#BlogTour The Midas Game by Abi Silver

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Midas Game by Abi Silver.

An exhilarating deep dive into the world of online gaming and the addictive nature of virtual reality, The Midas Game is the next book in the acclaimed Burton and Lamb series by Abi Silver.

About the Author

Abi Silver is an author and lawyer who grew up in Leeds in a traditional Jewish family. Watching Granada TV's 'Crown Court' in between lessons led her to study  Law at Girton College, Cambridge. Abi then worked in London at international law firm, Allen & Overy and at RPC, before spending five years in Israel, where her husband, Daniel, was posted. 

During her time there, alongside raising her three young sons, Abi completed an MBA by distance learning, learned Hebrew and pottery on the wheel and began to write fiction, usually late at night. On returning to the UK, she went back to law before quitting a permanent position in 2015 when she decided to try her hand at writing again which led to publication of The Pinocchio Brief. Based in Radlett, Hertfordshire, Abi works part-time as a legal consultant and author. Follow @abisilver16 on Twitter, Visit abisilver.co.uk

About the book

When eminent psychiatrist Dr Liz Sullivan is found dead in her bed, suspicion falls on local gamer and YouTube celebrity Jaden 'JD' Dodds.

Did he target her because of her anti-gaming views and the work  she undertook to expose the dangers of playing online games? And what was her connection with Valiant, an independent game manufacturer about to hit the big time, and its volatile boss?

Judith Burton and Constance Lamb team up once more to defend JD when no one else is on his side. But just because he makes a living killing people on screen doesn't mean he'd do it in real life. Or does it?

Review

The controversial topic of gaming and the alleged connection between violence and reactions in real life situations is an interesting one. There would normally be a predisposition or external and internal influences. Just the mere exposure to violence may desensitize, but doesn't automatically equal the willingness to commit violent crimes.

So with that in mind Silver addresses those misconceptions to create a crime scenario with gaming and gamers at the centre of the premise. The victim is highly critical of gaming, especially the way it has become a popular career choice for young people, due to the large amounts of money that can be made. She was really critical when it came to the young gamers who lived across the street from her. Which also means you have a one plus one equals two scenario when it comes to the police and suspects.

After also reading The Rapunzel Act by Silver, it's clear that the Burton and Lamb legal crime combo is a series that the author infuses with a breath of fresh air by adding controversial topics to the premise. This read is no different and it helps to make it stand out in a sea of books.

Buy The Midas Game at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Lightning Books, pub date 5 August 2021 - Paperback Original - £8.99. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Rapunzel Act by Abi Silver

It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Rapunzel Act by Abi Silver.

 About the Author

Abi Silver is an author and lawyer who grew up in Leeds in a traditional Jewish family. Watching Granada TV's 'Crown Court' in between lessons led her to study  Law at Girton College, Cambridge. Abi then worked in London at international law firm, Allen & Overy and at RPC, before spending five years in Israel, where her husband, Daniel, was posted. 

During her time there, alongside raising her three young sons, Abi completed an MBA by distance learning, learned Hebrew and pottery on the wheel and began to write fiction, usually late at night. On returning to the UK, she went back to law before quitting a permanent position in 2015 when she decided to try her hand at writing again which led to publication of The Pinocchio Brief. Based in Radlett, Hertfordshire, Abi works part-time as a legal consultant and author.

Follow @abisilver16 on Twitter, Visit abisilver.co.uk

About the book

When Breakfast TV host and nation's darling, Rosie Harper, is found brutally murdered at home suspicion falls o her spouse, formerly international football start, Danny 'walks on water' Mallard, now living out of the public eye as a trans woman, Debbie. Not only must Debbie challenge the hard evidence against her, including the blood-drenched glove at the scene of the crime, she must also contend with the nation's prejudices, as the trial is broadcast live, turning it into a public spectacle.

For someone trying to live their life without judgement, it might just be too much to bear. Legal duo Judith Burton an Constance Lamb are subjected to unyielding scrutiny as they strive to defend their most famous client yet.

Review

When Debbie's ex-wife is killed she doesn't expect to have all the fingers pointing at her and more importantly how guilty she makes herself look with her initial gut reactions to the news. legal team Lamb and Burton are put under a microscope when they decide to represent Debbie. It's fair to say they are shocked by the reactions to their client.

It's good to see some diversity in fiction, but perhaps more so when it comes to LGBTQ plots. Debbie is not only a transgender character, she also represents the fears of many transphobes, because before she transitioned she was a sport hero worshipped by many in a sport which is the definition of male stereotypes. Football hero - national treasure. How can the embodiment of masculinity and testosterone suddenly be a woman?

The author delves into these misconceptions and the way society seems to believe they own their celebrities and sport idols, and of course that means they also have the right to question Debbie's existence. It's easy to crucify what you neither understand or are willing to accept.

