#Blogtour The Wish by Heather Morris

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Wish by Heather Morris. Published by Zaffre Books on 11th of September 2025. Tour run courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author

Heather Morris is an international no.1 bestseller and has sold over 19 million copies worldwide. This brand-new novel is a fresh direction for Heather but speaks to all the themes that readers know and love her for: hope in the darkest of places, family, love and courage.

Born in New Zealand, Heather Morris is passionate about stories of survival, resilience and hope. In 2003, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who 'might just have a story worth telling'. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Lale's story formed the basis for The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the follow-up novel, Cilka's Journey. 

In 2021 she published the phenomenal conclusion to the Tattooist trilogy, Three Sisters, after being asked to tell the story of three Holocaust survivors who knew Lale from their time in Auschwitz Birkenau. Together, her novels have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide. Sisters Under the Rising Sun, a heart-wrenching novel based upon the experiences of women in Japanese POW camps, was published in 2023 to great acclaim. Heather's first contemporary novel, The Wish, will be published in September 2025. 

About the book

From the international No. 1 bestselling author Heather Morris comes a heartbreaking contemporary novel of a dying teenager's final wish, a lonely young man's journey towards connection, and the unexpected friendship they find together. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and John Green. 

Jesse is 15. She loves her friends, her little brother and her parents - even when they're arguing, which feels like constantly these days. But most of all, she loves playing video games. Even from her hospital bed. 

Alex is 29. He doesn't love a lot of things. To be honest, he's not really sure he knows how to. His desk at work, as VR games designer, is empty, much like his life feels sometimes. 

Then Jesse makes a wish. A simple one: a video experience made of her life, something to be there, just in case she isn't. One loving teenager. One lonely adult. Which one will get the happy ending?

Review

In a way the grief of a sudden death differs from one after a prolonged illness. The illness in itself becomes part of a strange grieving process with the possibility of saying goodbye. This story encapsulates the many ripples a tragic death can cause, especially when the dying person is a child or young person. It's perhaps the biggest tragedy, when a short life comes to an end. No time to experience life, to encounter different versions of themselves and the constant reminder of a ticking clock.

The moments experiencing life without the medical constraints and limitations of physical illness are perhaps the most tragic. Conversations with the universe, the sea, the world around her. The sea and waves that speak to Jesse all elements of a freedom and a future she craves.

The essence of the story is more about the way human connections can bring forth a strength, resilience and power that is undeniably an element specific to our race. Sometimes we are powerless in the face of tragedy, how we continue and how we face life afterwards is an individual journey that becomes easier when the path travelled is a shared one.

Morris is quite adept at pulling heartstrings and creating a story that remains with us in more ways than one.

Buy The Wish at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Zaffre in Hardback, eBook, and Audio pub date 11th September 2025. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Bookshop org.

#Blogtour The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher.

*From the literary award winning, bestselling and critically acclaimed novelist Susan Fletcher comes a novel about the richness and adventures of one woman’s life – a joyful, brave, unconventional life, brimming with love and loss in all its forms.* 

About the Author

Susan Fletcher was born in Birmingham and studied English Literature at the University of York. 

Whilst taking the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, she began her first novel, Eve Green, which won the Whitbread First Novel Award (2004) and Betty Trask Prize (2005). Since then, Susan has written seven novels - whilst also supplementing her writing through various roles, including as a barperson, a cheesemonger and a warden for an archaeological excavation site near Hadrian's Wall. Most recently, she has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Worcester. She lives in Warwickshire. Follow @sfletcherauthor on X

About the book

#“Florrie knows that love, the proper, deep, extraordinary kind – is not about you. Real love is about them, always – about the person who you love above all others, whose happiness you long for above all other things.  With love, you want the best for them.  You want their contentment, their safety.  You want them to laugh freely, to dance, to live a long, healthy life of joy and gratitude – even if this happens away from you, even if your beloved never knows your name.  For that person you’d deny yourself a thousand things in your own life if it meant they had just one of them – just one.  

For one has, with love, the curious notion that you can pass on your own allowance of happiness to them, in some fashion, as if bequeathing pennies that you’d rather they spent, not you.”  - Joy? Here. Have all of mine. 

Review

I think this author has a particular strength when it comes to creating characters the reader becomes invested in. Deeper emotional connections, perhaps because the characters resonate with a specific part of our experiences or our frame of references.

