Friday 30 September 2016

A Cornish Christmas
by
Lily Graham

**BLOG BLITZ**

Today, I'm hosting a Blog Blitz for this gorgeous Christmas book by Lily Graham which is published today. I love this cover and can't wait to read this! Enjoy an extract.






Nestled in the Cornish village of Cloudsea, sits Sea Cottage – the perfect place for some Christmas magic … At last Ivy is looking forward to Christmas. She and her husband Stuart have moved to their perfect little cottage by the sea - a haven alongside the rugged cliffs that look out to the Atlantic Ocean. She’s pregnant with their much-longed for first baby and for the first time, since the death of her beloved mother, Ivy feels like things are going to be alright. But there is trouble ahead. It soon emerges that Stuart has been keeping secrets from Ivy, and suddenly she misses her mum more than ever. When Ivy stumbles across a letter from her mother hidden in an old writing desk, secrets from the past come hurtling into the present. But could her mother’s words help Ivy in her time of need? Ivy is about to discover that the future is full of unexpected surprises and Christmas at Sea Cottage promises to be one to remember. This Christmas warm your heart and escape to the Cornish coast for an uplifting story of love, secrets and new beginnings that you will remember for many Christmases to come.


UK: http://amzn.to/2atWI7G 
US: http://amzn.to/2azduwO


www.facebook.com/LilyRoseGrahamAuthor 
www.twitter.com/Lilywritesbooks https://lilygraham.net/




About Lily Graham


Lily has been telling stories since she was a child, starting with her imaginary rabbit, Stephanus, and their adventures in the enchanted peach tree in her garden, which she envisioned as a magical portal to Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree. She’s never really got out of the habit of making things up, and still thinks of Stephanus rather fondly.
She lives with her husband and her English bulldog, Fudge, and brings her love for the sea and country-living to her fiction.

Sunday 25 September 2016

**COVER REVEAL**


If Ever I Fall
by
S D Robertson



I can't tell you how excited I am to see this cover! I loved the author's first novel, Time To Say Goodbye (it was one of my top 10 last year) and it did make me grab my tissues on more than one occasion! This novel sounds like it is going to be just as brilliant as the first....I can't wait!



Publishing in eBook and Paperback: 9th February 2017


Is holding on harder than letting go?
Dan’s life has fallen apart at the seams. He’s lost his house, his job, and now he’s going to lose his family too. All he’s ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair?

Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her.

Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man?

In the face of real tragedy, can these three people find a way to reconcile their past with a new future? And is love enough to carry them through?



Friday 23 September 2016

Casting Off
by
P I Paris
Blog Tour


Today, i'm on the final leg of the Blog Tour for Casting Off by P I Paris. I have an extract of Chapter one for you. I haven't had a chance to read this yet, but of the reviews I have read, it sounds a side splitting read! Enjoy Chapter One.....






Chapter One


Mr Ferguson was dead. Miss Ross could tell by the feet. They were sticking out of his bedroom door into the corridor along which she had been walking. One foot, partly covered by a thin, brown sock, was only slightly less repulsive than the other, which was bare and purple, with badly trimmed and not very clean toenails.

She acknowledged her diagnosis was hardly scientific. Even the pathologist in Lewis would have made a brief examination of the body before announcing the victim had been dead for so many hours and minutes. However, the feet looked so lifeless that, well, one reaches an age when you simply know these things.

With no desire to risk seeing other naked, potentially purple bits of the old man, Miss Ross turned around and set off to find a member of staff.

This was the second resident to die in the last few weeks. Soon there would be two new faces in the dining room, staring around in surprise. (Wasn’t it only the other month that they were young?)

The deceased was removed discreetly by Mr Dunn, the local undertaker. It was a sad reflection of their lives that he visited more often than many families, a point not lost on Dorothy, who hadn’t seen her son forever such a long time. The thing was, she never wanted to appear interfering and increasingly waited for Andrew to make contact, while he, in turn, increasingly did not. Everyone seemed so busy these days. Everyone, that is, except those living at We Care For You.

