Friday 19 May 2023

Audiobook Review - The Witch In The Well

Title and Author:
The Witch In The Well by Camilla Bruce
Publisher: Transworld
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof Gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction, though I listened to audiobook, borrowed from local library
Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

Hundreds of year ago, the town of F- did something bad. Even now, the ripples of that event affects the town and Catherine Evans has been researching and writing a novel about what happened when Ilsbeth Clark drowned in the local well when the townsfolk accused her of being a witch. According to Catherine Ilsbeth wasn't a witch, but a woman who knew her own mind and who didn't fit the norm of what a woman/wife should be... 

But when her old childhood friend, Elena, comes to town, stuck for an idea to follow up her successful book, Whispers Inside: A Reawakening of the Soul. When she rediscovers the story of Ilsbeth Clark, she thinks that would be a great book idea, focusing on her natural magic, and accidentally mentions her idea in an interview, a rivalry between Catherine and Elena form. 

By the end of the summer, one woman will be dead and the other will be accused of her murder. But did she do it? And who is Ilsbeth Clark, really? An innocent, a witch or something much, much worse?

Tuesday 16 May 2023

Blog Tour Review - If Tomorrow Doesn't Come


I have a blog tour review for you! Brace yourselves, as I don't normally write reviews for blog tours if I can help it. Mainly because I'm always worry about what would happen if I said yes, then I read the book and go "Oh no, I don't like this. Now what?"

But with this, I knew I had to make an exception as when the Write Reads emailed and I read the synopsis for this, I got very excited. A book that tackles queerness, mental health and it's going to be beautiful and yet, utterly heartbreaking. SIGN ME UP!

Title and Author: If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude
Publisher: Penguin Random House Children
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher and PR Blog Tour Company, The Write Reads, in exchange for an honest review/reaction for blog tour. 
Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

On the morning that Avery Byrne plans to kill herself, the world discovers that an asteroid is heading to Earth and there is only nine days left to live. 

With time running out, Avery rushes to get home to be with her family and the girl she's been in love with her whole life. But can Avery try and save her family, the girl she loves and, maybe, even herself...

Thursday 11 May 2023

May Mini-Review - What Walks These Walls

Another day, another mini-review and this book is one I did a blog tour for! Yes, I finally read a book that I did a blog tour for! WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN I CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS!?

Title and Author: What Walks These Halls by Amy Clarkin
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review/reaction and to partake in online blog tour
Buy from (Affiliate): Bookshop.org 

Hyacinth House is the most haunted house in Ireland. So haunted in fact, that it's not reported about at all. Raven doesn't remember what happened in Hyacinth House five years ago. Her father died in that house during a paranormal investigation and, though everyone says it was a terrible accident, Rave is certain that it was her fault.

So when her younger brother, Arthur, decides to start up the family business of paranormal investigating and he's asked to investigate Hyacinth House for a house sale, he can't resist even though Raven is horrified by the idea...

Éabha can see and hear things no one else can. She's not sure if it's emotions from the past, ghosts or something else, but she decides that she has to find out. When she crosses paths with Arthur and his ragtag team of paranormal hunters, she thinks it's a great place to start.

But everyone has a secret or two to hide. And Hyacinth House has its own as well...

Monday 8 May 2023

Extract Of The Suburbs

I have an extract for you all today. And yes, it's a not fantasy or crime. I have checked and yes, I am feeling well. Honest. 

This extract is part of the Tales of the Suburbs by Justin David. Prequel novella of Kissing the Lizard and The Pharmacist and part one of the Welston World Saga, we follow Jamie who dreams of escaping his small town to be with the those strange yet beautiful creatures he sees in Smash Hits magazine. 

But being in a small town under the reign of Margaret Thatcher and trying to discover who you are isn't exactly easy. Over the course of Jamie's teen years where he survives secondary school, teen problems and art college where he follows in love with Billy. But then what? Does he escape to London or return to the safety of West Midlands...?

I am thrilled to be sharing an extract with you guys (this is from chapter two) and, before I share with you all, I just want to say a quick thank you to Petronella at Inkandescent for emailing me and asking if I wanted to be involved). And if you want to say to the author, Justin David, you can hi to him on Twitter at @Justin_Writer &, if you want more info on the book, you can check out either Inkandscape's website at inkandescent.co.uk or (if you want to use an affiliate link) uk.bookshop.org!

Now, ONTO THE EXTRACT!!!

Friday 5 May 2023

eProof Mini-Review - Green for Danger

I want to write a short, quick mini-review for this and one other books as I am still in the depth of Amazon doing something weird/strange to my account and me trying to figure out what is going on and trying to fix it. Because of that, I wanted to write something short of both of these reviews so you are up-to-date with all my reading. Maybe I should give myself some time off blogging, but I want to do that more over the summer/October... 

Anyway, here is the first mini-review for May. Will it be the last?

Title and Author: Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
Publisher: British Library Crime Classic
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by US publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction
Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

Set in a military hospital during World War Two, a patient dies on the operating table. It's believed by the doctors and nurses that it was a reaction to the anesthia, but when one of the nurses is found stabbed, it's becomes clear that both these cases are murder and are connected.

Tuesday 2 May 2023

Audiobook April - The Murders at Fleat House

As many of you know Lucinda Riley sadly passed away in June 2021 due to cancer and was the best-selling author of the The Seven Sisters (the surprise eighth and final book in the series, Atlas: the Story of Pa Salt was started before her death and her son, Harry Whittaker, finished). But Lucinda touched into different genres and The Murders at Fleat House has an interesting history. 

Lucinda wrote this murder mystery back in 2006. Once written, she put it to one side and it's believed she would return to this once she had finished the Seven Sisters series. After her death, her family discovered the manuscript and, with the lightest of touches, edited and allowed to be published. 

I have never read a Lucinda Riley novel (I do own the first book in the series on my Audible and I would like to listen to it once Amazon figure out what the hell they did to my account!), but I have always wanted to read The Murders At Fleat House, but was saving it. And then, out of nowhere last month, my brain went "Now! I want to listen to this NOW!"

Title and Author: The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley
Publisher: PanMacmillan
Bought, Gifted or Borrowed: Audiobook Bought and Borrowed via library's audiobook app
Buy from (Affiliate): Bookshop.org

The death of a student at a small private boarding school of St Stephen's sends shockwaves within the school and the head teacher is desperate for it to be a tragic accident. But why would the boy take aspirin when he was deathly allergic to them?

The boy's father demands the Police to look into it and the case prompts the return of Detective Inspector Jasmine 'Jazz' Hunter to the force. Jazz has her reasons for leaving the Met and the Police as a whole but, as a favour for her old boss, she decides to look into the death. 

As she enters the closed world of the boarding school and the boarding house of Fleat House, she discovers that the student was a bully and not well liked. Plus, with it being common knowledge that the student was allergic to aspirin and took drugs to control his epilepsy, it would have been easy to swap his medication. 

But when one of the teachers kills himself and another student vanishes, it looks like Fleat House has a dark secrets and history and Jazz needs to figure out what is going on. And fast.