#BlogTour Cloth of Grace by Rachel J. Bonner

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Cloth of Grace by Rachel J. Bonner. It's the fourth and final book in the Choices and Consequences series.

Giveaway to Win a complete, signed Choices and Consequences series and matching bookmarks (Open INT) - Prize includes signed copies of Strand of Faith, Thread of Hope, Weave of Love and Cloth of Grace.

About the Author
Rachel J Bonner is the author of the compelling and enthralling four book Choices and Consequences series.  The first book in the series, Strand of Faith, was published in November 2018. Book 2, Thread of Hope, released on 2nd May 2019, followed by Weave of Love on 24th October. The story concludes with Cloth of Grace, released on 29th February 2020.

Rachel has a degree in engineering, which she followed with a career in accountancy which is probably not a conventional path to becoming an author, particularly in fantasy or romance.  Rachel says that, although accountancy isn’t anything like as boring as everyone thinks, writing is a lot more fun.  When not writing, she can be found walking in the beautiful countryside near where she lives, which has influenced much of the scenery in her books, or shooting things with her local archery club.  Shooting targets only, honest.  Nothing to worry about. (Okay, sometimes we shoot Polo mints. Or cabbages. Still nothing to worry about.)

She also enjoys swimming, eating chocolate chip cookies and growing aromatic herbs, especially thyme and rosemary.  It’s no coincidence that her heroine likes the same things.You can find out more about her books and sign up for Rachel’s newsletters at www.racheljbonner.co.uk. Newsletter subscription link  https://www.subscribepage.com/webpage

Follow @racheljbonner1 on Twitter, on Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Buy Cloth of Grace

About the book - Choices and Consequences Book 4
When the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, how do you choose between what you ought to do and the only thing you really want?

Leonie finally knows who she is. But now she needs to decide who she is going to be. Her choice will affect not just her family, not just those she knows, but tens, hundreds of thousands, millions of people that she doesn’t. And every path that’s open to her will put Perry under the pressures that caused his breakdown before. How can she do what she must and still protect Perry?

Perry desperately wants to make things easier for Leonie. Somehow he has to find the strength to face the things that all but destroyed him in the past. But every way he turns, some aspect of his past lies waiting to pounce – even during his happiest moments. And he can never forget that Leonie’s life is in danger from someone, somewhere.

Gabriel has managed to negotiate peace, at least in theory. Now he must put that into practice and reunite Leonie with the family she never knew she had. Then disaster strikes right in the middle of his own sanctuary. Can he still protect those he loves, or has he been harbouring a villain the whole time?

Review
This is the fourth book in the Choices and Consequences series, personally I think you need to read the other books to get the full gist of the series. Some of them can be read as standalone, but I think this one needs a little prior knowledge.

The author herself describes this as having elements of paranormal and mystery, fantasy, faith and romance. It certainly is a combo of genres. This fourth part of the series is lot calmer and the characters spend a lot of time reflecting on the past.

That's not to say that there isn't any action, because there is always plenty of action and trouble when it comes to Leonie.

If you have read the previous books then you will recognise the moments Leonie and Perry ponder on, as they realise where their paths have crossed and decisions have influenced the both of them. As many are wont to do, the 'what if and if only I had known' scenarios are thrown out into the universe, but the truth is we can't predict the future and sometimes things happen for a reason.

It's paranormal fantasy with romance and faith at the core. In fact the spiritual aspect of the book becomes stronger as the story proceeds, especially the last few chapters. I think bringing it all back to the good Lord kind of contradicts the paranormal aspect of it and when it comes to the moral of the story faith isn't a necessity, but that is just a personal preference.

Buy Cloth of Grace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Isbin Books; pub date 29 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Books2read.
Read my review of Thread of Hope by Rachel J Bonner

Giveaway to Win a complete, signed Choices and Consequences series and matching bookmarks (Open INT) - Prize includes signed copies of Strand of Faith, Thread of Hope, Weave of Love and Cloth of Grace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

#BlogTour Deep State by Chris Hauty

Today it's a pleasure to take a part in the BlogTour Deep State by Chris Hauty. It's a cracking read.

About the Author
Chris Hauty is a screenwriter who has worked at all the major movie studios, in nearly every genre of film. He currently lives in Venice, California, in the company of a classic Triumph motorcycle and a feral cat. Deep State is his first novel.

