Monday 30 May 2022

#Blogtour Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan.

About the Author

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of romance and women's fiction. She has sold over 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe.

Sarah lives near London, England and when she isn't writing or reading, she likes to spend time outdoors hiking or riding her mountain bike.

Join Sarah's mailing list at sarahmorgan.com for all book news. Follow @SarahMorgan_ on Twitter

About the book

A marriage in the spotlight - Joanna Whitman’s high-profile marriage held more secrets than she cares to remember, so when her ex-husband dies, she doesn't know what to feel. But when she discovers that he’s left behind a pregnant young woman, Joanna is forced to act. She knows exactly how brutal the spotlight on them both will be…unless she can find a way for them to disappear.

A beach house hideaway - Ashley Blake is amazed when Joanna suggests they lie low at her beach house in her sleepy Californian hometown. Joanna should be hating her, not helping her. But alone and pregnant, Ashley needs all the support she can find.

A summer of new beginnings - Joanna's only goal for the summer is privacy. All Ashley wants is space to plan for her and her baby's future. But when an old flame reappears, and secrets spill out under the hot summer sun, this unlikely friendship is put to the test…

Review

Are you supposed to feel sad if your philandering ex-hubby has a fatal accident and just happens to be in the company of young, attractive woman when it happens. What is the emotional protocol, and what is the public expectation when he is a celebrity, and because of that you are too? The world is eager to know what Joanna knows about his death and the mysterious woman who was with him when he died.

It's an interesting topic to wade into, the question of fame and whether being a public figure gives the media and fans the right to demand access to each moment of their lives. Does being in the limelight mean you automatically sign away your right to privacy? Does wanting a story or a headline warrant hounding a celebrity, perhaps even to the point of distress or worse?

I think there is a common misconception about public persona and interaction being part of their job, as opposed to the world understanding that a star, celebrity and public figure also has a right to privacy. Possibly even more so, when the majority of their lives is out there to be gawked at and commented on.

The author captures the invasive nature of the press, the lack of trust in the people around them, and the fragility of the person in the midst of news hungry media and gossipmongers. It must be incredibly difficult to realise that close friends and family will happily sell your intimate moments, your photos and your secrets for money or moment of fame.

I thought it was a little dialogue heavy and repetitive in the middle, however it is still a good read. The core is, for me at least, understanding that there is always a way forward even when your heart breaks, your trust in people is destroyed and every door seems to be locked. They aren't. It's also about misunderstandings and the way relationships can be redefined as we grow older, and as we enter new periods of our lives. Morgan always delivers a premise that gives plenty of food for thought.

Buy Beach House Summer at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HQ pub date 26 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.

Wednesday 25 May 2022

#BlogTour The White Girl by Tony Birch

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The White Girl by Tony Birch. It's an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

About the Author

Tony Birch is the author of three novels: the bestselling The White Girl, winner of the 2020 NSW Premier’s Award for Indigenous Writing, and shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin literary prize; Ghost River, winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing; and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 2012. 

He is also the author of Shadowboxing and four short story collections, Dark As Last Night, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People; and the poetry collections, Broken Teeth and Whisper Songs. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature. Tony Birch is also an activist, historian and essayist. His website is: tony-birch.com

About the book

“A profound allegory of good and evil, and a deep exploration of human interaction, black and white, alternately beautiful and tender, cruel and unsettling.”—Guardian

Australia’s leading indigenous storyteller makes his American debut with this immersive and deeply resonant novel, set in the 1960s, that explores the lengths we’ll go to save the people we love—an unforgettable story of one native Australian family and the racist government that threatens to separate them.

Odette Brown has lived her entire life on the fringes of Deane, a small Australian country town. Dark secrets simmer beneath the surface of Deane—secrets that could explain why Odette's daughter, Lila, left her one-year-old daughter, Sissy, and never came back, or why Sissy has white skin when her family is Aboriginal.

For thirteen years, Odette has quietly raised her granddaughter without drawing notice from welfare authorities who remove fair-skinned Aboriginal children from their families. But the arrival of a new policeman with cruel eyes and a rigid by-the-book attitude throws the Brown women's lives off-kilter. It will take all of Odette's courage and cunning to save Sissy from the authorities, and maybe even lead her to find her daughter.

Bolstered by love, smarts, and the strength of their ancestors, Odette and Sissy are an indomitable force, handling threats to their family and their own identities with grace and ingenuity, while never losing hope for themselves and their future.

In The White Girl, Miles Franklin Award-nominated author Tony Birch illuminates Australia’s devastating post-colonial past—notably the government’s racist policy of separating Indigenous children from their families, known today as the Stolen Generations—and introduces a tight-knit group of charming, inspiring characters who remind us of our shared humanity, and that kindness, hope, and love have no limits.

Review

I'm not sure about other readers, but when I read a book about minorities, the indigenous of any country, the oppressed or the vulnerable - just as an example, I often presume the events are historical. When I say historical I mean over a century or more, and I am often dismayed by the reality of the actual truth. That for the majority we are talking recent events, in modern times when the world should have been condemning such oppression and atrocities.