Dorothy felt they shouldn’t complain. You got on with the task ahead, regardless of what fate put in the way. They had had their lives. One had to make room for new generations and as people got older they needed less and less room until . . . there was Mr Dunn.

Of course, this latest departure was the main topic of conversation over lunch. Being the third Tuesday in the month, this was boeuf bourguignon, a description that initially put off several people until they realised it meant meat stew. The cook, brought in recently by the new owners, knew a great deal more about food than she did about elderly folk.

‘Poor Mr Ferguson,’ said Dorothy. ‘Coming upon his body like that must have been a terrible shock, Miss Ross.’

‘I knew he was dead as soon as I saw his sole.’

‘My goodness, you saw his soul! What did it look like?’
‘Not very pleasant . . . purple and a bit fluffy.’

‘Purple?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, I never. And a bit . . . fluffy?’

‘Someone needs to show that new cleaner how to use a Hoover properly.’

‘The cleaner . . .?’

‘She’s from Poland.’

‘Oh . . . don’t they have Hoovers?’

‘You would hope so, but she needs to be shown how we use one in Great Britain.’

‘Mmm . . . I see.’

It was obvious that Dorothy didn’t see. She could be exasperatingly slow on the uptake on occasions. There was no hint of dementia or that sort of thing, not like some in the care home who displayed significantly more than a hint. No, what lay behind those large NHS glasses with their red-tinged frames was more of an . . . innocence.

She could have been an exhibit, plucked straight out of one of the museums of ‘bygone days’ that seem to have sprung up in even the smallest towns. Magically brought to life in her long A-line skirt, blouse and hand-knitted cardigan, Dorothy was a living reminder of an era long gone when things were so much simpler and wholesome. It was partly why there was something so very appealing about her.

‘It’s a sign of the times,’ said Joyce, tucking into a second helping. She was an enigma as regards eating. Without exception the others gradually ate smaller meals, becoming thinner and more frail as the years passed, but Joyce was, to put it bluntly, rather the opposite. ‘I think it’s all part of this dumbing down people keep talking about. Nothing’s the same as it used to be . . . portions in restaurants . . . standards of behaviour . . . Hoovering.’

Miss Ross groaned inwardly, sensing the start of yet another conversation about how the good old days were so much better. She was saved by the appearance of Walter, a pleasant man, someone who would have at one time been referred to as ‘dapper’. He was a completely changed per- son from the sad figure who had arrived eighteen months earlier, broken by the death of his wife of more than forty years.

His lovely niece had made such a huge difference to him over the last three months, visiting every Thursday without fail. She always had time to blether, helping out with little tasks if she could and often staying for most of the day. Yes, an altogether thoroughly nice young woman.

‘Mind if I join you?’ asked Walter.

The women around the table smiled and nodded. In reality he didn’t need their permission at all, but it was polite of him to ask and it made them feel as though they could still make decisions.

‘We were discussing poor Mr Ferguson,’ said Dorothy.

‘I wonder who we’ll get to replace him,’ said Deirdre. ‘I hear there’s someone called Joan taking the other empty room.’

Miss Ross didn’t bother asking how she knew, suspect- ing that the information had been obtained during one of her many spying sessions. Deirdre had a habit of stopping to catch her breath in strategic doorways. She was the home’s official source of gossip and its unofficial authority on morals, particularly other people’s.

‘I wish they would do something about that man,’ said Deirdre, her eyes resting on Mr Forsyth, naked as the day he was born eighty-four years earlier. It was not an uncommon sight and the majority of those present simply carried on with their meal. Ben, one of the young male carers, appeared only seconds later with a dressing gown, which he deftly got him into.

‘Here you are, Mr Forsyth. You’ll catch cold without this and that wouldn’t be any good, would it?’

The old man seemed as happy to be with clothes as without and once suitably attired he sat at a table and Ben fetched him something to eat.