This time the characters and story is woven together with a potential mystery at the core. It allows for a greater exploration of love, life, both lived and lost. In a sense the inner core, when you move through the forest of suspicion and questions, is about the beginning and the end - a path well travelled.

I loved the way this story became an multi genre experience with a literary vibe. The descriptive prose evokes poetic imagery, which is then drawn in a direct contrast to the ageing in Florrie. Knowing that her vivacious and colourful journey is slowing down and declining. Her health and changes that come with aging have become a burden that attracts vicious tongues, and yet despite all that she lives in a world that sees the beauty and joy in the fleeting moments.

I enjoyed the read - will we hear more from Florrie? Or is the path to the end exactly what the readers want for her. It's a story that travels smoothly from present to past and back again, and sometimes part of that past clings tightly to the travelling ever evolving memory.

Buy The Night in Question at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bantam; pub date 18th April 2024 | Hardback | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Secret Keepers by Tilly Bagshawe

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Secret Keepers by Tilly Bagshawe.

About the Author

Tilly Bagshawe is the internationally bestselling author of nineteen previous novels and has written for newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. She lives in London with her husband and 4 children. She is available for interview and to write features. 

About the book

Sweeping from the French Riviera to the wind-blown Cornish cliffs, this is a spellbinding novel about the fates and fortunes of the Challant family – and the devastating secrets that echo through the years . . 

The beautiful bastide at Beaulieu-sur-Mer has always been an idyllic retreat for the Challant family, a place of glorious memories and sun-drenched summers. But the summer of 1928 changes everything. 

One humid, stormy night, a young local boy suffers a fatal accident in the bastide’s grounds – and the suspicious circumstances around his death sets off a chain of whispers in the town on the Riviera. 

For the Challant children, they have no choice but to move on and leave those terrible events in the past. But through the years of loves and losses, marriages and betrayals, the Challants’ lives will always be tainted by that night. And it’s only by unlocking devastating family secrets that they’ll finally be set free…

Review

The Challant children are wedged between a mother who secretly despises herself and her husband for not being able to live the life she wants. Her soul wants to be the artist, and yet she is as caged as the birds she treasures in her remarkable aviary. Her husband rules the roost with a patriarchal sense of superiority. 

As the reader moves from the adult children in the future back to important periods in their past, it becomes clear that a tragic event has not only triggered a lifetime of fears and insecurities, but perhaps also determined the paths the children have taken. The adults they grow into, the baggage they carry and the secrets they keep - it has the potential to destroy them.

I think Bagshawe deviates from her usual popular recipe with this book - it has more of a family and tortured emotional bond meets the demands of unresolved trauma vibe. Evolving from the physical to the fraught webs of the kind of relationships that weave webs of invisible patterns across both decades and people.

It's contemporary fiction with a steadfast hold in the past. A story driven by past fears, trauma, conflicted feelings of guilt, and at the core of it all is a tragic mystery.

Buy The Secret Keepers at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins; pub date 11th April 2024 | PBO | Audio | Ebook | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Clickbait by L. C. North

It's a pleasure to take part on the Blogtour Clickbait by L. C. North.

About the Author

L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her book club thrillers - The Ugly Truth and Clickbait - combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. When she's not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.

L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North. Readers can follow @Lauren_C_North on X and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor.

About the book

'We're not famous anymore. We're notorious.' - For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters.

But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they're in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they'd seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story.

Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He's determined to find out what really happened to Bradley - he just needs to read between the Lancasters' lies . . .

Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won't be long until someone cracks.

Review

The Lancasters are notorious or rather they have created a version of themselves that has become so, which people want to see and buy into. When things go a little quieter a convenient scandal, mystery or controversial topic catapults them back into the limelight. True crime investigator Tom aka a Tubie detective decides he is going to bring the truth to the people, well what functions as the truth nowadays, which is at the core of this story.

With a storytelling style that has a Hallett and Wesolowski vibe to it - modern communication, social media and the new version of fame meets infamy, makes this crime thriller not only a must read, but also a read that is a sign of the times.

Tapping into the melding of black and white into a vast variety of what right or wrong may or may not be. Guilt becomes obsolete when the court of mass opinion matters more. Equally the mass opinion is merely about popularity, clicks, likes and how much money you can earn at the end of the day. 

North definitely hits the right notes and captures the nature of the beast. There is definitely a correlation between creating false narratives and drama to gain traction on social media and in the news, then to rinse and repeat ad infinitum - controversy and scandal sells. News as we know it no longer exists, facts have become secondary to the opinions of everyone, including so-called journalists.