Follow @ChrisHauty on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit chrishauty.com, Buy Deep State

About the book
Hayley Chill isn’t your typical West Wing intern. Ex-military and as patriotic as she is principled, she is largely vilified by her peers and lauded by her superiors – it’s a quick way of making enemies.

It is Hayley who finds the body of the White House chief of staff, Peter Hall, on his kitchen floor having died from an apparent heart attack. It is also Hayley who notices a single clue which suggests his death was deliberate, targeted. That he was assassinated.

Unsure who to trust, Hayley works alone to uncover a wideranging conspiracy that controls the furthest reaches of the government. And Hall is just the beginning – the president is the next target.

Hayley must now do the impossible: stop an assassination, when she has no idea who the enemy is, all while staying hidden, with Peter’s final words to her ringing in her ears: Trust no one. Because the Deep State will kill to silence her. And they are closing in.

It is entrenched. It is hidden. It is deadly.Who can you trust?

Review
I have to be honest. It was a pleasure to read a political action thriller with a strong woman as the protagonist. A military veteran and an excellent boxer, who is as smart as a whip and cool as a cucumber when it counts. Hayley Chill is the new woman in town.

When Hayley starts her internship at the White House the last thing she expects is to be accidentally drawn into a conspiracy to bring the man in charge down. She certainly isn't going to stand by and watch it happen. Her training and her conviction to protect, honour and serve make her the kind of opponent the opposition should fear, and yet they underestimate her instead.

What I really liked about this premise was the way Hauty shows his readers the flip side of the coin. The president is a threat to the world and to America. He lacks diplomacy skills, he acts on instinct instead of taking a moment to think and he doesn't mind making enemies out of his allies, whilst befriending enemies of the state. Sound familiar?

Right, now hold your horses because this story isn't another sanctimonious we need to save the world from the biggest threat the world has ever seen, ergo POTUS, scenario. Instead Hauty makes the so-called saviours the Deep State and the game is afoot to save the President.

I thought that was a clever way of putting politics and power struggles as we are experiencing them  at the moment into a different perspective. If you believe in the sanctity of the office and the position then surely if you serve at the pleasure of the President you have no choice but to protect him, right? Or do you try and save the country? Which choice makes you a traitor?

It's a political action thriller with a woman at the helm of the ship.

For a debut novel this is remarkable. The storyline is on point, the characters are genuine and the political divisiveness mirrors real time events, opinions and emotions. It's an incredibly clever way of shining a light on the other side of the fence, especially when that fence has driven a wedge between the people, their identity and everything the country was built upon.

And if I wasn't clear - it's a cracking read.

Buy Deep State at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK; pub date 23 January 2020 - Hardback - £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Bury Them Deep by James Oswald

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Bury Them Deep by James Oswald.

About the Author
James Oswald is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series of detective mysteries, as well as the new DC Constance Fairchild series. James's first two books, Natural Causes and Te Book of Souls, were both short-listed for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award. Bury Them Deep is the tenth book in the Inspector Mclean Series.

Follow @SirBenFro and @Wildfirebks on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit jamesoswald.co.uk, Buy Bury Them Deep

About the book
The tenth book in the Sunday Times-bestselling Inspector McLean series, from one of Scotland's most celebrated crime writers.

When a member of the Police Scotland team fails to clock-in for work, concern for her whereabouts is immediate... and the discovery of her burnt-out car in remote woodland to the south of Edinburgh sets off a desperate search for the missing woman.

Meanwhile, DCI Tony McLean and the team are preparing for a major anti-corruption operation - one which may raise the ire of more than a few powerful people in the city. Is Anya Reynolds' disappearance a co-incidence or related to the case?

McLean's investigations suggest that perhaps that Anya isn't the first woman to have mysteriously vanished in these ancient hills. Once again, McLean can't shake the feeling that there is a far greater evil at work here...

The truth far more chilling than a simple cold case...

Review
There are certain things that will always manage to creep me out no matter how you package them. Zombies are one and the other is a major part of this book. Oswald really captures the obsessive nature, the call of the forbidden fruit aspect of it all and combines it with folklore that has been passed down through the ages.

As a character Anya has always drawn the short straw, well up until this book she has. Readers will know her as the go-to person for anything cyber related. She keeps herself and her life very private, and colleagues find it hard to relate to her because she doesn't necessarily fit the stereotypical description.

In this book we get to learn a lot more about what makes Anya tick or rather what she does in her spare time to keep her ticking, which isn't going to make life easier for her in the long run when everyone finds out. It's hard enough being a woman in a certain environment without having to deal with salacious gossip.