Odette is a fictional example perhaps, but I think probably a softer version of the awful truth of the way the colonisers have treated the indigenous people of Australia. This story takes place in the 1960s - a long time after the first early colonial period of certain parts of Australia. In a Podunk rural town where white and indigenous are still segregated. The indigenous people live outside in a specified area and are only allowed into the white town on a specific day and for a short period of time. 

Odette takes care of her young granddaughter, who has now reached an age where her presence has become of interest to both the authorities, and she is also vulnerable to the predators who perceive indigenous women especially, as of no worth or chattel of the white man.

The young girl is fair-skinned, and the authorities feel it is their duty to remove those children - white passing - in order to place them in an environment conducive to a less native and savage environment. To save their souls. Odette starts to realise that the danger her family has always faced is starting to wander in the path of her granddaughter. 

This book should be on more prize lists -  I am surprised it isn't and that it hasn't had more traction this side of the pond. It is an incredible piece of work, which is only more admirable when you consider the subtlety of the approach to the sensitive topics in this story. The atmosphere is a stark reminder of reality, and indeed the reader almost walks alongside Odette, that's how vivid a picture the author presents.

The displacement, essentially kidnap, of whole generations of indigenous of children has burdened further generations with generational trauma. Children who survived the system and never saw their families again, parents who never got over having their children stolen. At this point it is important to note that just recently the reality of what really happened to the majority of these children is being unearthed. The mass graves, the unmarked graves of so many abused and neglected indigenous children. It's more than a tragedy, it's a disgrace - absolutely unforgivable.

I wouldn't hesitate to read or recommend this author after reading this. As I was reading I was envisaging the screen version of this - I would love to see Deborah Mailman make Odette come to life. Either way this story needs more circulation, so more people can read it. It's poignant, it is a story that grabs you tightly as it tears you into the murky depths of colonial guilt and the criminal atrocities committed under the auspice of malevolent colonialism and white supremacy. And I might add - the author only skims the surface of the aforementioned.

Buy The White Girl at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HarperVia pub date 28 April 2022) Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.

Tuesday 24 May 2022

#Blogtour When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

About the Author

A native of Nyack, New York, Soon Wiley received his BA in English & Philosophy from Connecticut College. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Wichita State University. His writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and earned him fellowships in Wyoming and France. He resides in Connecticut with his wife and their two cats. When We Fell Apart is his debut novel.

About the book

A profoundly moving and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties that bind families together – or break them apart…

When the Seoul police inform Min that his girlfriend Yu-jin has taken her own life, he’s sure it can't be true. She was successful, ambitious, happy, just on the cusp of graduating from university and claiming the future she’d always dreamed of. Min, on the other hand, born to an American father and Korean mother, has never felt quite the same certainty as Yu-jin about his life’s path. 

After growing up in California, where he always felt ‘too Korean’ to fit in, he’s moved to Seoul in the hope that exploring his Korean heritage will help him find a sense of purpose. And when he meets Yu-jin, little does he know that their carefree relationship will set off a chain of events with tragic consequences for them both. Devastated by Yu-jin’s death, Min throws himself into finding out why she could have secretly wanted to die. 

Or did she? With a controlling and powerful government official father, and a fraught friendship with her alluring and destructive roommate So-ra, Yu-jin’s life was much more complex than she chose to reveal to Min. And the more he learns about her, the more he begins to doubt he ever really knew her at all.

As Yu-jin’s story – a fraught exploration of selfhood, coming-of-age, and family expectations – collides with Min’s, the result is an engrossing page-turner that poses powerful, urgent questions about cultural identity, family bonds, secrets, and what it truly means to belong.

Review

This is one of those reads I really want to talk about - get into the nitty-gritty of the premise, but I am also mindful of giving away the whole story.

Although the characters are quite similar in a sense that they are looking for a certain degree of autonomy, independence and searching for their self, their identity and it is indeed a discovery of self. Simultaneously they couldn't be more different, and their paths are actually going in opposite directions, although for a while they walk together on the same path.

Yu-jin, my heart breaks for her and anyone who has to live up to the expectations of Tiger-parents (Tiger equality there). There are certain cultures where those expectations are higher, and held to a higher ransom, than say in other cultures. In a world where the pressure to succeed and be the best is already a standard bar, the failure to do so can appear to be the end of the world, especially when loved ones attach such importance to success.

There is no space for personal choice, for a pursuit of personal happiness. It's not hard to imagine that for many young people the bar is too high and/or the fear of disappointing family and society is the last drop in the already very full barrel.

Min is an interesting character, and I think he is indicative of many who straddle two cultures, multiple origin stories. Feeling obligated to understand and become one with an identity that is drifting into the realms forgotten historical heritage and feeling as if the one you are living in and with daily is someone sub-par. The truth and peace lies somewhere in between the two. Know who you are, where you came from, and forge your own path.

It's both a pivotal and heart-breaking piece of literature. Two people intersecting on each others trajectories, but perhaps never really knowing or understanding the other completely. I really enjoyed it and hope this is the first of many by this author.