Anyone else get  O.J. Simpson crime vibes? Chased through the streets by the police, the nations favourite sport star and a glove at the scene of the crime. Combining that with an interesting transgender character, and the misconceptions and transphobia that go along with it unfortunately, and you have a compelling courtroom and crime read.

Buy The Rapunzel Act at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books: pub date 15 April 2021 - Paperback Original - £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. At Hive.

#BlogTour Tempus Project by Antony Johnston

It's my turn on the BlogTour The Tempus Project by Antony Johnston - the second book in the Brigitte Sharp series.

About the Author
Antony Johnston is a New York Times bestselling writer. The Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde is based on his graphic novel; his Brigitte Sharp thriller novels are critically acclaimed; and his first videogame, Dead Space, redefined its genre.

Antony’s books, graphic novels, and videogames include The Exphoria Code, The Tempus Project, The Fuse, Daredevil, Shang-Chi, Shadow of Mordor, the Alex Rider graphic novels and the adaptation of Alan Moore‘s ‘lost screenplay’ Fashion Beast. He also hosts the podcast Writing And Breathing.

Follow @antonyjohnston on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on Instagram, on Facebook, Visit antonyjohnston.com, Click here to sign up to receive Antony Johnston's newsletter, Buy The Tempus Project

About the book
In The Exphoria Code, MI6 officer and elite hacker Brigitte Sharp foiled a terror attack on London that used stolen military drone software to deliver a ‘dirty bomb’.

Now Bridge is back, battling a series of hacks and ransom-ware attacks, masterminded by a hacker known only as ‘Tempus’, who is targeting politicians and government officials with impunity.

Discovering that this campaign is linked to a cyber-attack on the London G20 summit, she is drawn into the dark-web world of crypto-currencies, Russian hackers and an African rebel militia.

In another compelling cyber-thriller from the creator of Atomic Blonde, Bridge races against time to prevent a disaster that could alter the balance of global power forever.

Review
Brigitte Sharp is a hacker who likes to ignore the chain of command, which usually ends with herself and others being in a lot of danger. Her impulsiveness has consequences, and yet it still doesn't change her approach to her job, which is protecting her country from cyber threats.

Bridge is an interesting person when it comes to her personal life. She tends to see things one-sided and never from an outsiders perspective. She makes decisions whilst angry that result in the kind of mistakes that are unforgivable.

This time she is dealing with a very clever cyber criminal called Tempus who appears to be targeting government officials. Blackmail via ransomware. A popular and profitable cyber crime.

It's a fast-paced cyber crime thriller - techno thriller at it's finest.

This is what the world of crime has evolved into. Something you can't see, smell or hear- insidious in nature with repercussions that cause huge tidal waves of destruction. Technology has allowed us to connect, work and make progress in a way that allows communication and development across borders and continents. The downside is that the technology also makes us vulnerable. Every device connected to the web can become a target and a weapon, which is a pivotal part of this plot.

Johnston gives his readers the reality of the threats without wading too much into paranoia, fear or the common lackadaisical attitudes of the layperson when it comes to cyber threats. Instead it is hardcore cyber language, attacks and crimes, but simultaneously written in a way everyone can understand.

I thought it was fascinating and an eye-opener, especially in regards to how the world of spydom has had to adjust to this new era of crime. Johnston writes a captivating thriller and manages to keep the reader engrossed, despite the subject matter being very technical. Brigitte Sharp is a spy to watch out for.

Buy The Tempus Project at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 25 May 2020 in paperback and digital formats. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Lightning Books. At Waterstones. At Foyles. On Google. On Kobo.

#BlogTour Marrow Jam by Susan A. King

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Marrow Jam by Susan A. King.

About the Author
Susan A King lives with her husband in a quiet suburb in Hampshire. Between them they have four grown-up sons.

The inspiration for her first novel, Marrow Jam, came from her long experience and observation of competitors at the local Romsey Show, where she regularly aspires to win Best in Show with her floral arrangements.

Follow @SusanKing63 on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy Marrow Jam

About the book

Some people would describe Beattie Bramshaw as a pillar of the community. Many would applaud her numerous successes in the bakery competition at the annual village show. A small number might say, if pushed, that they find her a little on the bossy side. And one or two might just whisper the words ‘interfering’ and ‘busybody’ behind her back.

But no-one would have her down as a murderer.

So why is she being questioned in Dreighton police station after being found in the local allotments, at the dead of night, wielding a kitchen knife just yards away from where local lottery winner, Yvonne Richards, was found stabbed to death? And what does all of this have to do with Doug Sparrow’s prize marrows?

Marrow Jam is a comedy crime caper in the spirit of Agatha Raisin. It will have you chuckling all the way through many a cup of tea.

Review
I can imagine city dwellers think stories based on garden fetes and village competitions are rather droll and quirky. You don't know how serious these competitions get until you are there to observe it. I'll be honest I am not brave enough to take part. Oh the scathing looks, the judgement and good gosh if you're entering any competition with a sub-standard product.