Anya goes missing on the brink of the launch of a huge undercover operation, which puts the aforementioned on hold and begs the question whether she and it have been compromised. McLean is convinced the timing is a coincidence but that doesn't bring him any closer to the truth about her whereabouts.

It's a combination of police procedural crime and psychological thriller. The lines between the two become skewed the darker and more morally corrupt it becomes. When people cross the kind of boundaries that instantaneously put them in a completely different tribal bracket. There is most definitely a very noticeable boundary when certain lines are crossed - they ones who have and would again, and those who would never.

Oswald gets a wee bit darker this time when it comes to the storyline, atmosphere and characters. I liked this more evil and macabre element to the series. Overall this story shows how Oswald is honing his craft as he delivers an even better body of work this time.
  
Buy Bury Them Deep at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wildfire: pub date 20 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of No Time to Cry by James Oswald
Read my review of Cold As the Grave by James Oswald
Read my review of Written in Bones by James Oswald
Read my review of Nothing to Hide by James Oswald

#BlogTour Lady Edith's Lonely Heart by Audrey Harrison

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Lady Edith's Lonely Heart.

About the Author
Amazon Uk Kindle Storyteller Competition Finalist 2018!

Audrey was born about two hundred years too late. She wants to belong to a time when men were men and women were dressed in gowns and could float, simper and sigh.

In the real world she has always longed to write, writing a full manuscript when she was fourteen years old. Work, marriage and children got in the way as they do and it was only when an event at work landed her in hospital that she decided to take stock. One Voluntary Redundancy later, she found that the words and characters came to the forefront and the writing began in earnest.

So, although at home more these days, the housework is still neglected and meals are still late on the table, but she has an understanding family, who usually shake their heads at her and sigh. That is a sign of understanding, isn't it?

Follow @AudreyHarrison2 on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit audreyharrison.co.uk, Buy Lady Edith's Lonely Heart

About the book
A dashing tale of romance from a bestselling author of Regency Romance.

She is under pressure to find a husband she doesn't want. He keeps to the fringes of society because of family constraints. Will the written word be enough to bring two lost souls together?

Lady Edith Longdon is an heiress, in danger of being classed a spinster, and disillusioned with the fops, dandies, and fortune hunters surrounding her in society. Deciding it’s time to take her future into her own hands, she devises a foolproof way of finding someone she can love. She's convinced nothing could go wrong…

Lord Ralph Pensby, overwhelmed by a sense of obligation, and with no one he can turn to, is adrift from those around him…

Two people drawn together, both on a journey which will affect them in ways they could never have foreseen. Secret correspondence, mistrust and confusion, not to mention cads of the highest order, make this novel a fast-paced, heart-warming story, with appealing characters and a strong sense of time and place.

Perfect for lovers of all things Regency.

Review
Edith counts as a spinster, even at her young age, time is running out for her when it comes to finding a suitable match. The only thing she has in her favour, according to society, is the fact she comes with her own fortune, which in the case of a marriage would belong to her husband.

So she decides to help her own cause by writing an ad - a bit like an old-fashioned dating profile. The result is a range of unsuitable, inappropriate and irrational answers to her letter. There is one however who appears to shine through, someone who opens up his heart completely in his letters to her.  Perhaps the solution to her problem is closer than she thinks, although it's hard to find someone who will love her when her own family hasn't got her best interests at heart.

I'm glad the author references it herself, because this definitely has the feel of an old-fashioned
You've got Mail. Instead of electronic messages Edith and her paramour use the medium of a newspaper. It gives them the chance to say things they wouldn't say face to face. To reveal their inner feelings and fears, emotions society wouldn't allow them to voice.

It's a story for readers who love a bit of Regency romance - all flushed cheeks, swishing fans and fluttering eyelashes. Harrison gives her readers the right amount of indignant outrage and heartache without wading into the genre of bodice-rippers or breathless rompy-pompy. It has the same comfortable feel of a contemporary romance read.

Buy Lady Edith's Lonely Heart at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#CoverReveal The Charm Bracelet by Ella Allbright

It's a pleasure to share the cover for The Charm Bracelet by Ella Allbright!

About the Author
A self-confessed reading addict, Ella Allbright writes commercial women’s fiction set in her beautiful home county of Dorset. Her first novel in this genre, The Charm Bracelet will be published in August 2020 by One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins, and she’s currently hard at work on her next book. Ella is represented by agent Hattie Grünewald at The Blair Partnership, who represent J.K. Rowling.