Buy Clickbait at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bantam, pub date 11th April 2024 - Hardback | £14.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Meet Me When My Heart Stops by Becky Hunter

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Meet Me When My Heart Stops by Becky Hunter.

About the Author

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure. Follow @Bookish_Becky on X

About the book

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife? 

The first time Emery dies, she is only five years old...  Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do - if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery's heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead. 

Each time Emery's heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once - but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her. 

As Emery's life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop - so that she can see Nick again. 

This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments - because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery's life. 

Review

I love it when a book or story takes you on more of a ride than you were expecting. It has all the ingredients of memorable romance, but it is far more than that. The balancing of the relationship threads around Emery's travel between life, and not quite in the land of the dead, is subtle and yet incredibly nuanced.

The threads create a web of connections with Emery sitting in the middle, and her actions and relationship with life itself create ripples of movement that impact everyone on said web. Her family is divided in their reactions to her condition, which means cracks begin to form. The need to protect and keep her safe from harm equals constant monitoring and restrictions.

Emery has a defiant reaction to her condition, which at first isn't connected to wanting to see the man on the other side. Eventually the defiance becomes self-destructive and becomes intertwined with the desire to see Nick again. Somewhere along the line the dance with death becomes an almost deliberate act, although I am sure Emery would disagree - she'd be deceiving herself of course. The willingness to take that risk is indicative of how she treats those around her and how she disregards the impact her risky behaviour has on those around her.

I really enjoyed the concept and would love to see this developed into a screen version - it has all the makings of the kind of idea that captures hearts indefinitely.

Buy Meet Me When My Heart Stops at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Corvus | pub date 21 March 2024 - Hardback £14.99. Also available in e-book. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore

Sunday Times bestseller Rachel Hore’s captivating new novel of secrets, loss and betrayal - set on the beautiful Cornish coast during World War Two and the heady days of the 1960s. 

It's my turn on the Blogtour The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore.

About the Author

Rachel Hore worked in London publishing for many years before moving with her family to Norwich, where she taught publishing and creative writing at the University of East Anglia before becoming a full-time writer. She is married to the writer D. J. Taylor and they have three sons. Rachel Hore is the author of twelve previous novels, many of them Sunday Times bestsellers. Follow @Rachelhore on X

About the book

When talented musician Gray Robinson persuades Belle to abandon her university studies and follow him to Silverwood, home to an artistic community on the Cornish coast, Belle happily agrees even though they’ve only just met. She knows she is falling in love, and the thought of spending a carefree summer with Gray is all she can think about. 

But being with Gray isn’t the only reason Belle agrees to accompany him to Silverwood. Why does the name Silverwood sound so familiar? What is its connection to a photo of her as a baby, taken on a nearby beach? And who is Imogen Lockhart, a wartime nurse who lived at Silverwood many years ago? As the summer months unfold, Belle begins to learn the truth – about secrets from the past that have been kept hidden, but also about the person she wants to be. 

Review

It's the 60s and Belle is about to embark on a new path, a deviation from her plans from her sensible life. Why? The charm of a persuasive man is so convincing that she is willing to become a butterfly floating on the winds of change. Sounds so convincing, right?

She follows Gray to a place called Silverwood, and eventually it's as if she was meant to follow him to that place, because it appears to hold the answers to some secrets she was never aware of.

The second timeline begins on the cusp of the start of World War II and Imogen, who helps to accompany two evacuees to a house that becomes an important fixture in the story. Somehow the two must be connected right, but perhaps the stories connect in a different way completely.

One of things the author does really well in this book is bring to life the forgotten world of the first line of defence, ergo the coastal communities during the war. The preparation for a possible invasion, the actual invasion of friendly forces - the way the allies changed the fabric of certain areas, and just how many stories remain locked in and forgotten.

Set across two timelines this historical fiction story has the heart of a fighter, the compassion of an open heart and keeps the reader engaged from the get-go.

Buy The Hidden Years at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon and Schuster, pub date 15th February 2024 | Paperback | £9.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Review Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

I absolutely understand why this was such a bestseller!

About the Author

Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, Yellowface, and Katabasis (forthcoming). Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. She has been named to the 2023 Time100 Next list and the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024.

A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies Sinophone literature and Asian American literature. Follow @kuangrf on X

About the book

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.