Is Beattie Bradshaw a clever and manipulative killer or is she simply an innocent person who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. She might not have liked the victim, but what does that mean in the grand scheme of things? Okay she might have been found next to the body with a knife, that can happen to anyone, right? Sneaky super assassin or baking connoisseur, which is it?

It's a cosy mystery with a comedy vibe. A Father Brown without the sanctimony, meets Midsomer Murders with more determined villagers.

King writes comedy with a snarky and satirical tone to it. Often unintentionally funny at times, especially the scenes in the police station with the Beattie and DI Grayson, and at other times it has a slapsticky element to it.

It's an entertaining read with plenty of potential for further escapades with this often eccentric cast of characters.

Buy Marrow Jam at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 27 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Eye-books.

#BlogTour Landsliding by Mandy Jameson

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Landsliding by Mandy Jameson.

About the Author
Originally from Manchester, Mandy Jameson spent ten years living in southwest France where Landsliding, her first novel, was written with the encouragement of a prolific writing group.

Now settled in Sussex with her daughter, her passions include football, chocolate and walking on the Downs. She is working on her second novel.

Follow on Goodreads, on Instagram, Visit pifflepages.com, Buy Landsliding

About the book
We all have secrets, but some of our secrets are darker than others...

When Julia’s husband leaves her, and their small son Matty, to live with another woman, her friends – especially Caroline and Vick – rally round to help. But when Julia starts a new relationship after a chance meeting, her friends are not quite as supportive.

Julia sees Brendan, the quietly spoken IT guy who comes round to fix her computer, as a loving and protective man and – as time passes – a potential father figure for Matty. Caroline and Vick, on the other hand, see him as jealous, controlling and potentially dangerous. He appears to be a man with a secret past.

What her friends don’t know is that Julia has secrets of her own and, if they get out, they will almost certainly shatter her fragile domestic bliss.

Review
After being in a long-term relationship for nearly two decades it's fair to say that Julia is perhaps vulnerable to the dangers of meeting someone in this era of technology. Instead of listening for any potential alarm bells she jumps straight into a new relationship. Brendan seems like a nice bloke, but there is just something off about him.

What's with the almost obsessive way he is trying to squirrel himself into Julia's good books and her those of her son? Is there a coercive element to this new relationship? The subtle way he is trying to disrupt certain well-established friendships to ensure the focus is on him and only him.

It's a domestic thriller - women's fiction with a tense and dark undercurrent.

You should always give yourself enough time to not only grieve your last relationship, but also spend time by yourself without a partner. When you have evaluated what went wrong and what you would like going forward, then try and meet someone new.

Jameson captures that element of relationships quite well - the past influencing the present when it comes to romance. The way any baggage we carry with us is always carried by each person in the new relationship. That can make it become toxic, make the atmosphere feel burdened and ultimately make it harder to be happy.

Buy Landsliding at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 13 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Gift of Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Gift of Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May.

Enter the Giveaway below to Win a signed copy of The Gift of Cockleberry Bay (Open INT)

About the Author
Nicola May lives in the UK, five miles from the Queen’s castle in Windsor, with her black-and-white rescue cat, Stan. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon and devouring cream teas.

Her bestselling The Corner Shop in Cockleberry, the 1st book in the Cockleberry Bay series, went to #1 on Amazon and stayed there for an unprecedented 6 weeks.

She classes her novels as ‘chicklit with a kick,’ writing about love, life and friendships in a real, not fluffy kind of way. She likes burgers, mince pies, clocks, birds, bubble baths and facials - but is not so keen on aubergines.

Follow @nicolamay1 on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, on Amazon.Visit nicolamay.com, Buy The Gift of Cockleberry Bay

About the book
From the author of the #1 Bestselling The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay

All of our favourite characters from Cockleberry Bay are back in this final, heart warming story in the series. Including Hot, Rosa Smith's adorable dachshund and his new-born puppies.

Now successfully running the Cockleberry Café and wishing to start a family herself, Rosa feels the time is right to let her inherited Corner Shop go. However, her benefactor left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.

Rosa is torn. How can she make such a huge decision? And will it be the right one? Once the news gets out and goes public, untrustworthy newcomers appear in the Bay . . . their motives uncertain. With the revelation of more secrets from Rosa's family heritage, a new journey of unpredictable and life-changing events begins to unfold.

The Gift of Cockleberry Bay concludes this phenomenally successful series in typically brisk and bolshy style and will delight the many thousands of Rosa's fans.

Review
This is the third book in the Cockleberry Bay series. In this one Rosa is eager to move on from the past and enjoy her present and future with Josh. Now she has achieved a certain amount of success she wants to pass the gift of kindness on to others.

The Cockleberry Gift shop was gifted to her on the proviso that she can't sell it for ten years. After turning it around and making it profitable she decides to not make the decision of the next worthy owner based on who she knows and what she knows about the person. So blind pick it is.

