#BlogTour The Little Bookshop of Love Stories by Jaimie Admans

Today it's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Little Bookshop of Love Stories by Jaime Admans. It really is lovely.

About the Author
Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she's seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she's got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots. She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.

She has been writing for years but has only just plucked up the courage to tell people.

She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies Kismetology and The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters, and young adult romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform School.

Follow @be_the_spark on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit jaimieadmans.com, Buy The The Little Bookshop of Love Stories

About the book
Today is the Mondayest Monday ever. Hallie Winstone has been fired – and it wasn’t even her fault!

Having lost her job and humiliated herself in front of a whole restaurant full of diners, this is absolutely, one hundred percent, the worst day of her life. That is until she receives an email announcing that she is the lucky winner of the Once Upon a Page Bookshop!

Owning a bookshop has always been Hallie’s dream, and when she starts to find secret love letters on the first pages of every book, she knows she's stumbled across something special.

Things get even better when she meets gorgeous, bookish Dimitri and between them, they post a few of the hidden messages online, reuniting people who thought they were lost forever.

Review
Hallie rightly thinks her ship has come in when she wins or rather is given a bookshop. One with a flat above it. A job, a home and a dream come true. For someone who wears her knickers longer than she can hold down a job - this is brilliant news.

She seems to also have inherited a book illustrator, a rather clumsy gentleman who spends his days sketching in a corner of her newly acquired book heaven or is that haven...nope definitely heaven. The two of them discover secret love messages in the books, and so begins the tale of Hallie and Dimitri.

Someone needs to bequest me a book shop just like this, then I can live a long and satisfactory book filled life and eventually die a very contented bookworm indeed. What about your life and family you say? To that I can reply but one thing - Books, and err .. more Books!

I have to admit this story thawed the icicles around my black heart. This is such an adorable and heartwarming read. It spoke very loudly to my inner bookworm. The whole premise of being surrounded by books, the wonderfully amusing and romantic atmosphere, and a cast of delightful characters. Of course there has to be a special mention of the amorous Heathcliff. What a cad, a well-travelled and often picky one, but a cad nevertheless.

You can feel the love and genuine joy the author pours into the story even in those moments when things go wrong. It's a passionate tale of love of the written word, which binds the characters together to create a funny and heartwarming story.

Buy The Little Bookshop of Love Stories on Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 8 May 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell.

About the Author
Michele Campbell is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School. She worked at a prestigious Manhattan law firm before spending eight years fighting crime in NYC as a federal prosecutor. Her debut novel It's Always the Husband was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Follow @MCampbellBks on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit MicheleCampbellBooks.com

About the book
There is a stranger outside Caroline's house.
Her spectacular new beach house, built for hosting expensive parties and vacationing with the family she thought she'd have. But her husband is lying to her and everything in her life is upside down, so when the stranger, Aidan, shows up as a bartender at the same party where Caroline and her husband have a very public fight, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As her marriage collapses around her and the lavish lifestyle she's built for herself starts to crumble, Caroline turns to Aidan for comfort...and revenge. After a brief and desperate fling that means nothing to Caroline and everything to him, Aidan's obsession with Caroline, her family, and her house grows more and more disturbing. And when Caroline's husband goes missing, he life descends into a nightmare that leaves her accused of her own husband's murder.

Review
Poor Caroline is being played for a fool by her supposedly loving hubby. Not only is he straying from the marital bed he also has the audacity to bring the harlot to their home and parade her in front of their friends and family.

In her despair Caroline ends up having a drunken fling with a younger man. She has no idea that he has a dark and volatile past, and that he might be dangerous. He starts to stalk, threaten and scare her. It's all too much to deal with as she has to watch the life she loves slowly disintegrate.

Then the coin is flipped and the reader follows Aiden and his perspective on the story, which can in all honesty often come off as stalkerish, possessive and creepy. Simultaenously you get short moments of the desperation he feels to be accepted by family, friends and society in general. Is his connection to and concern for Caroline real? He certainly seems to be unusually invested in keeping her safe. Or is it keeping her to himself?

The story is very much a he said/she said scenario. Should the reader believe Caroline or Aiden? Their stories are so different and yet at times very similar. It's hard to determine who is telling the truth or who is telling great big fat lies. Well I'm not telling you - you will have to read it and find out.

It's a psychological thriller, a tense game of half-truths and betrayal. Campbell keeps the narrative of both parties flowing seamlessly - with only tiny glimpses of the actual truth here and there.

