 Available now Book length - 258 pages Publisher - Self-Published Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Anne from randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.ie for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour. Here is everything you need to know about The Magician's Curse by Linda G. Hill. ABOUT THE BOOK When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesn’t expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom she’ll fall hopelessly in love. Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows she’s the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Herman’s happily ever after, before it really begins? Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magician’s Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await. AUTHOR BIO Linda G. Hill was born and raised an only child in Southern Ontario, Canada. She credits the time she spent alone when she was growing up, reading books and building worlds and characters of her own to keep her company, as the reason she became a writer. A stay-at-home mom of three beautiful boys, Linda is a graduate of the Writing Program at St. Lawrence College in Brockville, Ontario. Aside from caring for her family, she enjoys traveling the world, eating trout cooked on the barbecue, and, of course, reading. For more information: Website - lindaghill.com Twitter - twitter.com/LindaGHill Facebook - www.facebook.com/lindaghill.fiction/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/linda.g.hill/ DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THE OTHER STOPS ALONG THE WAY!! 
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 Release date - 3rd May 2018
Book length - 320 pages Publisher - Transworld Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Transworld Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK ‘No one lives this way unless they want to hide something.’ When Caroline and Francis receive an offer to house swap, they jump at the chance for a week away from home. After the difficulties of the past few years, they’ve worked hard to rebuild their marriage for their son’s sake; now they want to reconnect as a couple. On arrival, they find a house that is stark and sinister in its emptiness – it’s hard to imagine what kind of person lives here. Then, gradually, Caroline begins to uncover some signs of life – signs of her life. The flowers in the bathroom or the music in the CD player might seem innocent to her husband but to her they are anything but. It seems the person they have swapped with is someone she used to know; someone she’s desperate to leave in her past. But that person is now in her home – and they want to make sure she’ll never forget . . . MY REVIEW THE HOUSE SWAP by Rebecca Fleet is not a thriller in the usual context of the word and yet it still exudes a dark, disturbing, and almost suffocating tension from start to finish that leaves you constantly on edge as you read each page. Caroline and Francis decide to house swap for a week in order to try and reconnect and salvage their extremely fractured relationship. Through addiction, depression, and an electric affair, they are still together hoping to restore their family but as soon as Caroline enters the stark house where she will spend the next week, she feels uncomfortable. There is something about this place that reminds her of her past and all of its turmoil and it soon becomes clear that somebody has planned this in detail and that someone is currently staying in her home ... Moving from past to present, this story comes alive for the reader and sucks you into the drama. As we get to know Caroline, Francis, and Carl and their complicated emotions and relationships, we are always aware that in the present day there is a more sinister situation occurring and we are always left unsure just who exactly is behind it all. The author has a wonderful way of making you feel what the characters are feeling and I couldn't put this book down until I knew the whole truth. The characters are not always likeable but they are always real and fallible and realistic which is much more important in a good novel. THE HOUSE SWAP by Rebecca Fleet is a story about emotions and decisions and how simple choices can alter one's life drastically and I highly recommend this captivating domestic thriller! AUTHOR BIO Rebecca Fleet’s brilliant page-turner The House Swap was pre-empted by Transworld for publication in May 2018. The novel combines psychological suspense with domestic drama. When a young couple organises a house swap to have a break away – a first step towards rebuilding their faltering marriage – the wife slowly begins to realise from clues left in the house that the person staying back in their home is someone she used to know and, for reasons that gradually become clear, was very much hoping to forget. Rebecca had two literary novels published by 4th Estate under a different name. For more information: Twitter - twitter.com/RebeccaLFleet Instagram - www.instagram.com/rebeccafleetwriter/ #Review: The Gaslight Stalker by David Field @SapereBooks #TheGaslightStalker #JackTheRipper27/4/2018  Release date - 1st March 2018
