#BlogTour The Shadow Man by Mark Brownless

 It's my turn on the BlogTour the Shadow man by Mark Brownless.

About the Author

Mark Brownless lives and works in Carmarthen, West Wales. He has been putting ideas on paper for some years now but only when the idea for The Hand of an Angel came to him in the autumn of 2015 did he know he might be able to write a book. Mark likes to write about ordinary people being placed in extraordinary circumstances, is fascinated by unexplained phenomena, and enjoys merging thriller, science fiction and horror. Follow @markbrownless on Twitter, on Facebook, on Youtube

About the book

Idyllic memories? A perfect childhood? A secret buried for thirty years... None of us could remember why we drifted apart – we were always so close at school…

That was thirty years ago, and I hadn’t thought of my school friends in all that time – it was like they’d never existed. Then the dreams started. Dreams that I knew I’d had before. Horrific dreams of fear and fire and death.

Dreams of a ghostly urban legend who seemed to hang over my home village like an evil spirit – the Shadow Man. I’d begun to remember, and I knew we had to go back. What happened to us back then? Do we really want to know? Are we ready to face the Shadow Man again?

Review

Philippa knows in her gut that the dreams she is having are connected to something deeply disturbing, something evil. Somehow instinctively she also knows it is linked to some event when she was younger.

A mutual dream experience - perhaps if everyone is going through the same processing of emotions and memories at the same time. What could an event like that be triggered by and why would an old group of friends have the same kind of nightmares at the same time? What does their friend Janey know about it?

In fact Janey drums them all back together because she is determined to figure out what happened to them when they were younger. Have they all collectively been so traumatised that they have blocked out the truth?

It's a psychological thriller with a tinge of deep set fears and how we cope with trauma and said fears. The author hammers home how the human is the unreliable variable in any equation when it comes to memories. 

We only have space for a certain number of items in our short term memory and everything else is filed in long term, however not everyone has the same filing system. Retrieval can be partial or not at all, and even attached to other memories. On top of that our perception at the time of filing is framed through individual references and experiences, which explains why two people can experience the same event in a completely different way. The question is what exactly did they experience?

Buy The Shadow Man at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎SpellBound Books pub date 13 Jun. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Her Sister's Baby by Emma Bennet

 It's my turn on the BlogTour Her Sister's Baby by Emma Bennet.

About the Author

Emma grew up and lived in London, before falling in love and moving to Wales to marry her own hero. Emma now lives with her husband, 4 children, and many animals a few miles outside of a small Welsh market town. She can often be found in rivers attempting to control two overexcited chocolate labradors.

Emma likes (in no particular order): cake, books, Cary Grant films, prosecco, chocolate, guinea pigs, knitting, quilting and happily ever afters! 

Follow @romanceemma, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit emma-bennet.co.uk

About the book

Woken in the middle of the night by the horrific news that her estranged sister has been killed in a fatal car crash, Sophie abruptly finds herself guardian to a niece, Alana, she never knew existed. The baby gives Sophie a way to cope with her grief, and a new focus to her life, but the unexpected appearance of Samson, Alana’s father, wanting his daughter to now live with him, threatens to destroy Sophie’s newly formed family.

Can Sophie and the seemingly feckless Samson, reach a compromise, or will Sophie be forced to give up her sister’s baby?

Review

The last thing Sophie expects is to become a carer, a parent and a surrogate mother to a baby overnight, especially when the circumstances are linked to tragedy. Her sister is someone who kept herself apart from the family in recent years and she most definitely kept the birth of her daughter a secret.

Faced with a complete restructure of her life, living circumstances and future expectations, Sophie is determined to take care of her niece no matter what. Then a baby daddy turns up. Samson has only just found out he is the father of a young child and also determined to take care of his daughter.

So that leaves the two of them with the best intentions, but potentially on two different paths. What are they going to do?

It's a contemporary romance read, a story of family and new beginnings. It's a gentle story of grief and endurance, of putting your own needs aside to help someone who is vulnerable and alone. Bennet makes the sad seem doable, the tragic easy to overcome and obstacles less insurmountable.

Buy Her Sister's Baby at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : SpellBound Books pub date 1 Jun. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Ballynoon Friendship Circle by Pauline Morgan

 It's my turn on the BlogTour The Ballynoon Friendship Circle by Pauline Morgan.

About the Author

The call to Pauline Morgan’s native Northern Ireland was too strong and, after a fascinating stint overseas, she recently relocated there. Pauline had some unique mystical experiences in various houses she lived in and, as a result, self-published the paranormal Special Houses. She has been a member of the Romantic Novelist Association and participated in their New Writers’ Scheme.  She attended a day course in Editing, tutored by author/mentor Morgen Bailey. Pauline is a member of Writers Ink, a multi-award winning www.writing.ie 

She has written short stories; published in Woman’s Way and Irelands Own iconic magazine. Pauline enjoyed entering Flash Fiction competitions and was long-listed at Kanturk Arts Festival. Her first poem Airborne, published on Pendemic.ie website March 2020 

Pauline has completed a women’s ‘fiction book called The Ballynoon Friendship Circle, her debut novel to be published by SpellBound Books in early 2021. Pauline is working on a standalone book Christmas novel. 

She engages with an extensive network of social writing groups on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Pauline turns her incredible imagination into words to create beautiful stories in different genres. She has a relaxed style of writing, and her mentor describes it as heart-warming and cosy. Pauline never shies away from any given written tasks. Follow @paulinemorgan56 on Twitter, on Facebook,

About the book

After finding her dream cottage in a magazine whilst at the hairdressers, Edel Marston, a fifty-year-old retired teacher, makes the life-changing decision to relocate back to Northern Ireland after the death of her husband Ben. 

A rocky start with the neighbours and the knowledge of her past is a little too close for comfort, leaves Edel full of self-doubt. Her emotions have become a law unto themselves and she keeps wondering if she’s made the right decision.

After giving herself a good talking to, she decides to join a local over 50’s club, in a bid to embrace her new life. However, after meeting the friendly ladies of the self-proclaimed Stitch & Bitch group, she’s left with further feelings of uncertainty.

Realising quickly how gossipy these ladies can be, Edel finds herself keeping more and more secrets, especially when her relationship with one particular friend develops into something much more.

Ultimately, Edel has to decide whether to trust again and let all of these new people into her life, warts and all or go back to being lonely but safe and with her secrets intact.

Review

I can totally see a surge of Stitch & *itch groups being established around the country - what a great name for an over 50s group. It seems like the perfect place for Edel, who is a little bit like a piece of driftwood just floating aimlessly through life. She feels neither here nor there after the death of her husband.

It's always great to read a story with a main character who fits in the middle-aged bracket. Much like society women in this age range suffer from what I like to call an 'automatic invisibility cloak' as soon as they hit a certain age. Sounds depressing, but honestly it depends on how much weight you give to the opinion of others when it comes to your own self-worth.

Morgan combines grief with coming to terms with the next stage in life. It's about survival, self-belief and taking a risk. Letting people in again when you're in a dark spot and believe that no one wants you or will be willing to love you again, isn't easy at all.

It's an uplifting escapist read with plenty of home truths and a premise that veers close to reality. It's also a relatable read, because regardless of who you are, being welcomed into a circle of friends and being uplifted enough by them to enjoy your life to the fullest - that's always a good thing.

Buy The Ballynoon Friendship Circle at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : SpellBound Books Ltd pub date 21 May 2021. Buy at Amazon com.