Buy When We Fell Apart at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon and Schuster Uk, pub date 12th May 2022 | Hardback | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Simon and Schuster.

#Blogtour Unaccustomed to Grace by Lesley Bannatyne

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Unaccustomed to Grace by Lesley Bannatyne.

About the Author

Lesley Bannatyne is an American author who writes extensively on Halloween, especially its history, literature, and contemporary celebration. As a freelance journalist, she's covered stories ranging from druids in Somerville, Massachusetts to relief workers in Bolivia. Bannatyne's fiction is collected in her debut collection Unaccustomed to Grace, out from Kallisto Gaia Press in March, 2022.

Follow @BannatyneLesley on Twitter, Visit lesleybannatyne.com

About the book

The stories in Unaccustomed to Grace are often set in a slant version of reality where the extraordinary can exist side-by-side with the ordinary. In “Waiting for Ivy” a woman grieving the loss of her infant daughter discovers a listserv of parents whose dead children have been returned, as if the tragedy were a clerical error. 

In “Corpse Walks Into a Bar” an indigent loner agrees to bury a reanimated corpse, not realizing what it takes to find a resting place when the dead are as self-serving as the living. Characters throughout the collection act on impulses, quixotic to ferocious: a suburban dad leads a violent riot against his neighbour; an eleven-year-old boy puts himself at the nexus of a manhunt for the Boston Marathon bomber. Ultimately, the book plumbs the messiness we bring on ourselves with the best of intentions, and how we find connection and work to build a world we can survive.

Review

Short stories are islands unto themselves - they differ in execution, possible expansion and style. Some short interludes that exist without the need to be anything than what they purport to be, then there are stories I would place in the category of ideas the author could grow. The ones that have the potential to be a novel. I think it's fair to say this author has a few growers in this compilation of shorts.

I found quite a few of them have certain elements of connection in regard to reactions to the plight of a fellow human. Do I cross my own boundaries, face my own fears and ignore ingrained societal responses and do what my gut says is the right thing to do? Also what impact do these actions, gestures have on the person themselves, not just the person they have decided to engage with or help.

Written at times with a tongue in cheek nod to certain ironies and contradictive behaviour, they are also stories with depth. If you position yourself just slightly differently, if indeed you are willing to do so, then you might be surprised to find the world, the people around you, and your idea of what constitutes a problem to be solved - it might just look completely different.

I'd love to see some of the these short stories evolve into something longer, the Corpse Walks into a Bar is an excellent example of that - I have so many unanswered questions. Either way I would certainly enjoy reading more by this particular author.

Buy Unaccustomed to Grace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎ Kallisto Gaia Press pub date 8 Feb. 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Kallisto Gaia Press.

#BlogTour The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan.

About the Author

Internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed writer Dervla McTiernan burst onto the writing scene with The Ruin, her crime debut set in Ireland. The Ruin is the first in the detective Cormac Reilly series and has been published in the United States, the UK and Ireland and in New Zealand and Australia, where it was a top ten bestseller.

Dervla spent twelve years working as a lawyer. Following the global financial crisis, she moved to Australia and turned her hand to writing. An avid fan of crime and detective novels from childhood, Dervla wrote a short story, The Roommate, which was shortlisted for the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Competition. She went on to write The Ruin, and a string of other bestsellers. Dervla is a member of the Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers Association, and lives in Perth, Australia, with her husband and two children. Follow @DervlaMcTiernan on Twitter


About the book

First Rule: Make them like you. Second Rule: Make them need you. Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system. They think I’m working hard to impress them. They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row. They're wrong. I’m going to bury him.

Review

There are a few great topics for discussion woven into this psychological thriller. The fact a flawed system still imprisons too many people who are innocent of the crimes they have been convicted of. Decades, life sentences ( I just want to point out that life only means a fraction - fifteen years sometimes) in certain countries, and the death sentence. Imagine spending decades in prison and being completely innocent.

The plot has an Innocence Project at the core. Legal experts, volunteers and loved ones of the incarcerated dedicated to picking individuals with cases layered with the distinct smell of wrongful conviction. Hannah has forcefully wrangled herself into this particular project. She has an agenda, not exactly one that is in line with the organisation in question. How far will she go to execute her plan?

It is a well plotted and written riveting psychological thriller with a legal angle. I'm going to stay tight lipped on a certain aspect that shows itself fairly early on and comes to a nice wicked conclusion at the end. It's the kind of read that keeps you captivated from the start.

Buy The Murder Rule at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; 12th May 2022 | Hardback | Ebook | Audio | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Harper Collins.

Monday 23 May 2022

#Blogtour Tell Me An Ending by Jo Harkin

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Tell Me An Ending by Jo Harkin.

About the Author

Jo Harkin studied English Literature at university. She daydreamed her way through various jobs in her twenties before giving in and becoming a full-time writer. She published four real-world literary fiction novels under a pseudonym, before deciding to follow her passion and move into speculative fiction. Her focus is ‘what if’ stories with an emphasis on human lives. She lives in Berkshire.

