#Blogtour Vengeful Women by Melanie Blake

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour for the third book in the Falcon Bay series - Vengeful Women by Melanie Blake published 6th November 2025 by Piranha Publishing.

If you're following the tour you will have already seen the Q&A with Melanie Blake that is happening on each stop - question by question and some really intriguing answers to delight fans and readers. Here we go, let's see who Melanie would love to spend some time with:

If you could have dinner with 3 authors, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

1. Shirley Conran because she stands alone. There’s never been another Lace. I’d never run out of questions for her.

2. Jackie Collins because I’d just love her company. I’ve only met her once but I’ve followed her for years. She’d be the best guest – funny, sharp, proper old-school Hollywood. I also want to ask her how much sibling rivalry there was with Joan. I bet that was a saga in itself.

3. And Jacqueline Susann, because I’d want to know how she beat the system that was built to stop her - and how many bottles of Dom she ordered when she finally got her bestseller. Although I think Jacqueline and Jackie might get rivalrous around that table. People said that Jackie copied Jacqueline, and I’d love to see their faces when that came up…

About the Author

Melanie Blake has her own rags-to-riches story, just like her characters. At 15, she was told by her school career advisors that her decision to go work at a record shop proved she wouldn't go far in her career. They were wrong. By 21 she was working at the BBC's iconic Top of the Pops and by 27 she was one of the UK's leading music and entertainment managers. She then built an acting agency specialising in soap stars which become the most successful independent boutique agency in the UK. 

Melanie's first novel The Thunder Girls became a paperback bestseller in 2019 and her most recent novels Ruthless Women and Guilty Women were bot top ten Sunday Times bestsellers in hardback. She has sold over 300,000 copies of her books worldwide. Follow her on X @MelanieBlakeUK and Instagram @MelanieBlakeUK

About the book

From Sunday Times bestselling author Melanie Blake comes a gripping new chapter in the Falcon Bay series ― where showbiz glamour collides with dark secrets, and women who’ve lost everything are ready to fight back.

On a private island off the coast of England, five powerful women sit in jail, awaiting trial for manslaughter: a world-famous soap star, an ambitious talent agent, a ruthless producer, a brilliant screenwriter and a cougar casting director.

The man who put them there, their long-term nemesis Jake Monroe, is cashing in – turning the island they once ruled into a twisted theme park crowned by the world’s tallest skyscraper. While the women plot revenge, old secrets that could change everything begin to surface.

The glossy veneer of their showbiz world was shattered when they were incarcerated and the rot beneath the red carpets and studio lights is beginning to show… and meanwhile, a journalist chasing the truth behind an American serial killer is uncovering stories that could destroy everything – and everyone.

As the body count climbs and the women’s trial date looms, Jake’s empire teeters. Because one thing is certain. Hell has no fury… like vengeful women.

Review

It would be fair to say that Blake is carving out her own uncontested space that was previously ruled by the Grande dames of bonkbusters. Her books have the same flair for negligee swirling divas who like their men robust, their romps fulfilling and their drama hot, just like the tea they serve from page to page.

Farrah, Amanda, Catherine and Helen are behind bars awaiting their trial for manslaughter after the death of their co-worker, Madeline Kane. Do you remember that spectacular incident on live television? No, then you should absolutely read the first two books in the series. What ensues is a captivating game of vengeance and scores that need to be settled.

Be warned though, Jake is still a tosspot who deserves to be fed to hungry sharks, and the main characters - the women of course - are still ten shades of neither here nor there when it comes to morality, but then morality has always been overrated and a smidgen of immorality is always quite fun. Something wicked this way comes and all that jazz.

This is the third book in the Falcon Bay series and can I just say the twist is an homage, a small nod, to Conran - nicely done. At this point, especially after the bold move of bringing the world of Cooper to the small screen, it would be a hoot to see the same happen with this series. The casting would have to be on point though!

Buy Vengeful Women at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Piranha Publishing, pub date 6th November 2025. Buy at Amazon com. Via Waterstones. Via Bookshop.org. 

#BlogTour Guilty Women by Melanie Blake

It really is a pleasure to welcome back Melanie Blake with Guilty Women, which is the sequel to the fantastic Ruthless Women. 'The cast of Ruthless Women is back, and this time they’re in trouble...'