White lies - When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.

Dark humour - But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Deadly consequences…What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.

Review

Part of me wonders whether the editors really knew what they were reading when this hit their desks. It is such an accurate reflection of white privilege in the publishing industry and more of a tongue lashing than a tongue-in-cheek drop in the pan.

The author takes scathing shots at a variety of elements of publishing, fame, being a writer, and perhaps most astute is her take on who is allowed to write what about whom, when and in what capacity. I am so glad one of the examples mentioned is American Dirt, which is a perfect example of the storm in Yellowface.

Then there are the questions that pop up in relation to June stealing Athena's work or idea then adapting it with her own style and voice. Is that not the core of fan fiction, which is in essence taking the ideas of others and creating an adaptation using the material of other authors. Then the controversy of white authors writing about minorities, about issues their privilege doesn't allow them to view objectively. This thought process is carried forward by the author by referencing the similar inter-culture restraints and prejudices Athena was guilty of.

It's an incredibly clever piece of writing and story. I enjoyed the fact the end is exactly as brassy and bold faced as one would expect, because it reflects the publishing industry so well. It's a fantastic read.

Buy Yellowface at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎The Borough Press, pub date 25 May 2023.Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life by Helen Fisher

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life by Helen Fisher.

About the Author

Helen Fisher is the author of Space Hopper, her debut novel of 2021. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is her second novel. Helen has degrees in psychology and ergonomics and was the senior evaluator at RNIB for a few years. This background informs much of her writing as she is fascinated by the psychology of everyday life, especially in terms of relationships. 

Inspiration for Helen’s protagonists and other characters are often drawn directly from herself, her friends and family. She explains that her creation of the character of Joe Nuthin is partly to examine ‘the importance of what some might think of as a small and ordinary life’.

Helen was born on a US military base and spent the first five years of her life in the US, before returning to the UK with her family settling in Suffolk. She returned to Suffolk as an adult and now lives in a village with her two children and a cat called Bear, who thinks he’s a dog. When she isn’t working on her third novel, she walks a lot, talks a lot, likes a jigsaw and the occasional Mojito. Follow @HFisherAuthor on X

About the book

A poignant and life-affirming tale of love, loss and finding friendships where you least expect them…

Joe loves predictability. But his life is a surprising adventure. Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules. He’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing a book full of advice for Joe - things she hasn’t explained to him yet, things he might forget, questions he hasn’t asked, or might not get the chance to ask…

Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

Review

I absolutely embrace the positive aspect of this story. The empathy and compassion that we hope is hidden beneath the layers of shallow societal expectations and norms. The ability to see and acknowledge the difference in lived experience and how to navigate the world and people in a different way.

Joe-Nathan lives life by a set of rules and tries not to deviate from them, which can be stressful at times, especially when others find it difficult to accept his need for a certain routine or structure. It makes him a target for the bullies, the ignorant and the less understanding.

I found the story hit close to home and it made me incredibly sad, perhaps because I understand how his mother worries for Joe in a world where he will one day have to solely rely on himself with no nurturing mother to explain and support. My heart is heavy, because I know what it's like to experience the judgement of others, the cruelty that is dished out by the so called 'normal' members of society to children, young people and in general towards people who don't fit into stereotypical boxes and expectations. Both anger and fear are a constant companion when I think of how my loved one will navigate a world that is often unwilling to bend to accommodate otherness.

I must add that there are also moments of connection, kindness and although very few in a large society, there are indeed people who see the beauty, the mystery in the method and how easy it is and should be to accept instead of dismissing people like Joe.

Joe's story is a spark of hope and also a journey, a building of friendship and understanding. An excursion into experiences and independence with a fierce warrior willing to stand by his side. It's a lovely story, albeit it one that may make readers angry or sad at times. It is certainly a story that should be told and remembered.

Buy Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon and Schuster, pub date 9th November 2023 | Hardback | £16.99. Also available in ebook and audio. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour You're a Dream to Me by Samantha Kay.

About the Author

Samantha Kay is an author of contemporary women’s fiction.  Her titles include, Found, Good People, and her newest release; You’re a Dream to Me. 

Samantha has been studying human behaviour and dysfunctional family dynamics at the University of Life for almost twenty years, with many of her findings inspiring her stories and their characters. Samantha Kay was born, raised and still lives in East London. Follow @Samanthakay21 on Twitter

About the book

After the suicide of her husband, Lydia Green’s life is turned upside down. In the aftermath of Steve’s death, the secrets he kept begin to surface, resulting in Lydia having to say goodbye to her easy carefree lifestyle; and is forced to rebuild her whole life again from scratch.

