COVER REVEAL: BREAKFAST AT POLDARK'S BY SAMANTHA TONGE

I am delighted to share with you the cover of Samantha Tonge's new novel, Breakfast at Poldark's

GIVEAWAY

I am feeling generous today so I am giving one winner the book of their choice from the book depository up to the value of €10.00. You can enter below and I will contact the winner when the giveaway closes.

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Review: Sycamore Gap by LJ Ross

I would like to thank the author for giving me a copy of Sycamore Gap in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb:

The past never stays buried for long... Detective Chief Inspector Ryan believes he has put his turbulent history behind him. Then, in the early hours of the summer solstice, the skeleton of a young woman is found inside the Roman Wall at Sycamore Gap. She has lain undiscovered for ten years and it is Ryan's job to piece together her past. Enquiry lines cross and merge as Ryan is forced to face his own demons and enter into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who seems unstoppable. Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular scenery of Hadrian's Wall country in Northumberland.

I couldn't get enough of DCI Ryan first time around, so I was delighted to sink my teeth into the second DCI Ryan novel.  After enjoying Holy Island so much, I am delighted to say that Sycamore Gap didn't disappoint.  I loved the story line, and all the twists and turns that are thrown in along the way.   Sycamore Gap is a book that made me expect the unexpected.  

I loved the characters in Holy Island and I loved that they are more developed in this installment.  I especially loved that we got to see more of Anna in this novel, and I hope that her character is developed more and more in the future installments.  If it's even possible, Sycamore Gap is even better than Holy Island.  From the word go I was sucked into this story and remained gripped throughout.  As the chapters went on, and more and more surprises started to appear, the more engrossed in the story I became.  

What I loved most about this novel is that even though it is a crime novel, everything is explained brilliantly, which is very rare in some novels of this genre.  The other thing I loved about this novel was the way that the scenery was described.  Before I opened this book, I went on Google and looked up images of Hadrian's Wall, which really helped me to see the story unfolding in my mind's eye.  The author has done a fantastic job in her descriptions, and is extremely talented in making the story come to life with her writing.

Even though this is the second book in a series, Sycamore Gap can be read as a stand alone.  This book is utterly gripping and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end and I can't wait to get my nose into Havenfield.  This is a must read for fans of crime fiction.

5 stars

The Second Love of my Life by Victoria Walters

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book through bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review.

Rose was just 24 when the love of her life was taken from her in a tragic car accident, leaving her a widow and wondering if she will ever love again.  The accident changed her whole world, once an avid painter, Rose can't find it in her heart to pick up a paintbrush and start painting again.  She sold the home that she shared with her husband, Lucas, and has had to start again to try to build a new life.  Having lost her mother a few years before the accident, the only people that Rose has to turn to are Lucas' parents and her best friends, Emma and John.  But the Robert arrives in Tatling to spend the summer, and Rose has to learn to forgive and maybe even to love again.

The cover if this book is just beautiful and very striking.  The yellow sun on the blue background makes it very eye-catching.  This along with the incredible title, makes the book a winner visually.  I know that if I walked into a book shop and saw this sitting on the shelf, it would be mine in the blink of an eye.

I thought this book would be funny and uplifting, which it was, but I wasn't expecting to feel the rollercoaster of emotions that I felt whilst reading The Second Love of my Life.  At the start of the book when Rose was trying to deal with living her life without Lucas in it, I felt lost, just like she was.  Throughout the book, I was happy and then sad and than happy again.  My emotions changed every time I turned the page and I was astonished at how the author had managed to bring out so much emotion in me.

Rose as a leading character was a breath of fresh air.  In so many books, the leading lady gets everything she wants and everything turns out great for her at the end.  The fact that this didn't happen to Rose is what made her believable and relatable.  Rose is such an engaging character and I loved her from the very first page.  I adored the friendship between Rose and Emma.  When Robert was first introduced to the story, I wasn't sure about what I though of him, but by the end of the book, I really admired his character.

The Second Love of my Life is engaging and fascinating.  It is based around an event that could effect anyone at any time and it really made me think, and even though I finished the book a few days ago, Rose's story has stayed with me and I expect that it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Victoria Walters has penned a beautifully real and thought provoking read.  She should be applauded for the way that she handled the story with such care and attention and also for making it authentic.  I only hope that this book gets all the praise and attention that it so rightfully deserves.  The author is one to watch and is unquestionably talented when it comes to penning a novel.  The Second Love of my Life is a must read and will not disappoint.

5 stars

COVER REVEAL: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

This evening I am delighted to share the cover and the prologue of Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.  The book will be published by Hodder & Stoughton in September.

The UK jacket is the blue with the upside down moth and the USA’s is the yellow and blue fluttering moths.

