Review: False Value

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars.

Peter Grant has left the Police and taken a job with Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's new London start up: the Serious Cybernetics Corporation. Or has he?

We are thrown in at the deep end at the start of this book with Peter's interview with SCC and then the first few chapters alternate between events in January when Peter starts work at SCC, and events in the preceding December which I found confusing at first.

I'm not going to attempt to explain the plot which would require gantt charts and a wall covered in mug shots and bits of string. Suffice to say that there is magickal intrigue afoot involving a mythical machine created by Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, a tech company with a big secret, our old friend Agent Reynolds from the FBI, some American mages and lots and lots of Beverley. Can I just say how much I love Beverley? The spirit/goddess of Beverley Brook, heavily pregnant with twins she is a sheer delight and I would happily read a book about her and Peter at home with no magickal crimes to solve. And of course no Peter Grant book would be complete without Nightingale, Molly and the Folly.

If you aren't already sold, there's some scathing commentary on 1960s British architecture (we're talking about you Old Street roundabout), a screamingly funny Basil Brush joke, casual references to steampunk and Peter's usual dry wit shining through every page.

Loved it.

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Review: Stone Cold Kiwi

Stone Cold Kiwi by Rosalind James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars.

Oh this is just glorious, an unlikely romance between a Casanova Maori ER doctor and a single mother of three which starts when he delivers the third child on the grass outside the hospital. Full of the less romantic parts of childbirth and motherhood it is achingly funny, super sexy, romantic and definitely swoon-worthy.

Poppy should be on top of the world. Married with two gorgeous children and a third on the way, she has sold her glamping business for an obscene amount of money and makes a good living as a writer and illustrator of children's books about a blue hippo. But underneath the glamour her husband is away far too much and she suspects him of cheating on her. Yet out of the very worst experience (giving birth in the street in front of random passers-by, face down in the grass has got to be right up there, surely?) comes a beautiful baby and an unlikely friendship with the hot doctor who delivered the baby and is sort-of family in the wide New Zealand Maori whanau way.

Doctor Matiu Te Mana loves women but has never felt the need to be tied down to any single woman, and at over 40 years of ae he thinks that's his natural state. But at a family wedding he is struck by the luminescent beauty of a pregnant woman, sister of the groom, who came to the weeding without her husband but seems to infect everyone with her joy de vivre. Flash forward a few weeks/months and he is helping the same woman to deliver a baby on the ground and his struck by the way she cares more about her children than about herself, despite being in agony. Something about Poppy makes Matiu want to protect her and care for her and all sorts of other inconvenient things that he definitely should not be thinking about another man's wife, even if the husband isn't worthy of the title.

Rosalind James' love of New Zealand and Maori culture and families just shines through every page of this glorious romance. I wish I could read it all over again.

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Review: Rebel Hard

Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nayna Sharma has always been a people-pleaser, especially after her older sister eloped and moved to Australia. Now she has agreed to an arranged marriage, but the picking are slim. She and her BFF go to a client's party and Nayna kisses a hot guy as a desperate attempt at a fling before she settles down and abandons all her dreams of travel and adventure for good.

Raj Sen runs his family's construction business. Having been adopted as a child, Raj is desperate for a traditional marriage, a wife at home and deep family roots. When he kisses a hot girl at a party he is blown away, until she tells him to shut up because she only wants him for his body.

Flash forward, guess who Nayna's next candidate is for an arranged marriage - yes, none other than Raj. His parents like her, what Indian parents wouldn't love a woman who is a successful accountant and honours her family? Her parents like him, he might be blue-collar but he runs the family business. Raj and Nayna start a tentative relationship, but do their differing life goals spell out trouble?

I found it difficult to get into this book, maybe because I found it hard to reconcile Nayna being a 28 year old virgin with her climbing Raj like a tree when they first met. Maybe it's that I found Nayna's new found independence equally as odd, when she'd been such a doormat her whole life. Maybe it wa the idea that a woman agrees to an arranged marriage, then finds one candidate is a man she finds totally hot, funny, smart etc and yet she suddenly gets cold feet about the arranged marriage.

Anyway, up until about one-third of the way into this book I struggled to engage with the characters, even now I think Raj was just a bit too perfect to be true, he needed to be a bit more human.

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Review: Love Hard

Love Hard by Nalini Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jacob Esera is a single dad and rugby player. The mother of his daughter died from a sudden illness when they were both still teenagers, since then he's become even more serious and protective.

His polar opposite is Juliet Nelisi, a former class mate and BFF to his dead girlfriend, she was wild and bad and the two of them have never liked each other. Brought together by the marriage of his brother and her friend the barbs are flying but underneath there is an unwelcome attraction.

This hit so many of my favourite tropes: sports-romance; single parent romance; enemies to lovers; New Zealand rugby players; bad girl and good boy ... the list goes on.

It wasn't all plain sailing, I haven't read the previous books in this series, or the Rock Kiss series from which I believe this is a spin -off, consequently I felt I was in character overload at the start of the book as couple after couple are introduced as if I should know who they were (and of course I expect I would do if I had read the other books). Also, there seemed to be a lot of thigh clenching every time Juliet sees Jake which was not only monotonous but also slightly yucky. Anyway, I persevered and honestly once the wedding was over the book settled down into a charming, sexy romance.