Meanwhile she is still trying to figure out the relationship with her newly discovered biological mother and is curious about her father. Her marriage is still wobbly at times, probably because she finds it difficult not to become enamoured by other men willing to pay her a little attention.

It's a contemporary read, a chaotic story of love, friendship, insecurities and loyalty.

Sometimes less is more. I don't think May could have squeezed more into this story even if she wanted to. So much that there wasn't enough time to digest one thing before the next was on the table.

It's an energetic read full of strong characters, the problems are bountiful and it starts off with a blast and ends the same way too.

Buy The Gift of Cockleberry Bay at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 1 April 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

Enter the Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Gift of Cockleberry Bay (Open INT)

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#BlogTour iRemember by S.V. Bekvalac

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour iRemember by S.V. Bekvalac.

For a limited time, iRemember will be available for only 99p.

About the Author
SV Bekvalac was born in 1987 in Croatia, in what was then Yugoslavia, but grew up in London.
She studied German and Russian at Oxford, and went to film school in Prague. After almost becoming a film-maker and then an academic, researching cities and films, she found herself writing fiction about cities instead. She started off with screenplays and short stories, but they got longer and longer. iRremember is her first novel.

She has lived in cities all over Europe. Now she lives in London, or in one of her own imaginary cities.

Follow @sandra_bek @EyeAndLightning on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy iRemember

About the book
The city of iRemember shimmers in the desert haze, watched over by the Bureau, a government agency that maintains control through memory surveillance and little pink pills made from the narcotic plant Tranquelle.

It looks like an oasis under its geodesic dome, but the city is under siege. ‘Off-Gridder’ insurgents are fighting to be forgotten.

Bureau Inspector Icara Swansong is on a mission to neutralise the threat. Her investigation leads her into iRemember’s secret underbelly, where she finds herself a fugitive from the very system she had vowed to protect. She has to learn new rules: trust no one. Behind every purple Tranquelle stalk lurk double-agents.

A sci-fi noir with a psychedelic twist, iRemember explores the power the past holds over us and the fragility of everything: what is, what once was, and what will be.

Review
Off-Gridders - the rebels, the anarchists and those who want to stay way under the invasive radar of the powers that be. The people determined to stop their every thought, but especially their bad thoughts from being uploaded and stored on government servers. They then sit and wait until the need arises to use them.

Lucien Ffogg is part of the resistance, well technically it's more about profit and less about fighting for the cause, but perhaps somewhere in that grumpy stubborn brain there lives a tiny rebel. The last thing Lucien wants or needs is a government official turning up to put the entire compound he is tasked with maintaining, a Memory Processing Plant in the middle of a desert, to put him and the site under scrutiny.

Inspector Icara Swansong knows deep down in her bones that Ffogg - double ff and double gg - is up to something. She just hasn't been able to find out what and where, aside from the clear signs of neglect and age that is.

It becomes a battle of minds, although it's interesting that neither of the characters evokes super negative emotions, perhaps because it is easy to understand both views.

It's speculative sci-fi with a dystopian flair.

Bekvalac pits the two main characters against each other in a cat and mouse game of deception and revelations. A game that leads them to a surprising escalation and an endgame neither of them expects.

The world-building is extensive and intricate, and the premise is intriguing. Being held hostage by your own thoughts and memories, something you are unable to control and yet others want to use them to control you. Quite a read.

Buy iRemember at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 30 Mar. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour All the Beautiful Liars by Sylvia Petter

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour All the Beautiful Liars by Sylvia Petter.

For a limited time, All the Beautiful Liars will be available for only 99p.

About the Author
Sylvia Petter was born in Vienna but grew up in Australia, which makes her Austr(al)ian.
She started writing fiction in 1993 and has published three story collections, The Past Present, Back Burning and Mercury Blobs. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of New South Wales.
After living for 25 years in Switzerland, where she was a founding member of the Geneva Writers’ Group, she now lives in Vienna once more.

Follow @SylviaAPetter @EyeAndLightning on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit sylviapetter.com, Buy All the Beautiful Liars

About the book
How true are the family histories that tell us who we are and where we come from? Who knows how much all the beautiful liars have embargoed or embellished the truth?

During a long flight from Europe to Sydney to bury her mother, Australian expat Katrina Klain reviews the fading narrative of her family and her long quest to understand her true origins. This has already taken her to Vienna, where she met her Uncle Harald who embezzled the Austrian government out of millions, as well as Carl Sokorny, the godson of one of Hitler's most notorious generals, and then on to Geneva and Berlin. Not only were her family caught up with the Nazis, they also turn out to have been involved with the Stasi in post-war East Germany.

It's a lot to come to terms with, but there are more revelations in store. After the funeral, she finds letters that reveal a dramatic twist which means her own identity must take a radical shift. Will these discoveries enable her to complete the puzzle of her family’s past?