Prologue
On the second sabbat of Twelfthmoon, in the city of Weep, a girl fell from the sky.
Her skin was blue, her blood was red.
She broke over an iron gate, crimping it on impact, and there she hung, impossibly arched, graceful as a temple dancer swooning on a lover’s arm. One slick finial anchored her in place. Its point, protruding from her sternum, glittered like a brooch. She fluttered briefly as her ghost shook loose, and then her hands relaxed, shedding fistfuls of freshly picked torch ginger buds.
Later, they would say these had been hummingbird hearts and not blossoms at all.
They would say she hadn’t shed blood but wept it. That she was lewd, tonguing her teeth at them, upside down and dying, that she vomited a serpent that turned to smoke when it hit the ground. They would say a flock of moths had come, frantic, and tried to lift her away.
That was true. Only that.
They hadn’t a prayer, though. The moths were no bigger than the startled mouths of children, and even dozens together could only pluck at the strands of her darkening hair until their wings sagged, sodden with her blood. They were purled away with the blossoms as a grit-choked gust came blasting down the street. The earth heaved underfoot. The sky spun on its axis. A queer brilliance lanced through billowing smoke, and the people of Weep had to squint against it. Blowing grit and hot light and the stink
of saltpeter. There had been an explosion. They might have died, all and easily, but only this girl had, shaken from some pocket of the sky.
Her feet were bare, her mouth stained damson. Her pockets were all full of plums. She was young and lovely and surprised and dead.
She was also blue.
Blue as opals, pale blue. Blue as cornflowers, or dragonfly wings, or a spring—not summer—sky.
Someone screamed. The scream drew others. The others screamed, too, not because a girl was dead, but because the girl was blue, and this meant something in the city of Weep. Even after the sky stopped reeling, and the earth settled, and the last fume spluttered from the blast site and dispersed, the screams went on, feeding themselves from voice to voice, a virus of the air.
The blue girl’s ghost gathered itself and perched, bereft, upon the spearpoint-tip of the projecting finial, just an inch above her own still chest. Gasping in shock, she tilted back her invisible head and gazed, mournfully, up.
The screams went on and on.
And across the city, atop a monolithic wedge of seamless, mirror-smooth metal, a statue stirred, as though awakened by the tumult, and slowly lifted its great horned head.

BLOG TOUR: The Song Collector by Natasha Solomons

I would like to thank the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

After his beloved wife's death, the composer Harry Fox-Talbot is unable to write a single note, until one day he discovers his troublesome young grandson is a piano prodigy.

As the music returns, Fox is compelled to re-engage with life - and, ultimately, to confront an old and bitter rift.  One with its roots in 1946, when he gave up his dreams of a musical career to help save the family home from ruin; and when he fell for his brother's girlfriend, the celebrated wartime singer, Edie Rose.

This is the entrancing tale of a man whose passion for music, an elusive woman and the English landscapes of his youth are inextricably intertwined.  A man who finally finds joy in the wake of grief, and learns that it is never too late to seek forgiveness.

I must admit that prior to receiving this book from the publisher, I had no knowledge of Natasha Solomons or her work.  It is only very recently that I have delved into the world of historical fiction and as it is still quite new to me, I had no idea what to expect from this book.  I was absolutely blown away by this utterly beautiful tale.  The book begins after the second world war and takes us up to June 2007.  The story is told from the point of view of Harry Fox-Talbot.  When we meet this character first, he is a bitter old man who cares about no one but himself.  I think that the transitions we see of this character from bitter old man to the man he turns into at the end of the book is what gives this book it's sparkle.

I love the way that this book moves through time. The transitions between the time frames are effortless and I loved seeing the contrast between the man that Harry was in his early 20's and the man that he is now, in his 70's.  This story is so real and could have taken place anywhere in the world in reality.  Even though I adored the character of Harry, it was Edie who stole the show for me.

Music is something that everybody can relate to and I think that is because of this that The Song Collector shines as much as it does.  It is something that everyone can relate to and I believe that anyone that picks up this book will fall in love with this timeless beautiful story.   This novel is different to anything I have ever read in the past and I doubt that I will ever read anything like this again for a very long time.  It is utterly unputdownable and Natasha Solomons is one of the most beautifully talented storytellers that I have ever had the pleasure to come across.

The Song Collector is a must read and no one who picks up this book will regret it.

5 stars

Hunt for the Enemy by Rob Sinclair

I would like to thank the author for my copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Blurb:

They've erased his past. Wiped out his very existence. But Carl Logan isn't finished yet. On the run in a harsh Russian winter, Logan - once an invaluable asset but now branded a traitor - has been framed for murder. His own firm, the secretive Joint Intelligence Agency, have labeled him a rogue operative after two decades of loyal service. The agency is hunting him down... and they're not the only ones. But there's much more at stake than just Logan's life. One by one, agents and informants from all sides, all allegiances, are dying. And Carl Logan is the only man who can put a stop to it, once and for all.

This is the last book in the Enemy series and even though I hadn't read any of the previous books in this series, I found myself immersed in the story from the very beginning.  Like with all series' it is best of you read all of the instalments but it was not necessary in order to enjoy this book.

As this book switched between time periods, it is a little bit confusing at first, I found I had to keep flicking back to see where that particular part of the story was set, but after the first ten percent, I got used to way the book was written and I found that I was able to understand what was happening more and more, as the book went on.

This is not my usual kind of book, but I have to admit that I really did like it.  It took me a while to get around to reading it, but once I started I wasn't able to put it down for a minute and I ended up reading it in just a few short hours.  

The character of Carl Logan was very well written and I loved that he was written in a way that made him feel like a real person.  As I have not read the first two books in the series YET, I don't know what way he was written in the previous two book, but I am dying to find out.  

Hunt for the Enemy has so many twists and turns that at times I had to take a few minutes to process what had happened in the book.  The suspence had me on the edge of my seat throughout.  This genre isn't one that I read much of, and I didn't know what to expect from the book.  I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

I am very much looking forward to going back and reading the first two instalments.

4/5 stars