Ella also writes as Nikki Moore, the author of the popular #LoveLondon romance series. A number of the novellas featured in the Top 100 short story charts on Kobo and the Top 20 in the Amazon UK bestsellers Holiday chart, and in 2018 the collection was released in Italy. Her first published work was the short story A Night to Remember in the best selling Mills & Boon / RNA anthology Truly, Madly, Deeply. Her debut romance Crazy, Undercover, Love was shortlisted for the RNA Joan Hessayon Award 2015.

When not writing or reading, she can be found working in her HR day job, walking the family’s cute beagle puppy or watching a Netflix series!

Follow @NikkiMoore_Auth on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Youtube, Visit nikkimooreauthor.wordpress.com,

About the book
A moving and heartwarming love story perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day in December…

Leila’s charm bracelet tells a story of love, a story of loss, a story of hope. This is the story of her … and the story of Jake.

When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake.

So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago…
Published by One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins UK

Pre-order Ecopy pub date 21 August 2020, Paperback pub date 12 November 2020. Publisher: One More Chapter. Pre-order on Amazon com. Buy/Pre-order on Google. or Waterstones

#BlogTour The Word-Keeper by Veronica del Valle

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Word-Keeper by Veronica del Valle.

About the Author
Veronica Del Valle grew up in Argentina, but life eventually led her to live in London, the city that was her home for many years.

Veronica’s always had a fondness for words, language and the magic of storytelling. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University. 

Veronica currently lives in Buenos Aires with her husband, Ale, and her daughter, Tomiko. She teaches creative writing at Universidad de San Andres and is a contributing editor and writer for one of Argentina’s leading news organizations.

When she’s not writing or teaching, she’s either a) meditating or b) enjoying life with her family (which, in a way, is another beautiful way to meditate). The Word Keeper is the first novel she’s written.

Follow Veronica del Valle on Instagram, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit veronicadelvallebooks.com, Buy The Word-Keeper

About the book
What would happen if words disappeared forever?

Set in a whimsical town called Inkwell, a place with an ancient secret history, this fairytale-like adventure will uncover the key to the power hidden within words.

The Word-Keeper is a tale about a savvy bookmark named Ben that unwillingly becomes an evil imp with only one objective: follow the orders of his master and destroy the words that live inside books.

Only one girl can stop him. Her name is Florence Ibbot. She is eleven years old, oddly eloquent and a quiet observer of the world. But above all, Florence is a keen logophile and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect the words.

She sets out to discover who is behind all this. The journey will take her to the origins of writing and inspiration. But she’ll also have to face the most treacherous adversary, Zyler, a ruthless sorceress whose sole mission is to ruin one of humankind’s most precious possessions: the gift of language.

As the final battle approaches, Florence will have to learn how to wield words instead of the sword. Is Florence brave enough to become who she was born to be?

Review
This is one of those books that captures the magic of reading. It allows readers, both young and old, to wander around in the fantastical and reach for those rare moments of beauty that connect us all.

Florence is counting the days until she can visit her beloved grandparent in Inkwell. He runs a book store, which suits his granddaughter just fine, because she loves to emerge herself into words and books. Inkwell is a place unto itself quite unusual and filled with magic.

'There's always the perfect book for the perfect time' - del Valle speaks from my heart with this sentiment. It's something I apply to the books I read and the material I watch (television, films ect). 'Have you watched so and so?' - 'No, I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch that.'

It sounds like such a peculiar thing to say when it comes to books. How will you know if it is the perfect read until you have read it? Books often fit like a comfortable piece of clothing or feel like the warmth of the sun on your skin. They bring comfort, excitement, mystery and they open up so many doors to worlds you can't wait to explore.

In that sense the author absolutely has managed to describe the world and love of words when it comes to bookworms, and of course how Florence feels about the universe of words that come together to become something solid enough to grasp onto.

The journey to Inkwell and through all the different places on the map is a little one-two-three and lacks depth or follow through, but that is balanced out by the creativity and storyline - save language and the world of words.

Also a shout out for Ben the bookmark, such a wonderful idea. It really is a lovely story.

Buy The Word-Keeper at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Silverwood Books: pub date 29 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Death Deserved by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst

Todayit's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Death Deserved by Thomas Enger & Jørn Lier Horst translated by Anne Bruce - published by Orenda Books.