Book length - 208 pages Publisher - Sapere Books Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Caoimhe from saperebooks.com for providing me with an e-copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK Looking for your new favourite historical mystery series? Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Rory Clements and Antonia Hodgson… Jack the Ripper is stalking the streets of London. Can anyone stop the serial killer before more women are murdered? London, 1888 Whitechapel is full of the noise of August Bank Holiday celebrations. Everyone is in high spirits until a woman – Martha Turner – is discovered brutally murdered. Her friend, Esther, a lowly seamstress turned female sleuth, is determined to find the killer. A young police officer, Jack Enright, takes the lead on the case, and he and Esther soon embark on a professional – and personal – relationship. When another murder is committed and whispers of a slasher calling himself Jack the Ripper start flowing through the London streets, the search becomes even more desperate. The police are on the wrong track and the young couple take matters into their own hands, and soon find themselves navigating through London's dark underbelly. Can they find the murderer before he kills again? Will anyone listen to their suspicions? Or will this dark presence continue to haunt Whitechapel…? THE GASLIGHT STALKER is the first crime thriller in an exciting new historical series, the Esther and Jack Enright Mysteries, a traditional British detective series set in Victorian London and packed full of suspense. MY REVIEW While I am definitely not an expert on Jack the Ripper, it always sparks my interest when I see it on a book and in the case of THE GASLIGHT STALKER by David Field which blends fact and fiction throughout its pages, this novel did not disappoint. Esther is a well brought up young lady who has fallen on hard times who works hard as a seamstress from her room in a boarding house. When her neighbour, and friend, Martha is found murdered and the investigation seems to be taking a wrong turn in her opinion, she begins to do some digging herself, and with the help of a handsome police officer, Jack, Esther is determined to uncover the truth. But the darker side of London is coming alive and danger awaits this young pair of amateur sleuths ... The first book in a new historical crime series, THE GASLIGHT STALKER by David Field held my interest from start to finish and I look forward to more from this author. The setting and time period come alive on every page and while there were times when Esther and Jack seem a little naive, they are characters that you come to care for as they try to uncover the truth. Mixing facts about Jack the Ripper with fiction really works well in this novel and I easily read this book in a couple of hours. THE GASLIGHT STALKER by David Field is an interesting take on a famous killer and is sure to be a hit with historical crime fiction fans everywhere. AUTHOR BIO David was born in post-war Nottingham, and educated at Nottingham High School. After obtaining a Law degree he became a career-long criminal law practitioner and academic, emigrating in 1989 to Australia, where he still lives. Combining his two great loves of History and the English language he began writing historical novels as an escape from the realities of life in the criminal law, but did not begin to publish them until close to fulltime retirement, when digital publishing offered a viable alternative to literary agencies, print publishers and rejection slips. Now blessed with all the time in the world, his former hobby has become a fulltime occupation as he enjoys life in rural New South Wales with his wife, sons and grandchildren to keep him firmly grounded in the reality of the contemporary world. David Field is published by Sapere Books. For more information: Website - davidfieldauthor.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/David-Field-Author-1310348185738473/  Release date - 27th February 2018
Book length - 285 pages Publisher - Titan Books Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Lydia from titanbooks.com for providing me with a copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only victim who lived. When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago. Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he's washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them...with a killer who can't let go. MY REVIEW I didn't know what to expect when I started to read THE VANISHING SEASON by Joanna Schaffhausen but nothing could have prepared me for the deeply compelling, enigmatic, and downright masterful narrative that lies between these pages. Ellery Hathaway desperately wants the people of Woodbury to listen to her and take her seriously before somebody else goes missing but even her fellow cops think that she is seeing a killer where there isn't one. But then they do not know who Ellery really is or her tortured past that will forever haunt her. But when Ellery receives a clear sign that murder is definitely on someone's agenda and that Ellery is at the centre of it all, she will be forced to deal with the past that she has buried so carefully, even seeking help from those who helped her all those years ago. But this time the killer knows exactly what he is dealing with and he is preparing to step out of the shadows and claim his final victim ... Thrown into this disturbing story, the author creates a stifling atmosphere that oozes with tension and troubling