There were activities in the home most days, as well as visits by a variety of professionals, from the local hairdresser to the optician, both of whom brought with them an array of portable equipment. That afternoon was the turn of the dentist and the gentleman with his accordion. The former was often known to sing during his sessions and although he didn’t have a great voice he certainly knew more tunes than the latter.

Walter usually retired to his bedroom when this particular musician came. He would pursue one of his favourite hobbies of choosing a famous game of chess between grandmasters of the past and then playing out the moves on his beautiful handmade board. He had lacked an opponent when he’d first rekindled his interest six months earlier. That was before Julie started visiting. Everything in his life had changed dramatically since then. Having a chess partner was only a tiny part of it.



Amazon Link click here






Thank you to Black & White Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to review.


Thursday 22 September 2016

Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky
(A Town Called Christmas - Book 1)
by
Holly Martin


Guest Review by Julie Williams




It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...........

The season of goodwill will soon be upon us, so here is the first review of the season! Thank you to my good friend Julie Williams for reviewing Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky by Holly Martin.




Guest Review by Julie Williams

I just love Holly’s Christmas books and couldn’t wait to get stuck into this one so when I was approved on Net Galley I got straight into it. Of course I was not disappointed, Holly you are a firm Christmas author favourite.

After being left in a box in an orchard, more tragedy struck as Piper's adopted Mum died when she was only 7 years old. Then her adopted Dad hit the bottle and spiralled into depression leaving Piper to fend for herself. Fortunately her childhood best friend Gabe Whittaker and his family show her how family life should be like. As the years pass Gabe & Pip, as he affectionately calls her, grow closer and become boyfriend and girlfriend. Then a dreadful accident changes everything.

Fast forward to twelve years later and Piper who has been a travel reviewer for the Tree Of Life magazine, decides that after one more assignment she will take a sabbatical, as living out of a suitcase for 10 years is losing its appeal. She arrives in style on Juniper Island, a place she has fond childhood memories of with the Whittaker’s and discovers that the owner of the gorgeous Stardust Lake Hotel is none other than Gabe. After a frosty reunion, as both need answers to what led to Pips sudden departure all those years ago, they both know that the spark is still there. Should they fight it? With such a romantic setting it will be difficult. Falling in love again seems inevitable but both have so much to lose, Gabe has his adorable daughter Wren and Pip is terrified of being abandoned yet again.

Christmas Under A Cranberry Sky is a heart-warming story with believable and loveable characters. Juniper Island with its perfect location and Northern Lights is simply idyllic; please book me on the next available flight!

Tuesday 20 September 2016

COVER REVEAL

Willow Cottage Part Two - Christmas Cheer
by
Bella Osborne

Today, I have another Christmassy cover for you for the second part of the Willow Cottage series. All these festive covers are starting to get me in the mood for the most wonderful time of the year!




Publishing in EB on October 20th 2017

Come in, there’s a cup of cocoa waiting for you.
Put your feet up, request this on Netgalley and relax into part two of this cosy and heartwarming seasonal romance.


To pre-order this book click here 


Monday 19 September 2016

The Day I Lost You
by
Fionnuala Kearney
Blog Tour






I am beyond delighted to be able to kick off the Blog Tour for The Day I Lost you. My very good friend and guest reviewer, Julie Williams pipped me to the post with reading this one, so she has kindly reviewed it for me! 


When Jess’s daughter, Anna, is reported lost in an avalanche, everything changes.
Jess’s first instinct is to protect Rose, Anna’s five-year-old daughter. But then she starts to uncover Anna’s other life - unearthing a secret that alters their whole world irrevocably . . .
THE DAY I LOST YOU WAS THE DAY YOU TORE OUR FAMILY APART



Guest review by Julie Williams


Jess has shared her home & life with her daughter Anna and 5 year old granddaughter Rose for years, but when Anna goes missing presumed dead after an avalanche during a skiing holiday everything changes. Jess struggles to hold it together for the sake of her beloved Rose. Jess discovers that she really doesn’t know her daughter after all and bit by bit Anna’s dark secrets are uncovered causing even more heartache and confusion.