Inspired by her own life story, Sylvia Petter’s enthralling fictional memoir set between the new world and the old is a powerful tale about making peace with the past and finding closure for the future.

Review
The title is quite interesting, especially when you get to the end. Is there such a thing as a beautiful liar, even if it is meant in a sarcastic way. There are people who lie to keep themselves safe, to hide something, to keep someone else safe or deceive someone. There are small lies, big lies and both white and black lies.

The kind of lies Katrina Klain discovers as she and her, lets call him her companion, walk through time - much like the ghosts of the last century instead of Christmas past. These lies are the kind that destroy the foundations of everything a person believes to be true of themselves. The jigsaw pieces are slowly put together to complete the kind of picture she wasn't expecting.

Her parents have kept their pasts and their lives hidden away to protect Katrina, but perhaps more so to protect themselves from the wrath of those who suffered because of them. Certain things look bleak on a cv.

Petter takes readers into the world divided by the Nazi regime, with some of the characters playing a grateful part in the support and building of their country. While others are treated to a taste of the cruelty and ignorance for those marked as sub-human. It creates crevices in the family and the friendships that surround them.

It's a contemporary read that delves into historical fiction, and it also has an added element of the unexplained. When it comes to the unexplained or the companion that was the only part I was uncertain about. I liked the idea of a second chance, a conscience or let's wander through time and see the truth element. I just found the opening chapters slightly confusing in that regard, perhaps because the narrator never takes on a persona per se and it often appears like a two way conversation held by one person.

Aside from that it is an introspective read about family, secrets and how sometimes digging up the past brings uncomfortable truths with it.

Buy All the Beautiful Liars at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 16 Mar. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour We are Animals by Tim Ewins

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour We Are Animals by Tim Ewins.

About the Author
Tim Ewins has enjoyed an eight-year stand-up career alongside his accidental career in finance.
He has previously written for DNA Mumbai, had two short stories highly commended and published in Michael Terence Short Story Anthologies, and enjoyed a very brief acting stint (he’s in the film Bronson, somewhere in the background).

He lives with his wife, son and dog in Bristol. We Are Animals is his first novel.

Follow @EwinsTim  and @EyeAndLightning on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads, on Instagram and as @quickbooksummaries, Visit tim-ewins.com, Buy We Are Animals

About the book
A cow looks out to sea, dreaming of a life that involves grass.

Jan is also looking out to sea. He’s in Goa, dreaming of the passport-thief who stole his heart (and, indeed, his passport) forty-six years ago. Back then, fate kept bringing them together, but lately it seems to have given up.

Jan has not. In his long search he has accidentally held a whole town at imaginary gunpoint in Soviet Russia, stalked the proprietors of an international illegal lamp-trafficking scam and done his very best to avoid any kind of work involving the packing of fish. Now he thinks if he just waits, if he just does nothing at all, maybe fate will find it easier to reunite them.

His story spans fifty-four years, ten countries, two imperfect criminals (and one rather perfect one), twenty-two different animals and an annoying teenager who just…
Will…Not…Leave.
But maybe an annoying teenager is exactly what Jan needs to help him find the missing thief?

Featuring a menagerie of creatures, each with its own story to tell, We Are Animals is a quirky, heart-warming tale of lost love, unlikely friendships and the certainty of fate (or lack thereof).

For the first time in her life the cow noticed the sun setting, and it was glorious.

Review
I'm not sure I will ever be able to look at a 'vest' again without thinking about the life philosophy of vests in relation to non-vests and the world in general. It's the kind of thing you are aware of at a subliminal level. You take it in and think nothing more about it - like so many other things.

It's via the vest that Jan and Shakey make the first connection that leads to a long conversation. Jan reminisces about his lost love. The way his life has intersected with hers at different moments. It not always being the right place or the right time.

What is more important in the grand scheme of things is the way Jan perceives his own impact on the people around him and the world. Like many of us, who walk around in invisible bubbles of our own creation, he believes he walks and has always walked the world without leaving an imprint.

The story shows how his interactions with certain people have indeed left an impression, which is true of everyone. Nobody leaves no imprint at all - everyone influences and has an impact on someone else.Those small moments that mean nothing to many and something to the living beings going through it.

It's not easy to squeeze this into a specific genre, perhaps because it is on the rim of more than one. It's speculative, spiritual and very much a contemporary read.

This is very much a story that asks the reader to read between the lines, to make conscious and subconscious connections. Ewins uses the animals to draw parallels, and in a way that in itself is an example of the microcosms we tend to ignore, because of our self-titled and established superiority.

Buy We Are Animals at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 2 Mar. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Eye-books.com.

#BlogTour A Right Royal Face-Off by Simon Edge

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour A Right Royal Face-Off by Simon Edge. It's historical fiction infused with the critical and disillusioned voice of the present.

