon
Waterstone
Book Depository
Google Books
Apple Books
Kobo

FINAL My Pear Shaped Life BT Poster