I found the characters in this book intriguing and particularly liked that we got to ‘hear’ Anna through her blog. 

The Day I Lost You is a truly emotional packed read that is a real page turner. 

This is the first book that I have read by Fionnuala Kearney but will definitely be looking out for future books by this author.



To pre-order this book click here


Sunday 18 September 2016

** COVER REVEAL **

GEORGE IS BACK...........


I love this series and I am very excited for the fourth part of the George McKenzie series to be released. Here is the over for the next instalment, The Girl Who Had No Fear and by the title alone, I can tell it's going to be a cracker!! Can't wait.....




Publishing in EB: 14th November

The fourth gripping thriller in the Georgina McKenzie series.
Amsterdam: a city where sex sells and drugs come easy. Four dead bodies have been pulled from the canals – and that number’s rising fast. Is a serial killer on the loose? Or are young clubbers falling prey to a lethal batch of crystal meth?
Chief Inspector Van den Bergen calls on criminologist Georgina McKenzie to help him solve this mystery. George goes deep undercover among the violent gangs of Central America. Working for the vicious head of a Mexican cartel, she must risk her own life to find the truth. With murder everywhere she turns, can George get people to talk before she is silenced for good?


Friday 16 September 2016

Christmas at The Little Village Bakery
by
Tilly Tennant
Blog Blitz

Today, i'm pleased to promote the new Christmassy book by Tilly Tennant on a Blog Blitz! This is a new one for me so I hope you enjoy! Love the cover as well...



UK: http://amzn.to/29glVkf 
US: http://amzn.to/295yTw0



It’s time to get toasty by the fire with a glass of mulled wine and a slice of chocolate yule log sprinkled with a little romance. Welcome to Christmas at the Little Village Bakery. Snow is falling in Honeybourne and Spencer is bringing home his American fiancée Tori for a traditional English Christmas with all the trimmings. But when his hippie mum and dad meet her high-maintenance parents, sparks of the wrong sort start to fly. Then Spencer bumps into his first love Jasmine and unexpected feelings come flooding back. Millie is run off her feet with Christmas orders at the Little Village Bakery and new baby Oscar. Thank goodness her cousin Darcie is here to help her. Although she does seem to be rather flirty with Millie’s boyfriend Dylan. Will Darcie ever find true love of her own? And is marrying Tori a terrible mistake for Spencer if his heart is with someone else? A heartwarming Christmassy romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews and Milly Johnson.



THE LITTLE VILLAGE BAKERY by Tilly Tennant was published in June 2016. 


UK: http://amzn.to/24lNnTt 

US: http://amzn.to/1VI2O3x




About Tilly Tennant



From a young age, Tilly Tennant was convinced that she was destined for the stage. Once she realised she wasn’t actually very good at anything that would put her on the stage, she started to write stories instead. There were lots of terrible ones, likeThe Pet Rescue Gang (aged eight), which definitely should not see the light of day ever again. Thankfully, her debut novel,Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn was not one of those, and since it hit the Amazon best seller lists she hasn’t looked back. Born in Dorset, she currently lives in Staffordshire with her husband, two daughters, three guitars, four ukuleles, two violins and a kazoo. www.tillytennant.com

Thursday 15 September 2016

The Cake Shop in the Garden
by
Carole Matthews



I Know it's very late in the day and I can only apologise for leaving it so long, but here is my review for The Cake Shop in the Garden by Carole Matthews.



Review

Please don’t ask me why it has taken me so long to read this book as I simply don’t know the answer!! Everyone I know has read it so it was one of the books I chose to take on holiday with me this year and boy was it worth waiting for!

Fay Merryweather is the main carer for her mother who is bedridden (through her own choice!) whilst running a cake shop from her garden and narrow boat which belonged to her beloved Dad. Lija is Fay’s helper in the cake shop and her grasp of the English language leaves a lot to be desired! In fact, she is a fantastic character and had me belly laughing with her antics!