possibilities that settles over the reader from start to finish. Ellery's character is strong and tough yet there is a vulnerability that she is determined to bury down as far as she can. I loved her sense of right and her willingness to make a difference in a world that seems to be drowning in all that is wrong. Reed is a charismatic character that while obviously flawed, develops in many ways from the beginning to the end of the book which makes him all the more likeable. The crime element of this story is gritty and haunting and I could not go to sleep until I discovered who was behind it all (I was wrong by the way!!). THE VANISHING SEASON by Joanna Schaffhausen is an excellent crime fiction novel that will have you on the edge of your seat, desperate to uncover the truth, and I cannot wait to read more from this talented author. AUTHOR BIO JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN is a scientific editor who spends her days immersed in research on potential new therapies for cancer, addiction, and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Previously, she worked as an editorial producer for ABC News, where she advised and wrote for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. The Vanishing Season is her first novel. For more information: Website - www.joannaschaffhausen.com Twitter - twitter.com/slipperywhisper Facebook - www.facebook.com/JoannaWrites/  Release date - 19th April 2018
Book length - 432 pages Publisher - Zaffre Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Emily from www.zaffrebooks.co.uk for providing me with a copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She's only a few months past the heart transplant that - just in time - saved her life. Life should be a joyful adventure. But . . . Her relationship with her mother is at breaking point. She knows she needs to find her father. She's missed so much that her friends have left her behind. She's felt so helpless for so long that she's let polls on her blog make her decisions for her. And now she barely knows where to start on her own. And then there's Lennox. Her best friend and one time lover. He was sick too. He didn't make it. And now she's supposed to face all of this without him. But her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it . . . MY REVIEW There are not enough words to describe just how amazing this novel really is but I will try my best to articulate it as best I can. Ailsa Rae has never really had control over her life as she waited for a heart transplant, as she lost her closest friend, and as she watched those who love her suffer on the sidelines. And then a miracle happens and Ailsa receives a heart in the nick of time but now she has a new dilemma - what exactly should she do now with a life that she never thought she would have? As her blog followers have always been with her through her illness, now she turns to them to help her make decisions on her future, which doesn't always seem like the best idea. And as Ailsa bravely steps back into the world will she be able to discover who she really is and where her heart can take her? THE CURIOUS HEART OF AILSA RAE by Stephanie Butland is an emotional rollercoaster of a story with characters that nestle into your heart and will never leave. I felt so much emotion for Ailsa and Hayley as they struggled to find their feet with their new reality and relationship as soon as Ailsa receives her transplant. The blog entries and the letters scattered throughout the book are a wonderful touch and really make the story relatable. Organ donation is not something that I like to think about because it means death and grief for those who have lost their loved one but this novel really makes you stop and think about it and opens up the other side of the coin of organ donation - the person who gets a chance to live a full life because of transplants, a gift that cannot ever truly be measured. THE CURIOUS HEART OF AILSA RAE by Stephanie Butland is brimming with hope, drama, friendship, love, and new beginnings and I read this book from cover to cover in one evening. This book is stunning and special and everyone should read it as soon as possible, so move it to the top of your TBR pile and get cracking on it!! AUTHOR BIO Stephanie Butland is a writer, who is thriving after breast cancer. (She used to say she was a survivor, but that was a bit lacking in joie de vivre.) Although she’d never have chosen it, her dance with cancer has changed her life in many positive ways. Now she is happier, healthier, and more careful with her precious life and the precious people and things in it. Her writing career began with her dance with cancer, and now she is a novelist. Aside from writing, she works as a speaker and trainer, and she works with charities to help raise awareness and money in the hope that cancer will soon be about as scary as a wart. She lives in Northumberland. For more information: Twitter - twitter.com/under_blue_sky Facebook - www.facebook.com/stephaniebutlandauthor/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/stephaniebutlandauthor/  Release date - 9th April 2018 Book length - 344 pages Publisher - Self-Published Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Rachel from www.rachelsrandomresources.com for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour and for providing me with an e-copy of this book. ABOUT THE BOOK Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he - or she - has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it. Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed - and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail? There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events. With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light. MY REVIEW THE CORNER SHOP IN COCKLEBERRY BAY by Nicola May will make you laugh out loud and dab your eyes in equal measure and is my favourite story from Nicola May so far. Rosa Larkin has never really belonged or known what love feels like. Growing up in one care home after another, she learned to be strong and to stay away from commitment. Other than her best friend Josh and her rescued little pooch Hot Dog, Rosa doesn't feel connected with much else in her life. So when she discovers that somebody has left her a shop in the beautiful setting of Cockleberry Bay, she is stunned but more than up for the challenge, and a challenge it will certainly be. From an old store that needs to be whipped into shape, to the bustling and nosy community who know everything about everyone, Rosa finds herself on a whole new adventure with new friendships, secrets, and even the possibility of love but will she ever find out about her past and who she really is? This novel is brimming with humour but it is also so much more than that. There is a real level of depth to all of these characters but especially Rosa's and I desperately wanted her to learn about her past so she could allow herself to open up to those that deserve her love and friendship. This story has plenty of drama and it deals with serious topics but the pervading sense of strength and spirit is never dampened. THE CORNER SHOP IN COCKLEBERRY BAY by Nicola May is a fantastic read and I would love to see more from this community (and Hot Dog, of course!). A must-read!! AUTHOR BIO The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay is Nicola May’s ninth novel. In 2012 she won Best Author Read at the Festival of Romance for The School Gates and again in 2014 for Christmas Evie. Nicola likes to write about love, life and friendship in a realistic way, describing her novels as ‘chicklit with a kick’. Nicola May lives near the famous Ascot racecourse with her black-and-white rescue cat, Stan. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon, eating flapjacks – and, naturally, enjoying a flutter on the horses. Inspired by her favourite authors Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews, Nicola is looking forward to sharing her charming, heartfelt and funny books with you. For more information: Website - www.nicolamay.com Twitter - twitter.com/nicolamay1 Facebook - www.facebook.com/NicolaMayAuthor Instagram - www.instagram.com/author_nicola/ DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THE OTHER STOPS ALONG THE WAY!!   Release date - 12th April 2018 Book length - 288 pages Publisher - RedDoor Publishing Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Anna from reddoorpublishing.com for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour and for providing me with a copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK Despite living in the same three-flat house in the suburbs of London, the residents are strangers to one another. The bottom floor is home to Tam, a recent ex-cop who spends his days drowning his sorrows in whisky. On the middle floor is Nick, a young man with Asperger's who likes to stick to his schedules and routines. The top floor belongs to Karen, a doctor and researcher who has spent her life trying to understand the rising rates of autism. They have lived their lives separately, until now, when an unsolved murder and the man on the middle floor connect them all together. Told from three points of view, The Man on the Middle Floor is about disconnection in all its forms; sexual, physical, parental and emotional. It questions whether society is meeting the needs of the fast growing autistic section of society, or exacerbating it. Thought-provoking and thrilling, The Man on the Middle Floor will leave readers talking. MY REVIEW THE MAN ON THE MIDDLE FLOOR by Elizabeth S. Moore was NOTHING like what I expected and is a tough one to categorise as it really is very different. In a three flat house in London lives three strangers who never see or know each other until a murder forces them all out of their comfort zones and into each others company. Tam is an old-school cop who suddenly finds himself retired because he just doesn't fit in any longer. Nick is a sensitive man who has Asperger's and who needs his routines and structures to function. And then there is Karen, a doctor who walks away from everything in the hopes of making history through her research. As the story is told from each character's point of view, the reader really gets an insight into the characters which is not always a good thing. Dealing with sensitive topics such as autism and abuse the author doesn't hold back and it can make for very uncomfortable reading at times but I think that is what the writer is looking for - discussion, disagreement over how issues are handled, how our society functions and lets down so many, and this novel will guarantee that a conversation is actually happening. THE MAN ON THE