Lydia is constantly haunted by the memory of Steve as she sleeps. The shame and anger Lydia feels surrounding her husband’s death means she constantly experiences disturbing nightmares that she struggles to make sense of.

Embarrassed by Steve’s choice to end his own life, Lydia is often quick to fabricate tales to others regarding the circumstances of his death. During her journey home from a disastrous first day back at work, Lydia, quite literally, falls into the life of handsome rail engineer Scott.

Unable to come to terms with the unsettling facts of her past, while Lydia and Scott’s budding romance begins to blossom, Lydia fabricates a fictitious tale surrounding the reasons behind her newfound widowhood.

With the help of her best friend Ruth and an unlikely bond found in her new boss Jon, can Lydia find the strength to eventually be honest with Scott, and finally put the ghosts of her past to rest?

Review

I have to say this has a lot more depth than one might surmise when you take a quick glance at the surface. The core conversation revolves around suicide, so that could be triggering for some readers. I think it was done in a really subtle and sometimes humorous way.

From a outside point of view the reactions of Lydia could be viewed as chaotic, frivolous or possibly even as disengaged from the reality of her situation. Even when she connects with other men after the death of her husband.

In fact what the entire story reflects is the pain, guilt, the confusion, the sadness, the panic, the despair and also the anger of Lydia. The chaos and confusion, and yet the firm determination to sort through and recover from the mess her husband left behind. Left with nothing, and yet still feeling a responsibility to make his name and legacy less negative, especially because no person likes to blame the person who took their own life, she is pulled between two masters.

The dreams that speak of complex guilt, the imagining of the emotional distress she missed, which is presented as a contradiction to the lived reality she experiences every day. I enjoyed it. I think this is one of those reads that may be underrated and deserves a wee bit more attention.

Buy You're a Dream to Me at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane.

About the Author

When Joe and Roisin join their group of friends for a weekend at a country house, it’s a triple celebration – a birthday, an engagement and the launch of Joe’s shiny new crime drama on TV. For Roisin, it’s a chance to connect with the group of friends she made a decade before, working as a bookseller. But for Joe, it’s a distraction as his writing career soars.

As the weekend unfolds, tensions are revealed between the group and Roisin’s sense of foreboding about her own relationship grows. And when the friends watch the first episode of Joe’s drama, she realises that the secrets she told him are right there on the screen. But is that all he’s used? What if the fictional hero’s infidelity also isn’t fictional after all? Follow @MhairiMcF on Twitter

About the book

Sunday Times bestselling author Mhairi McFarlane was born in Scotland in 1976 and her unnecessarily confusing name is pronounced Vah-Ree. After some efforts at journalism, she started writing novels and her first book, You Had Me At Hello, was an instant success and she’s since sold nearly 2 million copies of her books. Between Us is her ninth book and she lives in Nottingham with a man and a cat.

Review

I have to get something off my chest - I know this is marketed as romcom, and it does have romance and it does have comedy, but that's not where I would put this gem of a reading experience. The comedy element is snarky, pithy, often vicious and soul-bearing banter. The romance is a deep exploration of long-term relationships and friendships, and how those friendships evolve and devolve as we grow and change throughout the years and our experiences.

For me this absolutely is a bit of a Fleabag - it certainly has the potential to be the kind of on-screen material that will resonate with a big audience. With the slight of a hand Roisin could interact the way Joe's character does with the audience, and wouldn't it just be grand to see Joe and his fictional character play off each other. Sounds like an interesting experience, so here's keeping our fingers crossed that this story is seen for the deep introspective work it is.

It's just so much more than recognising that you deserve better, that expecting the bare minimum of love, touch and respect isn't needy or to be framed as pushy - it's a normal expectation that no one should demean you for wanting. It's hard when your truth is merely a variation of what they consider their truth to be, and yet somehow expect you to fall in to step with the abusive and deceptive nature of it all.

I enjoyed the read. The author has a way of bringing a variety of personalities to the table that coincide with groupings we as people naturally are drawn to. The way people are capable of being supportive, loving and then simultaneously destructive and self-destructive at the same time. I think the true nature of Joe was captured so well that it could have been its own version of a psychological thriller.