Enter the Giveaway to Win 5 x PB copies of A Right Royal Face-Off (UK Only)

Readers can order the book from the Lightning Books website at 50% off (with free UK p&p) if you enter this code at checkout – BLOGTOURFACE

About the Author
Simon Edge was born in Chester and read philosophy at Cambridge University.
He was editor of the pioneering London paper Capital Gay before becoming a gossip columnist on the Evening Standard and then a feature writer on the Daily Express, where he was also a theatre critic for many years.

He has an MA in Creative Writing from City University, London. His first novel, The Hopkins Conundrum, was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. He lives in Suffolk.
Read more about Simon and his work at www.simon-edge.com.

Follow @simonjedge on Twitter, on Instagram, on Goodreads,
Buy A Right Royal Face-Off 

About the book
It is 1777, and England’s second-greatest portrait artist, Thomas Gainsborough, has a thriving practice a stone’s thrown from London’s royal palaces, while the press talks up his rivalry with Sir Joshua Reynolds, the pedantic theoretician who is the top dog of British portraiture.

Fonder of the low life than high society, Gainsborough loathes pandering to grand sitters, but he changes his tune when he is commissioned to paint King George III and his large family. In their final, most bitter competition, who will be chosen as court painter, Tom or Sir Joshua?

Meanwhile, two and a half centuries later, a badly damaged painting turns up on a downmarket antiques TV show being filmed in Suffolk. Could the monstrosity really be, as its eccentric owner claims, a Gainsborough? If so, who is the sitter? And why does he have donkey’s ears?

Mixing ancient and modern as he did in his acclaimed debut The Hopkins Conundrum, Simon Edge takes aim at fakery and pretension in this highly original celebration of one of our greatest artists.

Review
The story alternates between the past and the present, with both being linked via the medium of art. In 1777 we are introduced to the petty and competitive world of portrait painting. During a time when it wasn't possible to capture an image in the blink of an eye and messages weren't passed from person to person within a matter of seconds. A time when the image of self on a canvas was considered an immense talent.

The story is told through three characters, who give the tale an air of a global stage with each of them vying for a moment in the spotlight. David, the young footman, gives us the perspective of the lower class. He writes regularly to his mother and tells her of his life and that of his master. It gives the other stories a little more perspective, especially that of Gainsborough.

Gainsborough invests a lot of time in a feud with a fellow painter and equally as much showing his disdain for the more popular element of his profession. It's commercialism 101. Some things never change - no matter how many centuries pass by. It's interesting how certain moral quandaries can be laid aside when recognition, fame and fortune are involved.

One of the most memorable moments was piglets do still-life, as only lively little piglets can do, with a lot of spunk and little concern for the artist. I think it's fair to say Gainsborough has his work cut out for him.

Edge writes with charm and a cheeky sense of humour. It's historical fiction infused with the critical and disillusioned voice of the present. It's an intriguing mixture of fact and fiction, never too much history to drown out the fictional story, but also enough to keep readers hooked.

Buy A Right Royal Face-Off at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 25 July 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Lightning Books.

Enter the Giveaway to Win 5 x PB copies of A Right Royal Face-Off (UK Only)

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#BlogBlitz The Rats: A White House Satire by Douglas Board

Today it's my turn to host the third book on the three book Blog Blitz, The Rats by Douglas Board. It's a thought-provoking satirical short story.

Buy The Rats: A White House Satire at douglasboard.com

About the Author
Douglas Board is the author of the campus satire MBA (Lightning Books, 2015), which asked why so much of the business world is Managed By Arseholes. Time of Lies, his second novel, is a timely exploration of the collapse of democracy.

Born in Hong Kong, he has degrees from Cambridge and Harvard and worked for the UK Treasury and then as a headhunter. He has also had a distinguished career in public life, serving as treasurer of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and chairing the British Refugee Council.
As well as writing fiction, he is the author of two applied research books on leadership, which was the subject of his doctorate. He is currently a senior visiting fellow at the Cass Business School in London. He and his wife Tricia Sibbons live in London and Johannesburg.

Follow @BoardWryter on Twitter, on Amazon, Visit douglasboard.com
Buy The Rats

About the book
Ros March, disabled lesbian mum and former Royal Marine, has just moved to Turnberry on Scotland's west coast. Her cottage overlooks one of the world's most famous golf courses - Trump Turnberry - as well as the scenic bird sanctuary Ailsa Craig. But idylls deceive. In truth Ailsa was once overrun by rats, who were exterminated at the end of the twentieth century, and Ros's landlord turns out to be a delusional Islamophobic misogynist who calls himself 'Potus Two'. When Potus Two announces that both he and Ros will have the chance to meet the President on Turnberry's hallowed grounds, Ros hatches a plan. Even a slim chance to do something about one of the biggest rats in the world is not something she will pass by.

Review
This was my favourite story by Board so far. Probably because it is relevant to the political climate we are living in at this very moment in time.