About the book

Across the world, thousands of people are shocked to receive an email telling them that they once chose to have a traumatic memory removed. Now they are being given the chance to get that memory back.

For Mei, William, Oscar and Finn there is a piece missing, but they're not sure what. And each of them must decide if the truth is worth the pain, or better left unknown.

For Noor, who works at the memory clinic Nepenthe, the process of reinstating their patients' memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into the programme, she will have to risk everything to uncover the true human cost of this miraculous technology.

An exploration of secrets, grief, identity and belonging - of the stories we tell ourselves, and come to rely on, Tell Me An Ending is a sharp, dark and devastating novel about the power and danger of memory.


Review

I thought this was a fascinating concept and there are so many places to take it. The entire premise is a tightrope of black, white and fuzzy areas of boundary crossing. Is it a good thing? Does it create worse scenarios than the bad memories it purports to erase. Is the erasing or extraction merely a band-aid that in actual fact becomes a timebomb? A bomb that can cause mental health, general health issues, the breakdown of relationships and mistrust in self.

Imagine getting a letter telling yourself you had made the choice to erase a memory, however you have no actual memory of doing so, which of course makes it a Schrödinger's Cat situation. Do you retrieve to find out what it is, and end up with a memory you would rather not have. Or live with the niggle that you have experienced something worrying enough you felt the need to erase it.

I am legit interested in which decision people would make if this were the future. I think I would need to know, then probably ask for it to be taken again, thereby creating an endless repetitive loop of actions and behaviour. What if it was used against your will - a Big Brother tool, the possibilities are endless.

Told through multiple character narratives, who all have something in common, the fact that they have had a memory removed and know about it or did it and wanted to remain oblivious to that decision. Of course there is also the aspect of them being consciously or subconsciously aware of this fact. The subconscious element of the story is quite fascinating. Are our brains hardwired to restore information it thinks is relative and pertinent to our wellbeing and survival? An innate response to flight or fight?

Which memory would you pick, if any at all? Would you choose to erase pain or a secret, but what if that put you at risk at a later date. This a self induced black hole moment, the ethics and moral aspect of this story are intricate. I can't wait to discuss this book with fellow readers. It's absolutely fascinating, and a great story to boot. I can't wait to read more by this author.

Buy Tell Me An Ending at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Hutchinson Heinemann pub date 12th May 2022 | Hardback | eBook | Audio | £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken


It's my turn on the Blogtour The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken.


About the Author
Erin Litteken is a debut novelist with a degree in history and a passion for research. At a young age, she was enthralled by stories of her family’s harrowing experiences in Ukraine before, during and after World War II. Her first historical fiction title, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, draws on those experiences. She lives in Illinois, USA with her husband and children. Follow @ErinLitteken on Twitter, Visit Erin’s website: erinlitteken.com


About the book
In the 1930s, Stalin’s activists marched through the Soviet Union, espousing the greatness of collective farming. It was the first step in creating a man-made famine that, in Ukraine, stole almost 4 million lives. Inspired by the history the world forgot, and the Russian government denies, Erin Litteken reimagines their story.

In 1929, Katya is 16 years old, surrounded by family and in love with the boy next door. When Stalin’s activists arrive in her village, it’s just a few, a little pressure to join the collective. But soon neighbours disappear, those who speak out are never seen again and every new day is uncertain.

Resistance has a price, and as desperate hunger grips the countryside, survival seems more a dream than a possibility. But, even in the darkest times, love beckons. Seventy years later, a young widow discovers her grandmother’s journal, one that will reveal the long-buried secrets of her family’s haunted past.

This is a story of the resilience of the human spirit, the love that sees us through our darkest hours and the true horror of what happened during the Holodomor. - May we never forget, lest history repeat itself.

A share of proceeds will be donated to DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.


Review
I think of myself as lucky in regard to the influence my father has had on my education - in filling the gaps created by country hops, school moves, schoolyear jumps and just in general where society and the system is inadequate in passing on knowledge. Irrespective of whether it be intentional or due to curriculum changes. 

He is a font of knowledge, especially when it comes to history, and putting historical events into perspective when it comes to current events. Why is this story of historical importance, even if certain details and characters make it faction - a melding of historical fact and fiction. It's important because it gives context to the current conflict - the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia, or Putin to be more precise.

Putin styles himself on a man he admires, a ruler upheld by many of the Soviets then and even now in Russia. Stalin was a murderer, a monster, a dictator who was a master of propaganda, both inside and outside the boundaries of Mother Russia. Even now the millions of the Ukrainian people he purposely starved, killed and tortured - they are a mere footnote in history, and one that is purposely held under a suspicion of doubt.

In a way that is exactly why Katya's story is buried and hidden for decades. It's not uncommon for survivors of extreme trauma, such as war or the Holodomor - the Terror Famine - to simply remain silent about the events they have experienced. People displaced, ripped from their homes, family and culture in the most horrifying way, only to then be subjected to the horrors of World War 2. How do you resume a semblance of normality after that?