Highly recommend it, regardless of whether you are looking for a laugh, some romance or indeed don't mind falling into the deeper side of the emotional well that long term relationships bring to the table.

Buy Between Us at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Collins Uk; pub date 11th May 2023 | Paperback Original | Ebook | Audio | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers. A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick! 

About the Author

Jo Leevers grew up in London and has spent most of her career working on magazines, most recently writing features about homes and interiors for leading newspapers and magazines. This means she gets to visit people around the country and ask them about all the things in their homes. Some might call this a licence to be nosey…

Tell Me How This Ends is her debut. Whether writing fiction or interviewing people for articles, she is fascinated by the life stories that we all carry with us. She has two grown-up children and lives with her husband and their wayward dog, Lottie, in Bristol. Follow @JoLeevers on Twitter, Visit linktr.ee/joleevers

About the book

The captivating debut novel from journalist Jo Leevers is a beautifully rendered exploration of loss, morality and the power of storytelling. 

Haunted by the past, Henrietta throws herself into a new job transcribing other people’s life stories, vowing to stick to the facts and keep emotions at arm’s length. But when she meets the eccentric and terminally ill Annie, she finds herself inextricably drawn in. And when Annie reveals that her sister drowned in unexplained circumstances in 1974, Henrietta’s methodical mind can’t help following the story’s loose ends…

Unlike Henrietta, Annie is brimming with confidence—but even she has limits when it comes to opening up. Ever since that terrible night when her sister left a pile of clothes beside the canal and vanished, Annie has been afraid to look too closely into the murky depths of her memories. 

When her attempts to glide over the past come up against Henrietta’s determination to fill in the gaps, both women find themselves confronting truths they’d thought were buried forever—especially when Henrietta’s digging unearths a surprising emotional connection between them.

Could unlocking Annie’s story help Henrietta rewrite the most devastating passages in her own life? And, in return, can she offer Annie a final twist in the tale, before it’s too late?

Review

I loved this, the story encapsulates the essence of what a huge impact some human interactions can have. Just small moments, often they seem so inconsequential, especially to the people involved. Annie and Henrietta have no idea that they are two people caught up in exactly such a moment. Their lives lived enduring, coping with and never quite processing the trauma.

Henrietta reminds me of Eleanor Oliphant, the person who never quite fits in because her way of experiencing life and interacting isn't the expected societal norm. The new job is a challenge and an exciting adventure at the same time. Dealing with people telling their life stories to be turned into a precious memory for loved ones and even the clients themselves, well it seems like a really annoying task and simultaneously it could be a simple job, right?

Annie is one of those clients, but isn't convinced that she has enough to warrant telling her life story, except there is the small matter of the sister that just disappeared off the face of the earth. Henrietta finds herself captivated by this mystery of the missing sister and starts to dig, and in doing so starts to unlock her own buried secrets and trauma.

It's a beautifully introspective story that draws a connection of thin threads between the characters, which is driven by hidden balls of emotions they have successfully ignored for many years. Beautiful, blunt, and I can't wait for more by this author.

Buy Tell Me How This Ends at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lake Union Publishing; pub date 1st May 2023 | Paperback original: £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour After Dad by Claire Shiells

 It's my turn on the Blogtour After Dad by Claire Shiells.

After the Author

Claire Shiells grew up in rural Northern Ireland during the Troubles where she had the best of times and the worst of times. She calls herself Northern Irish except on St Patrick’s Day when she is inexplicably full on Top-Of-The-Morning-To-You Irish. Claire now lives in London and in her last life (before the longest maternity leave ever) was a journalist and magazine editor. After Dad is inspired by a true event and is her first novel. Follow @claireshiells on Twitter

About the book

A bittersweet love story exploring why good people sometimes do bad things… - Millie Malone, a spirited, thirty-something journalist returns home to Northern Ireland after a life-changing decision leaves her London life in ruins.

A family reunion soon unravels, opening old wounds and igniting new grievances regarding the murder of her father by the IRA decades earlier. Retreating to the family cottage in Donegal, Millie soon meets Finn McFall, a fisherman originally from west Belfast, who loves to paint and recite Irish poetry.

In the new modern Ireland, Millie believes religion is no longer a barrier for love. But she soon finds home is a place still struggling with a fragile peace and simmering sectarianism.

As events unfold, Millie is forced to decide between love and loyalty, eventually having to ask herself the ultimate question: can love really conquer all?