When a narrow boat pulls up alongside hers, Fay is interested to see who it belongs to and out pops Danny Wilde. Fay starts to feel things she has never felt before and she is not sure how to deal with it!!

When tragedy strikes Fay’s life is turned upside down and she is left to deal with some very tough decisions. Is blood thicker than water? And if so, will there be a happy ever after for the girl who only ever wanted to be loved?

This is a fabulous story of family life, jealousy, selfishness and love. There are some very funny bits in this book (as usual in Carole Matthew’s books), but also some serious parts about families and how jealousy can tear a family apart.

I loved this book and hear on the grapevine that there will be a sequel. If so, I cannot wait for it and will definitely not be leaving it as long to read that!!


Thank you Carole for another super novel. They just seem to be getting better and better.




Below are some photos from the book launch which was held in Russell Square last year.


             Me and Carole                                      Even her Majesty came!


                                      Some of the gorgeous cup cakes





To order a copy of this book click here 

Wednesday 14 September 2016

The Secret Wife
By
Gill Paul
Book Launch
Review



Recently I was very lucky enough to be sent an invitation to Gill Paul's book launch for The Secret Wife. It was held in The Open Russia Club in Hanover Square on what was one of the hottest days of the year! There were lots of cold drinks to quench everyone's thirst, along with cupcakes and of course.......vodka!






The Secret Wife tells the story of Grand Duchess Tatiana and Cavalry Officer Dmitri and how events changed their lives forever. A moving and tragic love story that had me in tears on more than one occasion!

This story was so fascinating that I am hoping to read more about the Romanovs and what may have happened to them during the Great War.

Many thanks to Gill Paul for inviting me to the book launch, it was a great evening and i'm sure this book will be a huge success, it certainly deserves to be.

Review

I was really eager to read this book as I loved the author’s previous novel (No Place for A Lady) and was lucky enough to get on to the Blog Tour for The Secret Wife. It did not disappoint! It is beautifully written and can only apologise that I didn’t get to finish it in time to review for the blog tour!


This is a dual storyline book that tells you the story of Grand Duchess Tatiana who nurses Dmitri when he injures his leg during the war. They soon become very close and when Dmitri is discharged from hospital they start planning their lives together.


Meanwhile in 2016 Kitty is trying to overcome a broken heart as her husband Tom has cheated on her and decides to flee to a cabin she has been left by her Great Grandfather Dmitri on the shores of Lake Akanabee in America to lick her wounds, only to discover a brooch amongst other things at the cabin that is a genuine Faberge!


This is an amazing storyline and has obviously been researched thoroughly by the author. The characters in this book were superbly written and described and I found myself feeling so sad for Tatiana and what her possible fate would be. I had all sorts of feelings for Dmitri, ranging from sympathy to despair sometimes!


I don’t want to give too much away, but it is truly a tragic love story which I can guarantee will leave you fulfilled and heartbroken at the same time!


Thank you Gill Paul for another fabulous book.




Tuesday 13 September 2016

The Secret
by
Kathryn Hughes
Blog Tour





Today, it's my pleasure to be a part of the Blog Tour for The Secret by Kathryn Hughes. Enjoy an extract from the book, so sit back and enjoy.......



EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER ONE


June 1975
She had first married Thomas Roberts in the school playground when she was five years old. The ceremony had been days in the planning, and when the time came she’d worn one of her mother’s net curtains fashioned into a makeshift veil and topped with a halo of daisies, and everybody agreed that she looked just like a real bride. Thomas presented her with a little clutch of hand-picked wild flowers he had collected on his way to school, and they’d stood hand in hand as little Davy Stewart officiated. Davy’s speech was impaired by a crippling stammer, and his jam-jar glasses magnified his eyes to the size of a bush baby’s, but he was a choirboy and the closest thing they had to a vicar.