This story is about generational trauma, family secrets and about finding peace after experiencing the unimaginable. It's also a stark reminder about the lack of empathy when it comes to the pursuit of power and control, which is why the small gestures and moments of connection are even more important. It's a captivating story - a timely piece of work.

Buy The Memory Keeper of Kyiv at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎ Boldwood Books pub date 16 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Boldwood.

Tuesday 17 May 2022

Through a Vet's Eyes by Dr Sean Wensley


 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Through a Vet's Eyes by Dr Sean Wensley. With foreword by Miranda Krestovnikoff, RSPB President.

About the Author

Dr Sean Wensley is an award-winning UK veterinarian and recent President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA). He chairs the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), which represents veterinary organisations from 40 European countries.

Sean has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and in 2017 received the inaugural World Veterinary Association (WVA) Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and is Senior Veterinary Surgeon for Communication and Education at the national UK veterinary charity, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA). 

His media appearances include BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine and The Big Questions. Follow @SeanWensley on Twitter

About the book

Dr Sean Wensley is an award-winning vet and lifelong naturalist who has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects all over the world. His debut book is about how we can choose a better life for animals, from the chickens we eat to the pets we keep.

As our societies become more urbanised, we are further removed from the reality of where and how our food is produced. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the humanisation of our pets is a risk to their welfare; with 60% of UK dogs being overweight or obese, we are effectively killing them with kindness. Through a Vet’s Eyes seeks to redress this imbalance so that we see all animals as thinking, feeling beings not dissimilar to ourselves. 

There is high public and political interest in animal welfare, with current attention focused on high-profile topics such as animal sentience, humane and sustainable global agriculture and breeding pets, such as flat-faced dogs, for looks over health. To fully consider and improve the lives of animals, evidence-based information is needed to help us all understand these issues, what they mean from the animals’ perspectives and what we can all do to help.

A polemic with elements of memoir and nature writing, the book takes us through the years in which Sean trained to become a vet and shares his first-hand experience of how animals are treated and used for our benefit. It interrogates the different levels of welfare afforded to them and reveals how we, as consumers and informed citizens, can reduce our animal welfare footprint through the choices we make every single day.

Review

- Reported surveys have suggested that 1 in 4 UK adults don’t know that bacon comes from pigs. - Pretty mindboggling. Have we become so distanced from the concept of animals as a food source that we no longer wish to acknowledge the meat we consume are in fact carcasses of animals. Is that why it is so easy to push the mass production, the inhumane transportation and slaughtering to the back of our minds.

It is possible to put pressure on governments and they in turn on the corporate world to demand accountability in regard to animal welfare, production systems that minimise suffering instead of putting maximisation and profit at the forefront to compete with national and international markets.

This book is so much more than our moral conscience in regard to the world of wildlife and animals, indeed the world we inhabit. It is also a love song to the beauty we are surrounded by, especially the variety of species and life we tend to only acknowledge on the periphery or during a short moment of admiration. 

I think that's what I loved about it the most, the passion and the way the author embraces every single aspect of movement, sights and interactions. Taking more than just a Kodak moment of the space we are in, more than just a second to remember the joy is often in the small gestures and experiences.

In a way it's a book that reminds us of the importance of remembering living beings deserve to be treated with compassion, but without doing it in a preachy flag waving manner, and simultaneously being a love letter to all creatures great and small.

Buy Through a Vet's Eyes at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Gaia pub date 28th April 2022 | £20.00 . Buy at Amazon com. At Octopus books.

#Blogtour The Hidden Child by Louise Fein

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Hidden Child by Louise Fein. Today you're in for a treat, a small extract of this powerful story - The Hidden Child.

About the Author

Louise Fein holds an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary's University. Her debut novel, People Like Us (entitled Daughter of the Reich in the USA/Canada, has been published in thirteen territories, was shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021 and the RNA Goldsboro Books Historical Romantic Novel Award 2021. Her books are predominantly set during the twentieth century and all of her books seek to explore issues that continue to be of relevance today. Follow @FeinLouise on Twitter

About the book

From the outside, Eleanor and Edward Hamilton have the perfect life, but they're harbouring a secret that threatens to fracture their entire world.

London, 1929. - Eleanor Hamilton is a dutiful mother, a caring sister and an adoring wife to a celebrated war hero. Her husband, Edward, is a pioneer in the eugenics movement. The Hamiltons are on the social rise, and it looks as though their future is bright.

When Mabel, their young daughter, begins to develop debilitating seizures, they have to face an uncomfortable truth: Mabel has epilepsy – one of the 'undesirable' conditions that Edward campaigns against.

Forced to hide their daughter away so as to not jeopardise Edward's life's work, the couple must confront the truth of their past – and the secrets that have been buried. Will Eleanor and Edward be able to fight for their family? Or will the truth destroy them?