I loved Jake, such a great dad, brother, family man, rugby player and all-round good guy. Juliet was the ying to his yang, she's had a hard life, an orphan brought up by an aunt and then strict grandparents, she's come out of a relationship with a New Zealand cricketer which put her in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. She's envious of Jake's large and warm family.

Overall, I loved this book and now I'm going back to read the previous books in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: The Summer We Ran Away

The Summer We Ran Away by Jenny Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julia has descended into a life of envy and copying her neighbours. She and her husband Charlie have over-extended themselves buying a house which they can't afford to redecorate to their own tastes. Their neighbours are yummy mummys who shop at Whistles, granite worktops, hot water taps and hot-tubs. In comparison Julia buys her clothes at H&M and TK Maxx, arguably she buys things that look just like their more expensive rivals but really she's just copying whatever the cool kids are wearing/doing. Julia thinks she's one of the gang, until a mix-up at a party with mobile phones shows that she is very much an outsider and some of her very personal texts get shared.

This was such a sweet, fun, summer read. I think we've all felt a little like Julia, trying to fit in with the glamorous people and not realising that we have started ape-ing them a little too closely and have lost our individuality. When Julia flees the party she has no idea where she's going but her journey is emotional as well geographical. Can running away really help you discover what's real?

Loved this, loved the characters, loved the plot, loved everything about it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Eight Kings

Eight Kings by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And on to the sixth book in this engrossing series.

Conrad Clarke, his fiance Mina and his new partner Saffron have been tasked with mediating/policing discussions between Lord Mowbray and the Daughters in Cornwall. But there are all sorts of family and political tensions running beneath the surface which culminate in murder. Can Conrad and Mina uncover the truth?

Yet another brilliant installment in what is fast becoming a favourite series set in some of the most beautiful parts of the UK. What's not to love about a magickal detective, family feuds, warring witches and the magnificent Cornish countryside.

Now on to the novellas ...

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Review: Nine of Wands

Nine of Wands by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And on to the fifth adventure for Conrad Clarke, former RAF pilot, Kings Watch officer, Dragonslayer and all round good guy.

This latest installment involves more goblins, a demon, gold and hyper-inflation. Also Mina is out of prison and finally becoming more than just 'Conrad's girlfriend in gaol'. In fact (and I say this as an accountant myself) Mina is instrumental in uncovering the crime in this novel and pinpointing the source.

What more can I say? I binge-read the series to-date in a few days because it has humour, magick (always with a K), dwarves, dragons, gnomes, a Jewish commander, demons and a group of loveable characters.

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Review: Tenfold

Tenfold by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 4 of this series doesn't disappoint. We learn more of Conrad's family history with the KIng's Watch and the dark secrets held by the spectre of his 11x Great Grandfather Thomas when they summon him.

I can't praise this series highly enough. It combines urban fantasy (can it be urban if it is set in the English countryside?) with hard-nosed detective work, a charmingly understated romance and a wry humour.

On to the next one ...

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Review: The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Conrad Clarke plans a romantic weekend with his girlfriend but his plans are thwarted by murder, gnomes and magickal shenanigans. In this third installment of the fantastic series Conrad and Vicky investigate a mundane death that turns out to be anything but.

Love this series, binge read it over a few days so my reviews are consequently short.

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Review: If I Never Met You

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Laurie and Dan have been together 18 years, since they were 18 years old and met at university. Resolutely unmarried and happy about it, until Dan drops the bombshell that he's not happy, he doesn't want to try for a baby as they agreed, in fact he doesn't want the future they've mapped out together, he wants to find himself.

Laurie is devastated, even more so when she discovers that Dan hasn't been entirely honest with her. Then Laurie gets stuck in the office lift with Jamie, the office lothario, who proposes a deal, she act as his girlfriend to help him prove to the partners that he is settled and worthy of joining their ranks, he will stop people feeling sorry for her by acting as her fake boyfriend - as one of the prettiest men Laurie has ever seen she knows Jamie can make Dan jealous.

Of course, as with all fake relationship romances, soon Laurie starts to see that there is more to Jamie than his reputation as a ladies' man, but can people ever change?

Loved it, loved that Jamie wasn't a cardboard cut-out but a sensitive and caring man with friends and a loving family. Loved that being with Jamie helped Laurie to see her own true worth. Loved the family dynamics, I even loved Laurie's friends which is unusual for me.

Overall, a charming, funny fake relationship romance that breathes fresh new life into a well-worn trope.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Alone in the Wild

Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this fifth book about the tiny town deep in the Yukon which houses those running from their pasts the investigation takes an unusual turn when Casey finds a dead woman cradling a tiny baby deep in the woods.

In the search for the baby's mother Casey and Sheriff Eric Dalton discover more about the other settlers who have eschewed Rockton to live an even more basic life. Looking after a baby raises more questions for Casey and Eric and their relationship. Can Casey give the baby back to its parents, and what if the parents don't deserve to keep the baby?