Review

If anything, this story lays bare the fragile hold on the anger, resentment, passion and in general the multitude of complex emotions framed in a tumultuous history, that exists even now in 21st century Ireland. I think in that sense Millie is overly optimistic. Old grievances die hard and there is such a thing as generational trauma.

The trauma she herself has experienced is a little bit like a bomb thrown into the midst of a family, and the shockwaves reverberate decades after. Violent death always leaves scars and living under the umbrella of constant threat of harm or death influences people in a way that is personal to them. No one experience is the same.

In a way I also think the ending of this book speaks to exactly that fragility, and the fact some people are unable to move beyond what they prioritise as more important than more menial things, such as relationships and family. Recognising that is a coming-of-age moment and includes the ability to move as one, as opposed to moving as an entity of a greater idea, ideology or even sense of identity.

I want to give credit to the sub-plot, which in the grand scheme of the story may appear minor but is poignant in its own way. Perhaps because the author addresses a controversial issue, and for a moment there I thought it was going to go a bit right field, in a way that shines a light on how difficult it is for women to make certain decisions and how the world gaslights them by saying it is a lightweight and inconsequential one made out of convenience. Just want to point out that the why is irrelevant, as is the way each individual feels about said choice. None of your business or my business for that matter.

This is a poignant and heartfelt read; I hope to read more by this author in the future.

Buy After Dad at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎The Book Guild; pub date 28 Sept. 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher

It's my turn on the BlogTour With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher.

About the Author

Carrie Hope Fletcher is an actress, singer, author and vlogger. Carrie's first book, All I Know Now, was a number one Sunday Times bestseller and her debut novel, On the Other Side, also went straight to number one.

Carrie played the role of Eponine in Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End for almost three years. She has since starred in and received awards for a number of productions including The War of the Worlds, The Addams Family and Heathers: The Musical. She is currently starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in the lead role.

Carrie lives just outside of London with numerous fictional friends that she keeps on bookshelves, just in case. Carrie loves to connect with readers on social media. Find her on: Twitter - @CarrieHFletcher, Instagram - @CarrieHopeFletcher and @PrattleandPages

About the book

From the outside, Lorelai is an ordinary young woman with a normal life. She loves reading, she works at the local cinema and she adores living with her best friend. But she carries a painful burden, something she's kept hidden for years; whenever she kisses someone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die.

Lorelai has never known if she's seeing what was always meant to be, or if it's her kiss that decides their destiny. And so, she hasn't kissed anyone since she was eighteen.

Then she meets Grayson. Sweet, clever, funny Grayson. And for the first time in years she yearns for a man's kiss. But she can't... can she? And if she does, should she try to intervene and change what she sees?

Sweepingly romantic, utterly original, and backed by a show-stopping campaign, prepare to fall in love.

Review

Lorelai has a special gift that determines her life and the love she chooses or not. She knows that sharing an intimate moment - a kiss - also means being confronted with the stark reality of destiny. It's too much to endure, which is why she is hesitant to love and care for someone. 

But love comes to us in unexpected moments and Lorelai has to navigate her feelings towards Grayson, which she finds increasingly hard to control, whilst simultaneously keeping him safe at all costs.

I must admit I was a little confused by the token trans moment, which fulfilled nothing other than an attempt to show allyship on the author's part. It was awkward, written from a perspective of everyone except that character and was just a superfluous moment with no plot context.

It's also Magical Realism that slots, as far as I am concerned, into the Young Adult category. It is written in a very young voice - teenage almost.

I loved the concept, but thought it wasn't given the opportunity to flourish and grow into something with more depth. The concept or premise of whether a person would choose to take the same path and create the same history and life if they knew where that path would eventually lead them. If you knew how long that path would be.

Buy With This Kiss at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HQ pub date 14 April 2022. At Waterstones. At Harper Collins.

#BlogTour Sugar and Snails by Anne Goodwin

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Sugar and Snails by Anne Goodwin.

About the Author

Anne Goodwin writes entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice. She is the author of three novels and a short story collection published by small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Her new novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, is inspired by her previous incarnation as a clinical psychologist in a long-stay psychiatric hospital. Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of prize-winning short stories. 