Extract of The Hidden Child

Brook End is a big house, by most people’s reckoning. It’s not a stately home, as such, but a handsome, brick-built, sprawling villa, four storeys high, and a mere twenty years old. A suitable residence for a respected member of the upper-middle classes, with a growing family and an even faster-growing reputation for being the expert in his field of psychology and education. It’s quite the ticket. Modern is far more suitable for a Man of Science. Edward could undoubtedly have picked up a mansion steeped in history, with a large estate, had he been minded so to do. As soon as he and Eleanor had become engaged, he’d searched in earnest for the right country house for his bride-to-be. He had wanted to give her the very best he could afford, especially after all that she had been through, coming as she did from a good, professional family. Her father had been a financier in the City of London and she had grown up with money until the devastating loss of all the male members of her family during the war had sent their fortunes spiralling downwards, forcing her mother and Eleanor herself to seek work. 

Five years ago, there had been a fair few stately homes going on the cheap, but Edward’s private bankers, Coleroy & Mack, had advised him against taking on such a venture, and their financial acumen, their hunch about the British economy and the increasing tax burden wealthy landowners would have to carry, had been proven right. 

With the aristocracy selling up in their droves and investing their money elsewhere, he is happy not to have assumed their hefty tax burden, not to mention the social and economic responsibility they were all busy extricating themselves from. No, Edward congratulates himself for not falling into that trap. He might be considered by some to be nouveau riche or, as Barton Leyton once called him, a wealthy upstart, and stately home or no stately home, the people of polite society would continue to sniff down their haughty noses at him. But, unlike Barton, who moans regularly about the cost of keeping Mayfield Manor from crumbling around him, Brook End requires little maintenance and boasts both modern conveniences and ample space, as well as a beautiful location. Besides, Eleanor, who is of far better breeding stock than Edward, seems perfectly content with the house. At least, she never says she isn’t. 

‘Evening, sir,’ Alice greets him at the front door. 

‘Good evening to you too, Alice,’ he replies, noticing her round and freckled face is flushed with excitement. 

‘Mrs Hamilton collected Miss Carmichael from the station earlier today,’ she gushes. ‘Lovely to have her home, isn’t it? She’s told me all about her tour around Italy. It sounded wonderful. And you must hear her speak French! Like a native, she is.’ 

‘Indeed? And what did she say?’ 

‘Oh, heavens, I’ve no idea. She could have been telling me I’m the queen of England for all I know, but it did sound lovely, like.’ 

Edward smiles indulgently. ‘I see. And where are the ladies now?’ 

‘Changing for dinner, I believe. It’ll be served in fifteen minutes.’ 

‘Excellent. I just have enough time to wash and change myself.’ 

Taking the stairs, he notices how empty the house is without a dog. A house really isn’t a home without a dog in it. It’s been over a month since Patch died. He must look into replacing him. 

‘My darling!’ And there she is, standing arms outstretched at the top of the stairs. Eleanor. His beautiful wife. 

He bounds up the last two, grabs her and pulls her into an embrace. ‘Oh, how I’ve missed you!’ he says, breathing in her lily-of-the-valley scent. He picks her up and swings her around, making her shriek and giggle. 

‘Edward!’ she cries. ‘Put me down!’

‘Never!’

‘Urgh, it’s making me dizzy! Someone will see!’

‘Who cares,’ he laughs, and releases her.

‘Go and wash and change,’ she smiles up at him. ‘You smell of London.’

‘I do? And how does that smell?’

‘Like old boots!’ she laughs. ‘Scrub it off and put on some of that cologne I gave you for your birthday. That will be a great improvement!’ She blows him a kiss and skips downstairs. ‘I must speak to Mrs Bellamy before she ruins the soup!’ 


Review

Edward is a bright star and mover in the popular Eugenics movement, but when his family is confronted with their own less than perfect specimen, ergo child with an impairment. What does that mean for Edward and Eleanor going forward and their standing in society, and more importantly what does it mean for Mabel?

I'd like to say the Hamilton's are not indicative of beliefs at that time, however eugenics have been a popular pseudo-science for a long time, directly linked to white supremacy, colonialism and the rule of white men. The belief that certain people are superior to others in intellect based on certain genetic characteristics, colour of skin, race.

Also that any condition suggesting a lack of perfection would also be deemed a lack of intelligence, such as epilepsy, special needs, any 'imperfection' really. Society and what is perceived as an imperfection is a steadily moving and evolving target. The need to breed perfection also meant trying to ensure faults weren't passed on, the atrocities of the Nazi Party are a perfect example of the teachings of eugenics. It's important to note that interestingly enough the term and theory of eugenics evolved from Darwin's survival of the fittest via his cousin Galton, who felt that society should be encourage to breed like with like to ensure the purity and strength of species.

Fein always likes to throw a moral conundrum into the mix. Riveting historical fiction with fascinating characters, but the maelstrom at the core of the story is always a question of conscience, of right and wrong, which is often directly linked to certain periods in time. For instance are decisions made during wartime, or certain eras, ones you wouldn't have made under other circumstances? 

In this book the topic of eugenics, which is at the centre of the oppression of minorities and has been for centuries is brought down to the core. It becomes a personal question of ideology and when family defies the so-called logic of that ideology - then what?