Ros is a war veteran, a woman who has served and come back injured both physically and psychologically. Someone who has had to reinvent her life and the way she is going to provide for herself and her loved ones going forward.

Her landlord, who has dubbed himself Potus2, reminds her of everything there is to dislike about the real Potus. His fascination with Trump is an obsession, which is probably a good representation of the way the majority of his voters think of him, despite his many negative attributes.

It's certainly a relevant story because we are living in very divisive times; the United Kingdom is split down the middle because of Brexit. The far right is on the rise and Nazi's march again in Europe, oh and in the US. Putin is putting Mother Russia back together with little opposition from the rest of the world.

He and his minions have spent a lot of time ensuring that the conditions and peace set in place after WW2 and in the decades after to create bridges between European countries, are being set alight. Simultaneously they helped one of the singly most dangerous men of our time get elected to the highest office in the United States.

From the outside looking in the world can see him turning the US back into the lawless West by placing himself above the law. He is a despot in the guise of a ruler of a great democracy.

Unfortunately, as if often the case, the US is driven very much by two political parties. One of whom is willing, and are willing to vote for the person destroying their democracy and place in the global power structure, as long as they aren't voting for a Democrat. The other party is so busy fighting internally for power and splitting off into splinter groups that they are unable to pick the right person to both represent the country, their party and convince the other voters not to vote for Trump.

This short story speaks to the division in the majority of people. To be completely fair I have to say both sides feel equally strong about Trump, regardless of whether it is for or against. The question in this story is whether it is right to go to extreme lengths to rid yourself of someone you believe to be the single most dangerous person to our country, your loved ones and yourself.

Obviously Board uses exaggeration to make his point, as is his forte, but this time the difference between exaggeration and reality is a really slim margin. He makes his point, yes he certainly does that, and the timing couldn't be better as the person in question is causing great waves and debate on his state visit in this country.

It's a thought-provoking satirical short story. Board presents the truth of this fictitious story wrapped in a layer of sharp-tongued wit and with an extremely provocative scenario.

Buy The Rats: A White House Satire at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

Watch a Promotional Video of The Rats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq07R072IhU

Read my review of Time of Lies by Douglas Board here
Buy Time of Lies
Read my review of MBA by Douglas Board here
Buy MBA

#BlogBlitz MBA by Douglas Board

Today I am hosting the second book on this three book Blog Blitz. MBA by Douglas Board. It's a thriller come tongue-in-cheek satirical story on the convoluted hand in hand world of business and business schools.

Get 30% off MBA with discount code BLOGTOURMBA at Lightning Books eye-books.com

About the Author
Douglas Board is the author of the campus satire MBA (Lightning Books, 2015), which asked why so much of the business world is Managed By Arseholes. Time of Lies, his second novel, is a timely exploration of the collapse of democracy.

Born in Hong Kong, he has degrees from Cambridge and Harvard and worked for the UK Treasury and then as a headhunter. He has also had a distinguished career in public life, serving as treasurer of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and chairing the British Refugee Council.

As well as writing fiction, he is the author of two applied research books on leadership, which was the subject of his doctorate. He is currently a senior visiting fellow at the Cass Business School in London. He and his wife Tricia Sibbons live in London and Johannesburg.

Follow @BoardWryter on Twitter, on Amazon, Visit douglasboard.com
Buy MBA

About the book
Why is so much of the world managed by arseholes? When workaholic business school hot shot Ben Stillman is fired, he has the chance to find out. Not a guy to sit still, Ben jumps head first into turning his former business school into a world-class madrassa of capitalism.

Ben has ten days to rescue the launch of its spectacular glass tower, and his own career – ten days during which he will have to confront terrorist plots, undercover police, the extravagant demands of the super-rich, and the only woman who can save him from this madness.

A satirical thriller, a love story, and a wry look at modern management ideology all rolled into one – MBA is a piercing yet hopeful enquiry into the meaning of success.

Review
MBA stands for Managed By Arseholes. It certainly seems as if this a common theme nowadays. Managed by them, governed by them and often betrayed by them. This is a fast-paced thriller set around a 'fictional' business school.

Let me digress here for a minute, as I am wont to do.

People with a high number of psychopathic traits often end up in certain professions. An alleged 21% of CEOs are psychopaths (probably more - just saying, the study was based on a mere 261 senior professionals in the US), 1 in 5 CEOs. These traits are seen as favourable in the corporate world, and whilst I understand it means the endgame of profit, wealth and power is being achieved, there is an definitely argument to be made for the damage left in the wake of decisions made by those with said traits.

That doesn't mean corporate leaders or people in business can't make hardcore decisions that equate to a tidal wave of damage on the economy and common man, but one would hope their empathy would make them ponder longer on said tidal wave. Recently I was doing a test with a friend, we discuss data and results ect of certain areas, this time of narcissistic personality traits. Studies show there is a rise in those tendencies in undergraduates.