Mary smiled at the memory as she turned to one side and admired her profile in the full-length mirror. She ran her hand tenderly over the swell of her belly, admiring the way it jutted out from just beneath her breasts and formed a perfect dome. She placed her hands in the small of her back, leaned forward and studied her complexion for any signs that she might be blooming. The bootees she had bought from Woolworths, a neutral lemon colour, lay on the dressing table. She buried her nose in the wool, but without little feet to warm them, they smelled new and sterile. At the sound of her husband clumping up the stairs, she thrust the bootees back in the drawer and just managed to whip out the pillow from under her dress before he opened the bedroom door.

‘There you are, love. What’re you doing up here?’

She bashed the pillow back into shape and laid it on the bed. ‘Nothing, just tidying up a bit.’
‘What, again? Come here.’ He pulled her close, nudged her blond hair to one side and kissed her on the neck.
‘Oh, Thomas, what if I’m not pregnant?’ She tried to keep the whining note out of her voice, but she’d tasted disappointment so many times before that it was becoming difficult to remain positive.

He grabbed her round the waist with both hands and wrestled her on to the bed. ‘Then we’ll just have to keep trying.’ He burrowed his face into her neck, and she detected the familiar lingering smell of coal dust in his hair.

‘Thomas?’
He propped himself up on his elbows and gazed into her face. ‘What?’
‘You will hand your notice in if I am pregnant, won’t you?’
Thomas sighed. ‘If that’s what you want, Mary, yes, I will.’
‘I can’t look after a baby and run the guest house by myself, can I?’ she reasoned.
Thomas gazed at her, a crease of worry lining his forehead. ‘It’ll be tough, though, Mary. I mean, we’ve just had a thirty-five per cent pay increase. It’s a lot to give up, you can’t deny that.’
‘I know, love, but it’s such a dangerous job and you hate the long commute to the pit.’
‘You’re not wrong there,’ he conceded. ‘What time’s your appointment at the doctor’s?’
‘Three.’ She stroked a finger down the side of his cheek. ‘I wish you could come with me.’
He kissed her fingertip. ‘So do I, Mary, but I’ll be thinking of you and we can celebrate when I get home, can’t we?’
‘I hate it when you have to work the night shift.’
‘It’s not exactly a barrel of laughs for me either.’ It was said with a smile that removed any hint of rancour from his words.

As he sat on the bed to pull his boots on, Mary snuggled up beside him. ‘I love you so much, Thomas.’

He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. ‘I love you too, Mary, and I just know you’re going to make a cracking mother.’

Ever since their official wedding night, three years ago, they had been trying for a baby. Mary had not envisaged it being so difficult, and at thirty-one years of age, she was all too aware that time was running out. She was born to be a mother, she knew it, had always known it, and she could not understand why God was punishing her in this way. With each passing month, as the familiar dragging sensation crept into her stomach and the cramps took hold, a little more of her optimism had ebbed away, and her yearning to have a baby had become ever stronger. She was longing to be woken at four in the morning by a screaming infant, would relish having a bucket of terry nappies festering away in the corner of the kitchen. She wanted to look into her baby’s eyes and see the future. Most of all she wanted to see her Thomas with his strong arms tenderly cradling his baby – boy or girl, it didn’t matter – and to hear him being called ‘Daddy’.

She would stare too long at babies in the street and glare at mothers who shouted at their children. She had once pulled out a tissue and wiped the nose of a little kid when his useless mother seemed oblivious to the long candles of snot the child was trying to reach with his tongue. Needless to say, her interference had not been appreciated. Once, on the beach, she’d come across a young boy sitting by the shoreline all alone, taking in the deep, juddering sobs that all children did when they had been crying too much. It turned out he’d dropped his ice cream on the sand after only one lick and his mother was refusing to buy him another. Mary had led him by the hand to the ice cream van and bought him a 99, his beaming face all the thanks she needed.

Her mothering instincts were never far from the surface, and she was becoming more and more desperate to nurture a child of her own – hers and Thomas’s. As she listened to her husband moving round the kitchen downstairs, getting ready for his shift, she prayed that today just might be the day when her dream would start to become a reality.