Buy A Stranger on the Beach at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ; eBook £2.99 pub date 23 July 2019 - Paperback £7.99 pub date 9 Jan 2020 - Audiobook £12.99. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of It's Always the Husband by Michele Campbell

#BlogTour The Family Secret by Terry Lynn Thomas

Today it's a pleasure to take part the BlogTour The Family Secret and to welcome Terry Lynn Thomas back to the blog again with her second book in the Cat Carlisle series. It's a cosy mystery series that sometimes veers into the spy genre.

About the Author
Terry Lynn Thomas grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which explains her love of foggy beaches, windy dunes, and Gothic mysteries. When her husband promised to buy Terry a horse and the time to write if she moved to Mississippi with him, she jumped at the chance. Although she had written several novels and screenplays prior to 2006, after she relocated to the South she set out to write in earnest and has never looked back.

Now Terry Lynn writes the Sarah Bennett Mysteries, set on the California coast during the 1940s, which feature a misunderstood medium in love with a spy. Neptune’s Daughter is a recipient of the IndieBRAG Medallion.

She also writes the Cat Carlisle Mysteries, set in Britain during World War II. The first book in this series, The Silent Woman, was released in April 2018. When she’s not writing, you can find Terry Lynn riding her horse, walking in the woods with her dogs, or visiting old cemeteries in search of story ideas.

Follow @TLThomasBooks @HQDigitalUK
Or follow Terry Lynn Thomas on Facebook
Visit terrylynnthomas.com
Buy The Family Secret

About the book
England, 1940

After a sudden unexplained disappearance, Thomas Charles comes back into Cat Carlisle’s life with the suggestion she leave London – and the threat of bombs – to move to back her childhood village in Cumberland.

Back in her hometown Cat discovers her childhood friend, Beth Hargreaves, is suspected of murder. As Cat tries to prove Beth’s innocence, she discovers a scheme of deception that affects the whole village. Can she uncover the family truths behind the murder and expose the enemy hiding in plain sight?

Review
This is the second book in the Cat Carlisle series. It can be read as a stand-alone novel, but I would suggest reading the first, if only to get to know more about the main character of the books, and what makes her tick.

I felt as if there was less focus on Cat this time, which is what made The Silent Woman such a strong read. The taking hold of her life and becoming the woman she is supposed to be, despite all of the obstacles in her way. I felt that element of Cat was missing in this story.

The cosy mystery element of the series played more of a significant role this time, perhaps to the detriment of any possible secret squirrel activities ordered by Sir Reginald and delivered by Thomas.
When the narrative switches from Thomas to Phillip I had to go back and check I was still reading the same book, because the secondary characters play just as strong a part in this story I wasn't sure if it was still the same one.

The impending war, the fear and the changes due to the impact of this threat play a secondary role. It plays along silently in the background, as lives go on in semi-normality. People still commit crimes, fall in love, betray each other and try to carry on as if life as they know it isn't changing forever as they go about their business.

On a side note in regards to Phillip - does a leopard change his spots? Extra strong bleach perhaps?

It's a cosy mystery series that sometimes veers into the spy genre with plenty of memorable characters. It has a comfortable feeling to it, a pleasant read with a family secrets, snide characters and people determined to find the truth.

Buy The Family Secret at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital pub date 1 Mar. 2019.

Read my review of The Silent Woman (Cat Carlisle #1)

Fatal Masquerade by Vivian Conroy

The cosy mystery is often delegated to the inconsequential, fluffy and comfortable read shelf. It simply isn't given its dues. It is actually a really popular sub-genre of the crime and mystery genre.

Not everyone wants to read brutal psychological stories that mess with your head and make your little grey cells ask for a break, although admittedly I love those a lot.

Some readers want the eloquence and eccentricities of Christie-like characters combined with the quirky scenarios of Beaton, witty reads that leave you with a smile.

Conroy delivers the kind of characters you remember and enjoy. An ode to Tuppence and Tommy, but perhaps a little less suave and with a lot more cheek.

In this fourth book in the Lady Alkmene Mystery series, the reader is spoilt with choices of possible culprits, which means the amateur detectives have to work a lot harder to discover who did the deed.

Lady Alkmene accompanies her friend to a masquerade ball, which becomes a wee bit more serious when a dead body turns up and the hostess and her family become the main suspects.


If you're looking for a bit of mystery, a dead body now and again, and a set of colourful characters then you should give Conroy a try.

Buy Fatal Masquerade by Vivian Conroy at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Read Rubies in the Roses by Vivian Conroy

Follow @VivWrites