About the Authors
Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are the internationally bestselling Norwegian authors of the William Wisting and Henning Juul series respectively. Jørn Lier Horst first rose to literary fame with his No. 1 internationally bestselling William Wisting series. A former investigator in the Norwegian police, Horst imbues all his works with an unparalleled realism and suspense.

Follow @LierHorst on Twitter, Visit jlhorst.com, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy Death Deserved

Thomas Enger is the journalist-turned-author behind the internationally acclaimed and bestselling Henning Juul series. Enger ’s trademark has become a darkly gritty voice paired with key social messages and tight plotting. Besides writing fiction for both adults and young adults, Enger also works as a music composer. Death Deserved is Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger ’s first co-written thriller.

Follow @EngerThomas @OrendaBooks on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit thomasenger.net, Buy Death Deserved

About the book
Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.

Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missingpersons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…

Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flair for the dramatic, and thirst for attention. Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…

Review
You can't just end a book like that. That's not a cliffhanger - that's hanging readers over the Grand Canyon and pulling them back in after you've given them a brief taste of excitement. Just saying.

Blix and Ramm are an unusual coupling, perhaps more so because the past has melded them together forever. Ramm is unaware of the connection at first, but where Blix is concerned it defines the way he relates and interacts with Emma. The decisions he made many years ago are used as an example of right or wrong, and it has stunted his career path, despite being convinced that he did the right thing.

He is pulled into an extremely violent game of fame based cat and mouse when a celebrity goes missing and he starts to feed one journalist in particular the kind of details that could cost him his career.

It's Nordic noir, a police procedural crime read. A fast-paced brutal serial killer is determined to leave his mark on society and that storyline is balanced excellently with the personal lives of the main characters. Blix who struggles to connect with his grown daughter and Emma who hides her own imperfections, because only the perfect are lovable, right?

The authors give readers the trepidation of crime, whilst simultaneously showing us the fragility of the human psyche. The result is a compelling read.

You could say that aside from the usual problems, which could arise, a novel written by multiple authors and translated from a foreign language often has to rise to the occasion more so than a one author native language novel. This novel does that successfully. Not only is it written so smoothly that you don't notice a difference in style or voice - the translation and the edit are spot-on.

When you have read the book do yourself a favour and read the acknowledgement. It's absolutely hilarious and hands down the funniest acknowledgement I have ever read. Those few pages give insight into the relationship which makes Enger and Horst an extremely successful writing team. I hope this is the first of many. It better be - did I mention how they ended the book?

Buy Death Deserved at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books; Pub date 6 FEBRUARY 2020 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orenda.co.uk

#BlogTour Killing Them with Kindness by Andy Paulcroft

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Killing Them with Kindness by Andy Paulcroft.

Enter the Giveaway – to Win a signed copy of Killing Them With Kindness (Open INT)

About the Author
Andy Paulcroft grew up in Weston-super-Mare, and his love of books started when he borrowed his sister’s copy of Five Run Away Together and exaggerated a minor illness in order to finish reading it. He has since worked as a chef in France, Switzerland, Corsica and the North Highlands of Scotland before settling as a catering manager at a boarding school in Dorset.

After many years of writing two to three chapters of a book before discarding it, he finally published his first novel Postcards From Another Life – in December 2017. The wonderful feeling of completing a novel was only surpassed by receiving a positive reaction from people who had read it. He retired from catering and recently published his second novel Killing Them With Kindness. He is now working on his third book.

Follow @AndyPaulcroft on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Killing Them with Kindness

About the book
Deirdre Cossette is the self appointed carer for the elderly on The Avenue and all of her friends have stories to tell. Margery, whose comfortable life was destroyed by a knock on the door. Stan, who made a mistake as a young footballer which cost him his friends and his self-respect. Marina, whose slim and stylish figure hides a terrible secret from the summer of Live Aid. And, Oliver and Archie, who have survived everything from post war homophobia to a family tragedy – and they have done it together.

Deirdre believes that everyone should have a choice. If they want to live on a diet of cakes, drink the alcoholic equivalent of a small hydrotherapy pool, or take on a toy boy lover in spite of a dodgy heart, Deirdre believes it is their right to do so. If they remember her in their wills afterwards, that’s not her fault, is it? However, not everyone agrees with her. When disgruntled relatives from the present meet up with disgruntled ghosts from her past, Deirdre discovers the cost of being kind.

Review
I think Deirdre and I are on the same page when it comes to enjoying life. What's the point of doing everything you can to achieve the 21st century version of immortality if you get no pleasure from the methodology. Healthy, skinny, non-smokers drop dead suddenly too. And when is a long life too long? When you take the way Western societies treat the elderly into consideration I wonder if living in isolation and/or in the care of strangers is something worth living for.