About the Author

Melanie Blake is the bestselling author of Ruthless Women, which became a Number 4 Sunday Times hardback bestseller and an ebook bestseller in 2021, selling over 150,000 copies. Guilty Women is her second novel about the cast of Falcon Bay, and her first with HarperFiction. 

Growing up in a working-class household with severe dyslexia, Melanie has her own Rags to Riches story, just like that of her characters – at 15 she was told by her school career advisors that her decision to work at a record shop was ‘a clear example that she wouldn’t go far in her career’. They were wrong. 

By 19 she was working at the BBC’s iconic Top of the Pops show and by 26 she had built a reputation as one of the UK’s leading music and entertainment managers. She also created her own acting agency from scratch which became the most successful independent boutique agency in the UK. Melanie still represents a high-profile stable of actresses, but is also now enjoying success in her own right as a author, playwright and producer. Follow @MelanieBlakeUK on Twitter

About the book

Can they get away with murder? On a beautiful island off the English coast, four TV actresses gather. Their fifth member is missing – and only they know why she was killed.

As the secret between them threatens to come out, tensions on set run high. The women are determined that the show must go on – whatever the cost. But one of them is on the edge of telling the truth – and no soap opera in the world could survive this scandal…

All of the women have something to hide – but the question is, are they all guilty?

Review

The Ruthless Women are back, and now it's all about making sure none of them get caught and get punished for the events in the first book. If you haven't read it yet and have just found this hot new Collinesque like series, then I can only recommend you start at the beginning to get the full gist of it all.

The tension of their shared secret has an impact on each one of the women, but they all deal with it individually. The need to share and air, name and shame is quite strong with certain women. On the other hand what they all agree with is that none of them, their lives or careers should be destroyed because of a minor fish incident. So cover-up and carry-on it is.

Is it just me or was there a wee homage to soap opera, and the hilarious improve soap opera blow-up by Tootsie. A little pop culture reference there. I think that is the fun of this drama filled crime come contemporary women's fiction. It brings the spice, the unpredictable and it also brings a specific kind of sisterhood to the table.

I think there might be a third book, there should absolutely be a third book - how about vengeful women? And let's start casting! The actresses who slayed Jackie Collins mega dramas would be the right age for this, the potential is huge.

Buy Guilty Women at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎HarperCollins pub date 28 April 2022. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via HarperCollins Uk.

Lockdown Buys and Reads - Giveaway!

 

To celebrate the beginning of lockdown finally easing a little, and trying to see some positive in the negative after the past year, I am giving away a signed copy of Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake! It's bringing sexy and bonkbusters back in a big way.

I don't do a lot of opinion pieces on my blog. I like to keep things strictly about the book love and sharing reviews, but I am going to deviate from my usual pattern to share a little about how books have become an even bigger part of my life - if that is even possible - during this new era of lockdown, pandemic and a change in life as we have known it.

I buy a lot of books. I bought a lot of books before the pandemic - now I am buying at least double the amount. I think there is generally a misconception when it comes to the perception of book bloggers (and any other social media outlet book ravers), that we receive review copies and aside from a marketing perspective - sharing and telling everyone about said books - we give nothing back to the book world in a financial capacity.

Absolutely a myth for the majority of us, obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I for one spend loads on books. I often buy a copy of my own even if I have received a review copy. If I buy an audiobook I usually buy the digital or physical version too - mainly because I am a fast reader and get impatient whilst listening (usually a sign of a good book). Then there are the copies I buy as gifts, because I love sharing a great read with the people around me. And that's without counting the books I buy because they sound like a great read.

During the isolation of lockdown and the extreme changes we have faced in the past year I have found my book buying has evolved into a full blown coping mechanism (and so has buying American snacks, but that is a whole other matter). 

I thought it would be fun to share some books and reviews under the caption of Lockdown Reads and to kick things off with a competition. Enter the Giveaway below to win a signed copy of the brilliant Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake.

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#BlogTour Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake

 It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake and to begin with let me tell about the exciting book launch event coming up...

Melanie will be launching the book alongside two of TVs leading ladies Coleen Nolan and Beverly Callard who will be spilling the beans on their own personal lives for a digital book launch “Melanie Blake’s Girls Night in” that members of the public can buy tickets to for £10 including a copy of the book. Click here to book your place: A Girls Night In With Melanie Blake - Fane

About the Author

Melanie Blake is to UK TV what Jackie Collins was to Hollywood, both using insider industry knowledge to write authentic stories. Few writers can pull off the bonkbuster genre successfully and Melanie Blake is one of them. With her industry experience and knowledge shining through on the page, she effortlessly writes solid characters and scenarios based on real life events, that will have you playing a guessing game of who’s who!  So addictive it’s been described as a “binge read,” Ruthless Women is perfect for fans of Killing Eve and The Devil Wears Prada.

