BOOK REVIEW THE OTHER PASSENGER BY LOUISE CANDLISH

You’re feeling pretty smug about your commute to work by riverboat. No more traffic gridlock or getting stuck on the tube in tunnels (you’re claustrophobic). Now you’ve got fresh air, an iconic Thames view, a whole lifestyle upgrade. You’ve made new friends on board — led by your hedonistic young neighbour, Kit — and just had your first official ‘water rats’ get-together.

The day after the drinks, Kit isn’t on the morning boat. The river landmarks are all the same, but something’s off. When you disembark, the police are waiting. Kit’s wife, Melia, has reported him missing and another passenger saw you arguing on the last boat home after your drinks. Police say you had a reason to lash out at him. To threaten him.

You protest. You and Kit are friends — ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is pointing the finger? What do they know about your private lives?

No, whatever coincidences might have occurred last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

Aren’t you?

Firstly thank you to Jess at Simon and Schuster for accepting my request to read on netgalley.Secondly wow…all the wows!!.Louise is a fantastic author who ive had pleasure of meeting a lot now and is lovely even with all her success!!This is an amazing book which is going to be another bestseller.It had everything, sex,lies,scandal and secrets.Written in the narrative of a man which is always interesting.You really get into his psyche.Unpredictable,steamy and addictive.I highly recommend this if you like thrillers that lock you in straight away and take you on a ride!Louise has the power to take the everyday situation with regular people like her readers and create a masterpiece of suspense and tension .Published 25th June .

BOOK REVIEW WHAT HAVE I DONE BY LAURA DOCKRILL

This is a raw and honest memoir about being devastated by post-partum psychosis and coming through the other side.

Laura Dockrill had an idyllic pregnancy and couldn’t wait to meet her new baby. But as she went into labour things began to go wrong and Laura started to struggle. A traumatic birth, anxiety about the baby, sleep deprivation, a slow recovery – all these things piled up until Laura (like any new mum) felt overwhelmed.

As many as 8 out of 10 new mums struggle in the weeks after birth. In Laura’s case these feelings escalated scarily quickly into post-partum psychosis. She became paranoid and delusional and had to be institutionalised for a fortnight without her baby. Throughout this time she was haunted by a sense of: ‘What have I done?’, at first as she wondered if she could cope with her baby, and later because she was trying to grasp at reality as she slipped into nightmarish delusion.

Laura’s experience was devastating but this is a hopeful book. Not only has Laura slowly recovered she has come out the other side stronger and more assured about parenting on her own terms. Now she is determined to break the silence around post-natal mental health and with her story tell new parents: you are not alone.

Thank you to the publishers on netgalley for approving my reading of this. This is a book that has been on my agenda for a while.

2 fun facts 1. Laura went to my daughters school to visit and she still remembers her colourful hair years on 2. That daughters early days were similar to jets. Yes i had post natal depression. I still have lot of mental health conditions.

One day i will share my story but back to this one.

This is bold,brave and beautiful. This is the honesty you need whether you have had kids or not. Its important as humans to know we are not alone in our suffering. Its ok to not be ok.

This book captures such a personal time that clearly was painful but Laura has opened her heart and soul and wrote her story.

Each persons pregnancy,labour ,afterbirth,bonding is different. However when yours doesnt go as smoothly as planned you will guilty. This guilt is so heavy and draining you dont see the light at the end of the tunnel. So books like this are so important.

Keep speaking and writing however inferior it seems to you.

Thank you to laura for sharing her story and i hope this will give hope to many and company to others.

Published 7th May

BLOG TOUR DARK CORNERS BY DARREN O’SULLIVAN

You thought you’d escaped your past

It’s been twenty years since Neve’s best friend Chloe went missing. Neve has never recovered and promised herself she’d never go back to that place.

But secrets can come back to haunt you

When Neve receives news that her first boyfriend Jamie has gone missing, she’s forced to return. Jamie has vanished without a trace in a disappearance that echoes the events of all those years ago. Somebody is watching and will stop at nothing until the truth about what took place that night is revealed …

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review and having me on the tour.