Where am I going with all of this? The mindset of men and women in the industry, and that of the those teaching them and defining the future senior leaders in economy, commerce, politics, government and business. Then, as is demonstrated quite well in this story the collusion between the teaching institutes and the big businesses who wield the power, and correlation between decisions and actions which are detrimental to the common man.

It's both ironic and amusing that the word ethics is used in combination with business and this premise is an example of how some people have no moral compass at all.

Towards the end the plot becomes a wee bit outlandish and perhaps hard to follow, because it seems a bit disjointed. Board has a very specific style though. Short rapid bursts of info, dialogue and actions. Look here, look over there, listen to this, whilst reading another thing. It's a clever way to conceal the information he wants to impart with his audience, whilst lulling the reader into a false sense of security with the more fictitious aspect of the story thereby distracting them. The result is you come away with tidbits of info that burrow in like moles and create connections you may previously have been unaware of.

It's a thriller come tongue-in-cheek satirical story on the convoluted hand in hand world of business and business schools.

Buy MBA at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books: pub date 7 Sept. 2015. Buy at Amazon com.

Watch a Promotional Video for MBA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=hUOs5YqqkBg

Read my review of Time of Lies by Douglas Board here
Buy Time of Lies

#BlogBlitz Time of Lies by Douglas Board

This is one heck of a Blog Blitz. In the next three days I will be hosting all three books on the tour starting with Time of Lies by Douglas Board today. It's political satire hidden in satirical comedy.

Get 30% off Time of Lies with discount code BLOGTOURLIES at Lightning books eye-books.com

About the Author
Douglas Board is the author of the campus satire MBA (Lightning Books, 2015), which asked why so much of the business world is Managed By Arseholes. Time of Lies, his second novel, is a timely exploration of the collapse of democracy.

Born in Hong Kong, he has degrees from Cambridge and Harvard and worked for the UK Treasury and then as a headhunter. He has also had a distinguished career in public life, serving as treasurer of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and chairing the British Refugee Council.

As well as writing fiction, he is the author of two applied research books on leadership, which was the subject of his doctorate. He is currently a senior visiting fellow at the Cass Business School in London. He and his wife Tricia Sibbons live in London and Johannesburg.

Follow @BoardWryter on Twitter, on Amazon, Visit douglasboard.com
Buy Time of Lies

About the book
In 2020 the United Kingdom elects its own Donald Trump.
Bob Grant, former football hooligan, now the charismatic leader of the Britain’s Great party, has swept to power on a populist tide. With his itchy finger hovering over the nuclear trigger, Bob presides over a brave new Britain where armed drones fill the skies, ex-bankers and foreigners are vilified, and the Millwall football chant ‘No one likes us, we don’t care’ has become an unofficial national anthem.

Meanwhile, Bob’s under-achieving, Guardian-reading brother Zack gets a tap on the shoulder from a shady Whitehall mandarin. A daring plot is afoot to defy the will of the people and unseat the increasingly unstable PM. Can Zack stop his brother before he launches a nuclear strike on Belgium? And just what is ACERBIC, Britain’s most closely-guarded military secret?

A darkly comic political thriller, Time of Lies is also a terrifyingly believable portrait of an alternative Britain. It couldn’t happen here… could it?

Review
Based on the pub date and a lot of the witty repertoire and political satire, the author appears to have been ahead of his time. There are quite a few things in the story that apply to the world and the United Kingdom we are living in right now. A country split down the middle because a public schoolboy from the old men's club decided to put our future at risk by asking the people for their opinion and then chickening out when the result wasn't what he expected.

Although this definitely comes under the banner of satire I have to say Board sailed very close to reality and truth. In fact aren't we living what appears to be a version of someone else's harsh comedy of errors. I wish. I really wish we weren't.

His take on Brexit, nuclear deterrence, our very staunch and proper class structure and the joy that is Britain's bureaucracy. He takes aim at all of them and doesn't hold back at all. It may be fictional characters doing the walking and the talking, but I can imagine the author is quite the conversationalist.

It's extremely well researched and the author is clearly a smart cookie. Smart to the point of taking the proverbial urine, and yet now we are smack bang in the middle of complete chaos. There are elements of the book that made me want to debate and discuss, certainly a sign of a book worth reading.

Written with multiple narrators, which can sometimes give the appearance of being completely unrelated. despite the fact they are. It's an interesting way to show both sides of the coin.

It's political satire hidden in satirical comedy. I actually think the author could have left fiction, comedy and satire aside, and just written a book on politics. It would have been equally as intriguing, perhaps more so.

Buy Time of Lies at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Lightning Books; pub date 25 June 2017. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of MBA by Douglas Board
Buy MBA

Watch promotional Videos for Time of Lies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvExzv39qs8&t=37s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqBwnl4rtk8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_clB5pM7Gbw&t=48s