To order your copy of The Secret click here


Monday 12 September 2016

The Magic of Ramblings
by
Kate Field
Blog Tour

Plus
Giveaway





Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction
Release Date: 8 September 2016
Publisher: Accent Press




Running away can be the answer if you run to the right place...
When Cassie accepts a job as companion to an old lady in a remote Lancashire village, she hopes for a quiet life where she can forget herself, her past and most especially men. The last thing she wants is to be drawn into saving a community that seems determined to take her to its heart - and to resuscitate hers...
Frances has lived a reclusive life at Ramblings, a Victorian Gothic mansion, for over thirty years and now Barney is hiding away there, forging a new life after his medical career ended in scandal. He doesn't trust the mysterious woman who comes to live with his rich aunt, especially when she starts to steal Frances' affection - and maybe his own too...



BUY LINK AMAZON




ABOUT KATE FIELD



Kate Field lives in Lancashire with her husband, daughter, and a recently arrived Russian Blue kitten, who may prove so distracting that she never has time to write again. The Magic of Ramblings is her first published novel. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateFieldAuthor/
Twitter: @katehaswords



GIVEAWAY
A £25 or equivalent Amazon Voucher


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday 11 September 2016

Blood Symmetry
by
Kate Rhodes

I have made it very clear to anybody who will listen, that I am a HUGE Kate Rhodes fan and if i'm ever asked who my favourite authors are, Kate is right up there!

When I was sent a copy of Kate Rhode's previous book in the Alice Quentin series, River of Souls, to find that I was mentioned in the acknowledgements was the absolute highlight of my blogging life! but to then find out that I had been mentioned in this book as well, is like a dream come true! Thank you Kate Rhodes, you are a fantastic author. I'm sorry that I stalk you on Twitter to keep asking when the next Alice book is due, but they are fabulous and keep em coming!!

I was very lucky that Kate sent me a copy of Blood Symmetry before I went on holiday, so off I went to Turkey with this book in my hand luggage and was nearly half way through it before I fell on to a sunbed!!

My review is below and I hope I have done this book justice and the series in general. They are all absolutely brilliant and keep me in suspense until the very last page!





Clare Riordan and her son Mikey are abducted from Clapham Common early one morning. Hours later, the boy is found wandering disorientated. Soon after, a pack of Clare's blood is left on a doorstep in the heart of the City of London.
Alice Quentin is brought in to help the traumatised child uncover his memories - which might lead them to his mother's captors. But she swiftly realises Clare is not the first victim... nor will she be the last.
The killers are driven by a desire for revenge... and in the end, it will all come down to blood.


Review

This is book 5 in the Alice Quentin series and I am so proud to say that again, I have been mentioned in the acknowledgements by the author. A lot of you may know I am a huge fan of Kate Rhodes’ books and I get very excited when a new one is due out!

As with last year, I was sent a copy of the book by the author just before I went on holiday, so it was my first read and I managed to get nearly half way through just on the plane!!

Clare Riordan and her son Mikey are abducted whilst out jogging on Clapham Common, but Mikey manages to escape and gets to a safe place. It is then Alice Quentin’s job to try and calm the boy down enough to get some vital information out of him so that the police can try and save his mother, before it’s too late.

Clare worked for NHS in Haematology field and as more people in the same line of work go missing, it is up to Alice to put the pieces together to try and find out the connection in time…….

What I loved about this (and the author’s other books), is that they are mainly set in South East London and as I come from round those parts, it makes it even more real for me as I know the street names well! Even where Mikey was picked up from when he managed to escape from his abductors was in Walworth and that’s where I was born!

This is such a clever, twisting story and a more personal one for the author (when you read the end), but nevertheless, it was still a fantastic story line and combines all the characters nicely. I am in such awe of how authors produce such intricate story lines that tie up in the end and this book is no exception. A wonderful piece of writing, as always, by Kate Rhodes and as usual, I can’t wait for the next one!

A real page turner if ever there was one! Thank you once again for writing such a beautiful piece of fiction that I will pass on to whoever will listen to me!!



To order a copy of this book click here