I love this author so was excited yo read this

Dark and chilling

Claustrophobic and atmospheric.

This took me right back to my teenage years as it written in alternate timelines.

Neve is haunted by the secrets of her past and when the past comes knocking what does she do.

Secrets,lies,loss,scandal ,love and friendship.

A excellent book that is unpredictable and keeps you guessing to the end.

Published 2nd april and do checl out the other blogs taking part

BOOK REVIEW Q BY CHRISTINA DALCHER

IN THIS WORLD, PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

Firsly thanks to hq for sending me the link to read on netgalley, my first one as im more of a physical reader.

I loved vox , which was her debut. This is a author whos not afraid to write the shock factor . Life kind of feels a bit strange that dystopian doesnt feel that different. But even so fiction is the cure.

As a mum of 2 special needs kids this was a challenging, thought provoking book. It makes you question your morals and ideas.

Chilling,thrilling and captivating.

Dark and disturbing but also scarily realistic.

Although not a easy read it also empowers women like her first book.

Published 30th April

BOOK REVIEW SINGLE BY K.L. SLATER

‘I keep feeling like I’m being watched – dropping the boys off at school, choosing wine at the supermarket – but when I turn around there’s nobody there…’
When single mother Darcy’s son falls from a rope bridge at a local playground, life stands still. She clutches his small, limp body, frozen, until a pair of strong hands push her aside, and she watches as George, a local doctor, saves her son’s life.
George is a single parent too, and with his twinkling hazel eyes, easy charm, and lack of wedding band is almost too good to be true, but coffee becomes lunch, lunch becomes dinner, and soon they can’t go an evening without seeing each other. When he invites her to move into his beautiful home with its sprawling garden for her boys, Darcy doesn’t hesitate.
But as Darcy is settling in, she receives a bunch of flowers with a chilling message. George says they’re from an obsessed ex-girlfriend, Opal, and days later Opal turns up at Darcy’s son’s football match. She claims to have shocking information that could threaten George’s custody of his daughter.

Darcy doesn’t know who to trust, but she’s starting to suspect that, whatever the truth, she might have put her beloved boys into terrible danger …

This is the first book from this author ive read and now need all her books . This is a amazing writer who clearly knows hows to write a psychological thriller.

Twists and turns and completely unpredictable . I was blown away .

Who can you trust?

And surely she’s found the perfect guy to start a future with.

Addictive amd compelling reading

BLOG TOUR MINE BY CLARE EMPSON

‘Who am I? Why am I here? Why did my mother give me away?’

On the surface, Luke and his girlfriend Hannah seem to have a perfect life. He’s an A&R man, she’s an arts correspondent and they are devoted to their new-born son Samuel.

But beneath the gloss Luke has always felt like an outsider. So when he finds his birth mother Alice, the instant connection with her is a little like falling in love.

When Hannah goes back to work, Luke asks Alice to look after their son. But Alice – fuelled with grief from when her baby was taken from her 27 years ago – starts to fall in love with Samuel. And Luke won’t settle for his mother pushing him aside once again…

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers and Tracy for my copy and having me on the tour.

This is Clare’s second book and ill now be reading her debut asap.

This was amazing!

Both as a reader and a personal connection.

Im adopted and there were parts that were like reading my thoughts.

Written expertly and packs a punch of emotions and suspense.

Clever,fresh and so addictive.

Told in alternate narratives and timelines to really set the scene and build up the tension.

Really enjoyed and highly recommend.

Do check out the other blogs taking part.

BLOG TOUR THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE BY LORNA COOK

Can one promise change the fate of two women decades apart?

Scotland, 1940

War rages across Europe, but Invermoray House is at peace – until the night of Constance’s 21st birthday, when she’s the only person to see a Spitfire crash into the loch. Rescuing the pilot and vowing to keep him hidden, Constance finds herself torn between duty to her family and keeping a promise that could cost her everything.