Follow @Annecdotist on Twitter, Visit annegoodwin.weebly.com, @Annecdotist on Facebook, Instagram @authorannegoodwin, Anne Goodwin’s YouTube channel, Link tree annecdotist, Amazon author page: viewauthor.at/AnneGoodwin,

Publisher Inspired Quill

About the book

At fifteen, she made a life-changing decision. Thirty years on, it’s time to make another. - When Diana escaped her misfit childhood, she thought she’d chosen the easier path. But the past lingers on, etched beneath her skin, and life won’t be worth living if her secret gets out.

As an adult, she’s kept other people at a distance... until Simon sweeps in on a cloud of promise and possibility. But his work is taking him to Cairo, the city that transformed her life. She’ll lose Simon if she doesn’t join him. She’ll lose herself if she does.

Sugar and Snails charts Diana’s unusual journey, revealing the scars from her fight to be true to herself. A triumphant mid-life coming-of-age story about bridging the gap between who we are and who we feel we ought to be.

Review

I was in two minds about the way to review this book. On one hand there's an opportunity to discuss and go into detail, but on the other hand it's also the kind of read that allows for the reader to discover the story at their own pace.

This is a story about identity, perception of identity and the way the world around us tries to fit us into preconceived notions and ready made boxes. It's also about the inner struggle when the aforementioned leads to a battle of self.

The premise has unfortunately become an embittered battleground in the last few years with great division and warring sides, with little thought left to the reality of the confusion and pain of those in this duality.

I have to agree with the sentiment in the author's note, if it had been written with both parents taking centre stage, the core and heart of this premise would have been non-existent. Writing it with Di at the wheel and steering the boat was much more intimate, frank and soul baring. It's as if the reader is at the emotional core of memories, emotions and the duality of spirit and being.

It's a really excellent piece of fiction, an exploration of a journey, of a life lived with expectations, hopes, and an unfinished jigsaw of self.

Buy Sugar and Snails at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Inspired Quill, pub date 23 July 2015. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Books2read. 

#BlogTour Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlgTour Other Parents by Sarah Stovell.

About the Author

Sarah Stovell was born in Kent in 1977 and now lives in Northumberland with her partner and two children. She has an MA and a PhD in creative writing and is a lecturer in creative writing at Lincoln University. She is the author of four previous novels, Mothernight, The Night Flower, Exquisite and The Home. Exquisite was chosen by The Times as one of the top 40 crime novels of the past 50 years. Follow @sarahlovescrime on Twitter

About the book

They all have opinions. They all have secrets. - In a small town like West Burntridge, it should be impossible to keep a secret. But the problem with having your nose in everyone’s business is that you can miss what’s staring you in the face.

Rachel Saunders knows gossip is the price you pay for a rural lifestyle and outstanding schools. The latest town scandal is her divorce – and the fact that her new girlfriend has moved into the family home.

Laura Spence lives in a poky bedsit on the wrong side of town. She and her son Jake don’t really belong, and his violent tantrums are threatening to expose the very thing she’s trying to hide.

When the local school introduces a new LGBTQ+-friendly curriculum, Rachel and Laura find themselves on opposite sides of a fearsome debate. But the problem with having your nose in everyone else’s business is that you often miss what’s happening in your own home.

Review

This tells the story of the interconnecting lives of women with children at the same school. Nothing in common except that fact, which is actually the case for the majority of parents and carers. You have no idea what each person is pretending to be or is dealing with in real life.

What playground parents are unfortunately quite good at is gossip, rumours, reputation destroying conversations, but most importantly at changing the path of how their children experience school and their peers.

One of the scenes that had me muttering along in agreement was the hypocritical attitude of give and take of the sanctimonious parent brigade. Wanting to control every aspect of their children's lives in the name of allegedly higher moral ground than the lesser people who walk among us, such as parents in same-sex relationships. Judging and pointing with one hand and holding out the other palm for silver at the same time.

And the way the PTA feels as if it has the power to change, decide and choose the curriculum and rules in school. They become a very loud, social media vocal, mob of angry judgemental people who become the tool that can be used for good and bad. Their last thought, if they think of them at all, are the children who are in the middle of these conflicts.

I thought the plot lost of bit of the initial drive and focus about three quarters way through, then too many cooks are in the kitchen in regard to the various threads or sub-plots. It takes the wind out of the sails for the storyline I felt was the most powerful and will hopefully leave the largest impact, then again stories like this will resonate differently with reader.

Stovell always brings an intriguing and captivating read to the table - hitting the nail on the head when it comes to relevant topics and very human interactions. 

Buy Other Parents at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. At Harper Collins.