What if your family or a family member, in this case a child is considered exactly what you are advocating against. Do you fold to society or do you do what is humane and correct for your child?

This is what I really enjoy about this author, I always come away from her books with questions and have great conversations with fellow readers about said moral conundrums. That in itself, and the fact I could write about this story for yonks, is indicative of a fantastic storyteller, and also one that feels it's important to leave a footprint where they have written and engaged.

Buy The Hidden Child at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Head of Zeus.

Monday 16 May 2022

#BlogTour Requiem in La Rossa by Tom Benjamin

 It's my turn on the BlogTour Requiem in La Rossa by Tom Benjamin. 'Requiem in La Rossa is the third in Tom Benjamin’s critically-acclaimed Bologna-set series featuring British private detective Daniel Leicester.' 

About the Author
Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna. Follow @Tombenjaminsays on Twitter

About the book

In the sweltering heat of a Bologna summer, a murderer plans their pièce de résistance...

Only in Bologna reads the headline in the Carlino after a professor of music is apparently murdered leaving the opera. But what looks like an open-and-shut case begins to fall apart when English detective Daniel Leicester is tasked with getting the accused man off, and a trail that begins among Bologna's close-knit classical music community leads him to suspect there may be a serial killer at large in the oldest university in the world. 

Review

Leicester is asked to look into a peculiar case, a young musician who has caused the death of a professor. A clear case, but someone believes there are unanswered questions. Then again perhaps it is just about soothing a guilty conscience.

Daniel has this suave way about him, not at all like a foreigner far from home. The assimilation between himself and his country of choice helps him to blend in, and perhaps it also helps him to comprehend the truth of the matter.

I enjoyed the way the author used the imagery, sensations and reactions of the instability of the earth to parallel the same in the characters and the story. The earth moving, buildings shifting and the feeling of possible impending disaster runs smoothly alongside the revelations of Daniel's investigations.

The author definitely makes the reader want to experience the surroundings for themselves. The moments of serenity whilst taking in the surroundings, the history and the people. You can absolutely understand how captivating it is, then add a little crime to the mix, and hey presto. It's also another one I would love to see on the small screen.

It's a story that comes alive through the eyes of the main character - a crime that starts off with one simple deed and evolves into something much more wicked.

Buy Requiem in La Rossa at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏:  Constable pub date 5 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

Tuesday 10 May 2022

#Blogtour The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

It is absolutely a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Attic Child by Lola Jaye. It's a fantastic read.

About the Author

Lola Jaye is an author and registered psychotherapist. She was born and raised in London and has lived in Nigeria and the United States. She has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Psychotherapy and Counselling. She has contributed to the sequel to the bestseller Lean In, penned by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and has also written for the Huffington Post, CNN, Essence, HuffPost and the BBC.

She is a member of the Black Writers’ Guild and the author of five previous novels. The Attic Child is her first epic historical novel. Follow @LolaJaye on Twitter

About the book

Two children separated by almost a century, bound by a secret…

1907: Twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of his time locked in an attic room of a large house by the sea. Taken from his homeland and treated as an unpaid servant, he dreams of his family in Africa even if, as the years pass, he struggles to remember his mother’s face, and sometimes his real name. 

Almost a century later, Lowra, a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege, will find herself banished to the same attic. Lying under the floorboards of the room is an old porcelain doll, an unusual beaded claw necklace and, most curiously, a sentence etched on the wall behind an old cupboard, written in an unidentifiable language. Artefacts that will offer her a strange kind of comfort, and lead her to believe that she was not the first child to be imprisoned there . . . 

Review

I'm not sure there is any right way to review this in regards to the white privilege I acknowledge and access, and the frame of reference through which I experienced this read. White guilt is unwanted and white saviourism is a concept created only to sooth the conscience of deep seated roots of colonialism, and the waves of destruction it has caused.

I found the story of Dikembe incredibly sad, and the actions of the man who bought him as a show pony exemplar, are just despicable. It's hard to fathom how people could disassociate themselves with the concept of  humanity in other races, believing themselves superior and virtuous, whilst treating others like commodities. 

Equally I was moved by Lowra's story, but on a different level. The voice of neglect and abuse is one to be heard and remembered. The connection between the two characters is a shared experience of being invisible, forgotten and never good enough. It's that bond and force of nature, the strength of endurance, that creates a strong legacy from the past, present and into the future.

This is definitely going on my best reads of the year list. I loved it. I can't wait to read more by Jaye - what an incredible writer. The way history, white privilege and colonialism is woven silently into the plot. There is no placard with a silent scream of anger, disappointment, sorrow or pain. There is only fact, fate, truth and acknowledgement of guilt. 

This is only one voice of many silent ones, faction and hard reality melded with a creative flair to create this compelling story of displacement, abuse, racism and identity. An excellent read.

Buy The Attic Child at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Pan MacMillan 28th April 2022 | Hardback - £14.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Pan MacMillan.

Monday 9 May 2022

#BlogTour The Safe Place by Louise Mumford

 
It's my turn on the Blogtour The Safe Place by Louise Mumford.