MIDDLE FLOOR by Elizabeth S. Moore is not an easy-read crime fiction novel but an in-depth, often disturbing look at modern life with plenty of opinions that will get you talking and keep you interested to the very end. AUTHOR BIO Elizabeth S. Moore has worked as a journalist since she won the Decanter Young Wine Writer of the Year at seventeen. She has written columns and articles on restaurants, politics, South Africa and all things foodie. She comes from a family that has given her a lot of writing material and is currently finishing her second book, having written the first after completing the Faber Write a Novel course and being approached by fourteen agents after reading an excerpt of her novel to industry professionals. Elizabeth lives in London with her South African husband and has three daughters and a son as well as two lazy Labradors. For more information: Website - elizabethsmoore.com Twitter - twitter.com/LizzyMoore19 Facebook - www.facebook.com/ElizabethMooreAuthor/ DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THE OTHER STOPS ALONG THE WAY!!  #Review: Tapestry of War by Jane MacKenzie by @JaneFMacKenzie @AllisonandBusby #TapestryOfWar14/4/2018  Release date - 19th April 2018
Book length - 320 pages Publisher - Allison & Busby Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com I want to thank Jane and www.allisonandbusby.com for providing me with a copy of this book for review. ABOUT THE BOOK From the deserts of North Africa, to the waters of Scotland, the Second World War touches the lives of two women from two very different worlds. In Alexandria, Fran finds her world turned upside down as Rommel's forces advance on the idyllic shores of Egypt. The life of luxury and stability that she is used to is taken away as she finds herself having to deal with loss, heartache and political uncertainty. Meanwhile, in the Firth of Clyde, Catriona struggles between her quiet rural life and her dreams of nursing injured servicemen on the front lines. As the war rages on, the two women's lives become intertwined - bringing love and friendship to both. MY REVIEW TAPESTRY OF WAR by Jane MacKenzie is a rich and soul-stirring story of strength, courage, and love set during the Second World War, and it is certainly a must for historical fiction fans the world over. In Alexandria, Fran is a determined woman who works as a journalist and lives a content and happy life with her family and her friends. But as the danger moves ever closer, it will bring new people into her life who set her heart on fire, while also bringing the enemy ever nearer. And when tragedy strikes it will change her life in more ways than one. Connected to Fran even though they haven't met, Catriona lives in Scotland which is also deeply entrenched in the war. Working as a nurse specialising in rehabilitation is everything she wants from her career but with her brother fighting in the war and her father alone and wanting her to stay at home with him, will she be able to fulfil her dreams whilst also taking care of her family? And with death and despair around every corner, can love shine a light in the darkness? Absorbing, poignant, and beautifully detailed, TAPESTRY OF WAR by Jane MacKenzie is breathtaking in every possible way. I loved the contrasting settings of Alexandria and Scotland and it really opened my eyes to how all-encompassing this war was in every part of the world, and not just in those countries closer to home. The characters are magnificent in their depth and ability to draw you into their lives and make you really care about them, and I could not put this book down once I had started reading it. The war in all of its darkness and tragedy is not shied away from but there is also so much spirit and determination to survive and find happiness that echoes through these pages, that it really will bring a tear to your eye at times. Friendship, love, and resilience are beautifully portrayed throughout TAPESTRY OF WAR by Jane MacKenzie while also bringing you a historical novel that will transport you back in time and I cannot recommend it highly enough! AUTHOR BIO Jane MacKenzie has lived an exceptionally adventurous life, working in such far-flung corners of the world as the Gambia, Bahrain, and Papua New Guinea, and Switzerland and France nearer to home. She is as much at home teaching in an African village as organising the research budgets of Nobel scientists, and is a natural linguist, picking up languages wherever she has lived, to complement the fluent French from her first degree in French Language and Literature. She is an entrepreneur, an international expert in education, and latterly helped transform the UK Government’s Office at CERN in Geneva during two years as its Head. In her fifties Jane turned to writing novels, for a new challenge, and to fulfil a long-held dream. Jane splits her time now between her homes in the Scottish Highlands, and in her beloved Catalan village in France, the region where her three novels have been set. Jane is widowed with grown up children. For more information: Website - janemackenzie.co.uk Twitter - twitter.com/JaneFMacKenzie Facebook - www.facebook.com/jane.mackenzie.co.uk |
WelcomeHi fellow bookworms. My name is Linda and I'm a reviewer & blogger, wife & mother who loves all things books! 
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