You might as well break rules and have a little fun or you could end up wondering whether you had a life well-lived?

What a wonderful woman, eh? Unless the whole point of leading the elderly to break the rules and enjoy life is because there is something in it for Deidre. A small matter of inheriting everything they own perhaps? That would put a different slant on things, right?

I found it a little disjointed and was confused until I got the gist of where Paulcroft was going with it. Sometimes the characters and all the relatives were a bit like a bizarre game of memory.

Although the story has moments of humour at the core the author shines a light on some important social issues like alcoholism, depression and the elderly in our societies. Unlike other cultures there is a lack of reverence and the younger generations are taught to move out and move on to build their own family pods. The elderly often find themselves in positions of vulnerability and isolated from society. Not exactly a raving recommendation for the Western world where the old end up in expensive and often inadequate care facilities.

It's a mystery mixed with humour and an often biting commentary on life as we know it.

Buy Killing Them with Kindness at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon.

Enter the Giveaway – to Win a signed copy of Killing Them With Kindness (Open INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.*

#BlogTour Where We Belong by Shann McPherson

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Where We Belong by Shann McPherson.

About the Author
With big dreams of being a published author since she was an eleven-year-old girl writing Beverly Hills 90210 fan fiction before fan fiction was even a thing, Shann McPherson has been writing angsty, contemporary romances for most of her thirty-something years.

Living in sunny Queensland, Australia, when she’s not writing Shann enjoys making memories with her husband and cheeky toddler son, drinking wine, and singing completely off-key to One Direction’s entire discography.

Follow @Shann_McPherson on Twitter, on Amazon, on Facebook, on Instagram, Buy Where We Belong

About the book
When Alice ‘Murph’ Murphy’s beloved mother died, she promised to keep the family bakery in Graceville, Georgia afloat—even if it meant letting her high-school sweetheart, Nash Harris, go. For years, Murph has been biding her time, waiting for Nash to come back for her.

So when he strolls into Piece O’ Cake, Murph’s heart skips a beat—until he hands her an invitation to his wedding… There are painful secrets in both their pasts that only the two of them share, and Murph can’t bear the thought of Nash belonging to someone else.

There’s only one thing Murph can think of to do: fake a relationship with local bar owner and old friend Harley Shaw to remind Nash of what he’s losing, and win him back for good.

Nash is Murph’s best friend, a vivid reminder of her childhood and all the things she’s lost—but the more time Murph and Harley spend together, the more the lines between real and pretend begin to blur. Can Murph choose between the one who got away and the one who never left—and heal her aching heart?

Review
Alice is ecstatic to see her first love Nash right there in front of her. Has he finally realised what he left behind? Err, nope. He is there to invite her to his wedding. He has found his Mrs Right and wants Alice to be a part of the celebrations.

She isn't going to just accept the new status quo and starts meddling in the happiness of the wedded couple to be. Her 'pranks' make her look like a tiny psycho and often end up punishing the wrong person, especially when she spontaneously decides to cast Harley in the role of her boyfriend. It creates friction between the three tight friends.

To be completely frank Alice doesn't always come off in a great way. It's sometimes hard to feel empathy for someone who whines about not succeeding in life the way they wanted to because their mother had the audacity to become terminally ill. How dare she stop Alice from being with her one true love. Yeh, that didn't always gel well for me.

That vibe comes and goes as Alice aka Murph is caught between her first love and the man who always had her back. She has to leave the past behind and figure out which one is her future - if either of the two fits that description at all.

It's a turbulent romcom with a focus on loyalty and friendship. This very much has the feel of the popular My Best Friend's Wedding. McPherson creates the same kind of emotional turbulence, which is combined with humour and compelling characters. It's a feel good read where the reader is routing for the main character, even when the character has completely given up.

Buy Where We Belong at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 21 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Wild Spinning Girls by Carol Lovekin

Today it's also a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Wild Spinning Girls by Carol Lovekin.

About the Author
arol Lovekin is the author of three novels published by Honno, the Welsh Women’s Press. She writes about mother/daughter relationships, family dynamics & her stories are rooted in the Welsh landscape. They touch on the Welsh Gothic & its most powerful motif: the ghost.