Blake’s own rags to riches story of pulling herself out of an early life of poverty and homelessness as a teen through sheer grit and determination to become one of the UK’s most successful talent agents reads like the plot of an outrageous novel itself. Just like Jackie Collins, Melanie Blake’s books are about showing that women are more than equal to men, and about exposing the double standards that women face in the worlds of entertainment, politics, and business – something that Melanie Blake has been doing all her life and continues to expose in Ruthless Women. 

A real life ‘Samantha’ from Sex and the City, Melanie Blake was inspired by reading Jackie Collin’s novels as a teenager to pull herself out of poverty and homelessness in Manchester to become one of the UK’s leading celebrity agents and has worked with everyone from Cher and Madonna to The Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child.  

Following in Jackie Collins’s footsteps, Blake is determined to bring the bonkbuster back for 2021 and a well as her own novel, she has written the forward for Jackie Collins novel Drop Dead Beautiful being re-issued by Simon & Schuster in November 2021 while her own novel Ruthless Women publishes on 18th February 2021. In summer 2021 Melanie Blake will go on a Jackie Collins author tour alongside Sunday Times Bestselling authors, Jill Mansell, Milly Robinson and Joan Collins’ daughter and author Tara Arkle. 

Follow @MelanieBlakeUK on Twitter, Visit melanieblakeonline.com, Buy Ruthless Women

About the book

Ruthless Women takes readers on a wild ride behind the scenes of beloved TV drama Falcon Bay, beamed globally to millions three days a week from its picturesque location in the Channel Islands. But even in this beautiful coastal spot, tensions swirl. Once one of the world's most popular soap operas, but now with ratings and syndication at an all-time low, the production has been sold to an American businesswoman, beautiful and malevolent Madeline Kane, the new network owner who arrives on the tiny island just off Jersey, determined to do whatever it takes to get the show back to number one.  

Writer Farrah, star Catherine and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who keep the show on the road. But Farrah is losing episodes to the network's lead male rival, Catherine is terrified of the public falling out of love with her and Amanda's evil husband Jake, vice president of the network, is plotting to get his own wife kicked off the show.

As the dawn of a new era begins, cast and crew turn against each other with loyalty, decency, and trust, replaced by scandal, betrayal, and an outrageous ambition to survive. 

In a true battle of the sexes, these women will do anything to stay on top. But can they team up to bring down their male rivals? Or will jealousy, betrayal and revenge tear their long-held friendships apart? 

As the story reaches a climax so shocking readers will be talking about it for decades, one thing is certain: only the most ruthless woman will survive...

Review

The world's most popular soap opera, Falcon Bay, has a new owner. Madeleine Kane is determined to ensure the show is on the tip of everyone's tongue and top of the ratings game. It's let the games begin when it comes to staying ahead in the creative process and ahead of the competition.

Amanda, Catherine and Farrah are used to keeping Falcon Bay at the top and they intend to keep it that way, regardless of affairs, betrayal, conniving male competitors and new owner. They least expect push back from a corner and person who should by rights be helping them to achieve their goals and keep their jobs. It's a dog eat dog world of showbiz, carnal pleasure and ruthless women, who will stop at absolutely nothing to be at the top.

I read the book before I read the promotional blurbs, and the first thing I thought of was Jackie Collins. The comparisons are right on the money. Just like Hollywood's answer to glitzy romp and scandalous bonkbusters (gotta love that phrase), Blake has an eye for combining the lascivious and the outrageous. 

It's bold and doesn't give two monkeys, both from a character and a plot perspective. The joy of the hot raw need combined with scandal and characters willing to take what they want when they want is a genre that has somehow wandered into obscurity. It is neither the pulse raising romance of a naughty Mills and Boon, nor the bodice-ripper of the 80s or indeed the genre that panders only to those who like their love thrills with a bit of whip and a side portion of bondage. This straddles the wall between them all. Pun totally intended.

Buy Ruthless Women at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Head of Zeus pub date Feb 18 2021 |HB | £12.99. Buy at Amazon com. Hive. Bookshop org. Waterstones.