About the Author

Louise was born and lives in South Wales. From a young age she loved books and dancing, but hated having to go to sleep, convinced that she might miss out on something interesting happening in the world whilst she dozed – much to her mother’s frustration! Insomnia has been a part of her life ever since.

She studied English Literature at university and graduated with first class honours. As a teacher she tried to pass on her love of reading to her students (and discovered that the secret to successful teaching is… stickers! She is aware that that is, essentially, bribery.) 

In the summer of 2019 Louise experienced a once-in-a-lifetime moment: she was discovered as a new writer by her publisher at the Primadonna Festival. Everything has been a bit of a whirlwind since then. 

Louise lives in Cardiff with her husband and spends her time trying to get down on paper all the marvellous and frightening things that happen in her head. Follow @louise_mumford on Twitter

About the book

She told you the house would keep you safe. She lied. - Esther is safe in the house. For sixteen years, she and her mother have lived off the grid, protected from the dangers of the outside world. For sixteen years, Esther has never seen another single soul.

Until today. - Today there’s a man outside the house. A man who knows Esther’s name, and who proves that her mother’s claims about the outside world are false. A man who is telling Esther that she’s been living a lie. Is her mother keeping Esther safe – or keeping her prisoner?

Review

Esther can barely remember a time before the isolation, the bubble and the extreme fear. A fear of the world around her and especially of the outside - the air that can and will kill her given half the chance. Luckily she has a mother who fights ferociously for her daughter's safety, health and life.

The innate trust she has in her mother, the woman who puts her safety above all else, slowly starts to crumble. Living in a bubble in isolation for the majority of her living years, well it means she can only judge and make decisions based on the information she has at this moment in time. It's the difference between life and death for Esther, right?

It is until Esther starts to question the world around her, and her eyes are opened to some inconsistencies. Perhaps it's time to face up to her fears and take small steps in the right direction or straight in the direction of death.

It's an interesting doomsday scenario, which isn't that farfetched in our day and age. There are plenty of people living off-grid and keeping loved ones isolation in the hopes of keeping them safe. The question is whether they are right to do so or in this case have the right to make those decisions for the more vulnerable.

Buy The Safe House at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: HQ Digital pub date 12 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com

#BlogTour The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence.

'The final Book in the stellar new series from bestselling fantasy author of Prince of Thorns and Red Sister, Mark Lawrence.'

About the Author

Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the ‘Star Wars’ missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He says he never had any ambition to be a writer so was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. 

His first trilogy, The Broken Empire, has been universally acclaimed as a ground-breaking work of fantasy, and both The Liar’s Key and The Wheel of Osheim have won the Gemmell Legend award for best fantasy novel. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol. Follow @Mark__Lawrence on Twitter

About the book

The fate of the world hangs from the Moon. The green world overwhelms all of Yaz’s expectations. Everything seems different but some things remain the same: her old enemies are still bent on her destruction.

The Corridor abounds with plenty and unsuspected danger. To stand a chance against the eyeless priest, Eular, and the god-like city-mind, Seus, Yaz will need to learn fast and make new friends.

The Convent of Sweet Mercy, like the Corridor itself, is packed with peril and opportunity. Yaz needs the nuns’ help – but first they want to execute her.

The fate of everyone squeezed between the Corridor’s vast walls, and ultimately the fate of those labouring to survive out on ice itself, hangs from the moon, and the battle to save the moon centres on the Ark of the Missing, buried beneath the emperor’s palace. Everyone wants Yaz to be the key that will open the Ark – the one the wise have sought for generations. But sometimes wanting isn’t enough.

Review

After the first few chapters I knew I would have to go back to the beginning of this trilogy and experience the entirety of the premise and intricate worldbuilding. Saying that, this can absolutely be read as a standalone, and the author has added a short four page - the story so far - recap, for readers  who are new to the series.

I have to say kudos at this point because it's not a simple task to condense such a mammoth fantasy concept, and the characters, into a short pitch. The kind of recap you can understand and helps a reader to jump right in at the deep end of the third Book of Ice.

Aside from the complexity of the plot, which is a superbly layered sweetmeat of fantasy, origin, myth, science and great writing, there also a nice wee exploration of the area between right and wrong. Where rules pave the directions of the roads societies walk upon, there will always be cracks and areas in between.

And who determines whether those who wander within those areas off the beaten path are rebels, outlaws or indeed the hero in the story? Are the helpful gestures made in an attempt to interfere or support - looking straight at the Convent of Sweet Mercy.

I'm not sure a review can do the plot justice without giving something pivotal away. Every interaction pushes Yaz further toward what everyone expects of her - being the key and answer to the Ark of the Missing. But what if there is so much more to the Missing than everyone thinks?

Reading the last paragraph I can only hope there will be more, so many directions to take and avenues to explore. Right? One can only hope. I know many feel this is his fantasy work come full circle - I don't, there is always another path to be taken. 

Buy The Girl and the Moon at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Voyager pub date 28 April 2022│HB £14.99│EB £8.99│EA £14.49. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Harper Collins.