Her first novel, Ghostbird (2016) was a Waterstones Wales and Welsh Independent Bookshops Book of the Month, a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2016 & in the same year was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize. Snow Sisters (2017), her second novel, was chosen by the Welsh Books Council as their October Book of the Month (for independent shops.) Her third novel, Wild Spinning Girls is published today.

Follow @carollovekin on Twitter, on Goodreads, Visit carollovekinauthor.com, Buy Wild Spinning 
Girls

About the book
If it wasn’t haunted before she came to live there, after she died, Ty’r Cwmwl made room for her ghost. She brought magic with her.

And the house, having held its breath for years, knew it. Ida Llewellyn loses her job and her parents in the space of a few weeks and, thrown completely off course, she sets out for the Welsh house her father has left her. Ty’r Cwmwl is not at all welcoming despite the fact it looks inhabited, as if someone just left..

It is being cared for as a shrine by the daughter of the last tenant. Determined to scare off her old home’s new landlord, Heather Esyllt Morgan sides with the birds who terrify Ida and plots to evict her. The two girls battle with suspicion and fear before discovering that the secrets harboured by their thoughtless parents have grown rotten with time. Their broken hearts will only mend once they cast off the house and its history, and let go of the keepsakes that they treasure like childhood dreams.

Review
Inheriting a house in an isolated area in Wales is one thing, inheriting a house that comes with a built-in ghost and a slightly crazy young girl with a key for every door, is quite another.

At first Ida thinks it is amusing and swipes the constant presence of Heather away like she is swatting a fly, but when Heather appears determined to frighten and threaten her Ida's resolution to stay and make the place her home starts to waver.

Ida is torn between being annoyed at the constant intrusion into her life and worrying about the young girl who at this point is worse than a squatter. Heather insists Ida can't move or change anything let alone touch anything that belonged to her mother. Her sense of loss and grief is palpable. It makes her erratic and often volatile.

Where Heather is comfortable with the quirkyness of the house and surrounding countryside, Ida feels threatened and is often scared by the odd things that happen in the house. Pretty sure the birds have been watching Hitchcock. Just saying.

It's magical realism and literary fiction with a pinch of women's empowerment. Lovekin, who tells a great tale by the way, reminds us how important it is to support instead of judge and ignore. To listen instead of assume, because sometimes the hardest exterior hides the most frightened of hearts.

It's a lovely read. A breath of the unknown - witchcraft, energy and an aura of something watching and controlling the fate of others.

Buy Wild Spinning Girls at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Honno Welsh Women'S Press: pub date 20 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters by Amy Binns

It's my turn on the BlogTour Hidden Wyndham by Amy Binns.

About the Author
With a decade of experience in news reporting, Dr Amy Binns is now a writer, researcher and journalism lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire.

Her PhD was on solutions to difficult behaviour on social media and other online communities, and she has contributed to a report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life on the intimidation of parliamentary candidates. She regularly speaks on Radio Five Live on social media issues.

Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters, is Dr Binns’ second book. She has also written about local history in the book “Valley of a Hundred Chapels”, also available on Amazon. She has also published papers and chapters on interwar feminism and social history. Dr Binns lives in Yorkshire with her husband and two children.

Follow @AmyB_writer on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit amybinns.wordpress.com, Buy Hidden Wyndham

About the book
The first biography of the life of science fiction author John Wyndham is now available. It includes the first publication of a collection of love letters to his long-term partner and later wife, Grace Wilson.

Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters, by Dr Amy Binns, author and senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), explores Wyndham’s wealthy but traumatic childhood. This was transformed by a spell at the first mixed-sex public school Bedales from 1915 to 1918, the source of the strange but fervent feminism of Consider Her Ways and Trouble with Lichen.

The biography covers his formative years as a pulp fiction writer, his experiences as a censor during the Blitz and his part in the Normandy landings. He described his struggles with his conscience in a moving series of letters to Grace, the teacher with whom he had a 36 year love affair.

 After the war, he transformed the searing experiences of wartime London, France and Germany into a series of bestselling novels: The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos and The Kraken Wakes. But he remained intensely private, shunning fame and finally retiring to live anonymously with Grace in the countryside he loved.

Review
Wyndham made a huge mark as a sci-fi writer with The Day of the Triffids, a book and visual experience that remains one of the most memorable works of the last century. This biography gives an insight into the man behind the words. The creative mind that used his stories to cross boundaries and worlds.

Binns doesn't rely on gossip, Chinese whispers or the myth behind the stories. This is well- researched and also quite intimate at times. For a man who tried to keep himself and his life out of the spotlight I wonder what he would have thought about the invasive nature of not only his story being told, but also readers evaluating the information.