As always, the truth uncovered is twisty, turny and very dark. Loved it.

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Review: The 12 Dragons of Albion

The 12 Dragons of Albion by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review will be short because I devoured all six published books in a matter of two or three days. Hence my brain is awash with magick and the adventures of Conrad Clarke, former RAF pilot turned KIngs Watch officer.

Someone has stolen a dragon's egg and they are trying to hatch it. Can Conrad use his considerable wiles and knowledge of human nature combined with his partner the magically gifted Vicky.

Loving this series and highly recommended to anyone who loves magickal mysteries set in London.

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Review: California Schemin'

California Schemin' by Hanna Dare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our young hero has made it to California and the reality TV show Singing Sensation. Feeling like a minnow in a sea of sharks Conor is a bit lost. He's not worldly wise, unlike some of his fellow contestants and he's caught the eye of one of the judges.

Can Conor sort out the users and the fakers?

I loved this book so much, very different from the novella that started this series but Conor managed to be both naive and naturally astute. So often I thought I knew where the plot was taking Conor and yet Hanna Dare deftly confounded my expectations.

Can't wait to read the third installment.

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Review: The 13th Witch

The 13th Witch by Mark Hayden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our hero, Conrad Clarke, is a former RAF pilot with a gammy leg. After being involved in something highly illegal (although potentially black ops) he is helped by an apparition which turns out to be a manifestation of the Norse God Odin. Odin wants to recruit Conrad to the King's Watch, a highly secretive society which investigates illegal use of Magick (yes, that's magic with a K) - just don't call them the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, in order to join the Watch Conrad must first obtain a badge of office and that can only be obtained once he has undertaken a task - in this case find a missing witch.

I think if you enjoy the Rivers of London or The Chronicles of St Mary's series you will enjoy this series. Our plucky hero may have very little magickal ability, but he makes up for the lack with sneakiness and an understanding of how people behave.

I'm a sucker for books set in London and this one centres on Bank underground station and the Tower of London so I loved reading about a place I walk past five days a week. Now every time I see the statue of the Duke of Wellington outside Royal Exchange I will picture Conrad sitting there with his cigarette and coffee. I'm also tempted to look for the Churchill Arms to see if he is there with Alain and Vicky.

Anyway, its funny and clever and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And for the moment it's free to borrow on Amazon Prime.

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Review: Life in a Nowhere Town

Life in a Nowhere Town by Hanna Dare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A touching novella to start a new series.

Conor lives a small life, after his mother's death he and his father and sister are barely getting by (can I just say I find it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that a family can be bankrupted by medical bills when in the UK medical treatment is free), he only has two friends at school and he has no idea what to do with his life when he leaves. Life in a small town can be inhibiting, especially if you are a young gay man.

Then Conor gets a chance to audition for the hit reality show Singing Sensation.

While Conor waits to see if he has made the cut he starts a very unusual relationship with the high school bully - what's that all about?

This short novella gave me all the feels, reminding me of how lonely you can feel as a teenager, how bleak your choices can feel and how people aren't always what they seem. Can't wait to read the next book.

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Review: One Summer in Nashville

One Summer in Nashville by Mandy Baggot
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honor Blackwood was an up-and-coming country star until a deranged man attacked her with a knife on stage. Now she's a recluse, working in a music store and avoiding anything to do with Nashville and country music.

Jared Marshall is the latest bad-boy rock/country fusion sensation about to start a national tour. After hearing one of Honor's songs he's determined to do whatever it takes to get this woman back into the recording studio and accompanying him on tour.

But Honor and Jared both have secrets in their pasts, secrets that come between them, can love overcome?

This was okay. I felt that Jared was borderline that boyfriend that overreacts and starts a fight for no reason just because some innocent bystander looks at his girlfriend or talks to her. I also didn't like the way that Jared felt his actions were justified, whaling on someone just because he grabbed her arm - his own kind of frontier justice as if he was a character on Sons of Anarchy.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: 1996

1996 by Kirsty McManus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Anna Matthews is a married food blogger. When her sponsor sends her a vitamin supplement called Youth Compound along with a selection of new ingredients Anna is literally taken back in time to 1996 when she was a teenager.

What makes this time travel story different from all the other ones out there is that firstly, the Youth Compound only works for 12 hours after which Anna is returned to the present day and second, nothing Anna does in the past has any effect. When she returns to the present nothing has changed and when she returns to the past no-one remembers the changes she made. So, you might ask, what is the point of travelling back and making better (or worse) decisions if ultimately nothing changes? Anna feels the same way, which is also kind of nice. But then Anna finds out something about her husband which tempts her to go back to 1996, a decision that rocks their marriage to its core.

I liked this, although I have to say I was confused as to which demographic the book was meant to appeal. It's a bit YA for women's fiction but a bit tame for a YA/NA audience. This is part of a series, the next book is set in 1997 and follows Anna's further adventures. I have to admit I am curious as to what happens next with Anna and her sister and her old school friends.

At the time of writing this was free on KIndle.

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