2020

Kate arrives in the Highlands to turn Invermoray into a luxury B&B, only to find that the estate is more troubled than she’d imagined. But when Kate discovers the house has a dark history, with Constance’s name struck from its records, she knows she can’t leave until the mystery is solved . . .

Firstly apologies my review is up late (well blame the c word).

A big thank you to Avon books for my copy to review and having me on the tour. I loved lornas debut so was excited to read this

Ive read this and my heart has been uplifted. Whst a gorgeous story.

Full of history and a dual narrative and timeline. This gives great insight into a time gone by.

Romantic,inspirational and escapism which we all need right now.

Loved all the characters especially James.. swoon alert.

Highly recommend.

Published 19th March and do check out the other blogs taking part in the tour.

BLOG TOUR HOW TO BUILD A BOYFRIEND FROM SCRATCH BY SARAH ARCHER

Dating is hard. Being dateless at your perfect sister’s wedding is harder.

Meet Kelly. A brilliant but socially awkward robotics engineer desperately seeking a wedding date…

Meet Ethan. Intelligent, gorgeous, brings out the confidence Kelly didn’t know she had and … not technically human. (But no one needs to know that.)

With her sister’s wedding looming and everyone in the world on her case about being perpetually single, Kelly decides to take her love life into her own hands – and use her genius skills to create Ethan.

But when she can’t resist keeping her new boy toy around even after the ‘I do’s’, Kelly knows she needs to hit the off switch on this romance, fast. Only, when you’ve found (well, made) your perfect man, how do you kiss him goodbye?

Firstly thank you to Harper Collins for my copy to review and having me on the tour.

This is a fun light read and a alternative spin on the traditional love story.

Fresh voice in fiction. Funny and a good distraction from real life.

Although she wants to find love i think she learns to love herself a bit more.

Published 19th March and do check out the blogs taking part in the tour.

BLOG TOUR THE RIVER HOME BY HANNAH RICHELL

The river can lead you home. Or it can take you under…

In their ramshackle Somerset home, its gardens running down to the river, the Sorrells have gathered for a last-minute wedding.

Lucy is desperate to reunite her fractured family. Eve is fighting to keep her perfect life together. Their mother, Kit, a famous author whose stories have run dry, still seethes with resentment towards her youngest child. And Margot, who left home eight years ago under a black cloud, is forced to come face to face with her darkness…

As the family come together for a week of celebration and confrontation, their relationships are stretched to breaking point. But can you ever heal the wounds of the past?

A spellbinding family drama about sisterhood, secrets and forgiveness – this is a truly unforgettable read.

Firstly thank you to Alainna for my copy to review. This is a new author to me and shes a beautiful writer.

A story that weaves like the river itself, through the lives of this family . 3 sisters and a unique mother.

There is a lot of secrets and past traumas. Can these ever be overcome?

But theres a wedding on the horizon about to bring the family together.

I really enjoyed this family tale of loss,regret,hope and love.

Public 19th March and do check out the other blogs taking part in the tour.

BOOK REVIEW THE BOY IN THE WOODS BY HARLAN COBEN

Thirty years ago, a child was found in the New Jersey backwoods. He had been living a feral existence, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. Everyone just calls him Wilde. Now a former soldier and security expert, he lives off the grid, shunned by the community – until they need him. A child has gone missing. With her family suspecting she’s just playing a disappearing game, nobody seems concerned except for criminal attorney Hester Crimstein. She contacts Wilde, asking him to use his unique skills to find the girl. But even he can find no trace of her. One day passes, then a second, then a third. On the fourth, a human finger shows up in the mail. And now Wilde knows this is no game. It’s a race against time to save the girl’s life – and expose the town’s dark trove of secrets…Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review. I have only recently started reading his books after loving the Netflix show the stranger . I cant believe its taken me so long so i was over the moon to receive a proof..Twisty, packed with mystery and intrigue.His writing builds tension and suspense, it grabs your attention straight away and has you hooked till the trith is revealed. Now is the perfect time to read for escapism and why not pick a thriller.A fantastic author who i only ever heard praise about and now i kmow why. Published 19th March