Either way this book gives the kind of intimate glance into a life Wyndham tried very hard to keep away from not only the curious public, but also from everyone else. Sort of begs the question whether we need access to certain information to be able to understand or better enjoy the written or visual work.

Personally I found it gave an interesting perspective to a man taught to keep his emotions tight to the chest. His inner torment and how he questioned the morality of specific things he was a part of, which he wouldn't have been able to air in public without being perceived a certain way. His emotions and love being hindered by scars of the past - a fear of public commitment and abandonment perhaps.

It's a well thought thorough open window into the world, emotions and secrets of Wyndham. Binns does an excellent job of introducing us to the soul and heart he kept hidden.

Buy Hidden Wyndham at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads at any other retailer. Publisher: Grace Judson Press; pub date 1 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Hattie Goes to Hollywood by Caroline James

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Hattie goes to Hollywood by Caroline James.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win a cuddly Drake toy! (Open INT)
Be in with a chance to win Drake, Hattie’s faithful pet duck! Tall Drake & Handsome – A gorgeous soft toy who will be your friend for life.

About the Author
Best-selling author of women’s fiction, Caroline James has owned and run businesses encompassing all aspects of the hospitality industry, a subject that often features in her novels. She is based in the UK but has a great fondness for travel and escapes whenever she can. A public speaker, which includes talks and lectures on cruise ships world-wide, Caroline is also a consultant and food writer.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association, the Society of Women’s Writer’s & Journalists and the Society of Authors and writes articles and short stories, contributing to many publications. In her spare time, Caroline can be found trekking up a mountain or relaxing with her head in a book and hand in a box of chocolates.

Books by Caroline James: Coffee Tea the Gypsy & Me, Coffee Tea the Chef & Me, Coffee Tea the Caribbean & Me, Jungle Rock, The Best Boomerville Hotel and Hattie Goes to Hollywood.

Follow @CarolineJames12 on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Visit carolinejamesauthor.co.uk, Buy Hattie Goes to Hollywood

About the book
A Cumbrian Village...Three suicides...A red-hot summer...

Join super-sleuth Hattie as tempers and temperatures rise in the Cumbrian village of Hollywood. With mischief and shenanigans aplenty, will Hattie discover the truth?

A funny and intriguing mystery – the first in a new series by Caroline James

When recently bereaved Hattie Mulberry inherits her aunt’s dilapidated cottage in the village of Hollywood in Cumbria, she envisages a quiet life. But retired hotelier Hattie is bored and when her neighbour asks her to investigate a suspicious suicide, Hattie’s career takes a new direction and H&H Investigations is born. During the hottest summer for years, Hattie discovers there have been three recent suicides in Hollywood and she determines to find out why. Temperatures rise as she throws herself into village life and, with mischief and shenanigans aplenty, Hattie has her work cut out. But will she establish the truth?

Review

When Hattie inherits a rundown cottage in the village of Hollywood she pictures a life filled with restoring the place she intends to live in. A quiet life, with no trouble and certainly not with any pesky ducks. Little does she know she is about to embark on a whole new career.

Whilst playing at amateur sleuthing Hattie finds one coincidence too many and starts, with a little prompt from her neighbour, to investigate a series of suicides. Is it a case of copycat suicides or is there something more nefarious going on in the background.

Simultaneously Hattie is living her best life when it comes to a wee bit of hanky-panky and pinch of romance, and of course let's not forget the feathered friend she makes when she throws him a piece of stale bread. Err, just be clear, she isn't having a romance with the duck.

It reminded me of Agatha Raisin, but with less of an uppity attitude, more rompy pompy and really solid duck humour. Let's just acknowledge the duck as a major character, because he has some great scenes and entrances. In fact he gives Hattie a run for her money when it comes to being the main character.

It's a cosy crime with a romcom feel to it. James combines elements of multiple genres to create a funny and easygoing read. The kind of read that makes people wonder why the reader is smirking or gives an occasional snort of laughter. James does what she set out to do by pulling the reader in and entertaining them with a good read.

Buy Hattie Goes to Hollywood at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: The Publish Hub Ltd, pub date 14 Feb. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway to Win a cuddly Drake toy! (Open INT)
Be in with a chance to win Drake, Hattie’s faithful pet duck! Tall Drake & Handsome – A gorgeous soft toy who will be your friend for life.

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