Review: City of Destruction

City of Destruction by Vaseem Khan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Persis Wadia is Bombay's first female police detective, albeit stationed at the Malabar House station (equivalent to Slough House in Mick Herron's excellent Slow Horses series). This is the fifth book in the series, I hadn't read the others but it was fairly easy to read as a standalone.

Its 1951, only a few short years since India was partitioned and the new state of Pakistan was formed. The bloodshed and the religious unrest is still very fresh. Persis and Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch are patrolling a political rally held by the defence minister Azad who is advocating the taking back of Pakistan, against the wishes of Prime Minister Nehru. Persis spots a young man in the crowd who doesn't seem to be as enthused as the other people around him, she loses track of him for a moment and then spot shim again, just as he attempts to assassinate Azad, with only split seconds to react, Persis kills the young man, but not before he shoots Archie in the head. As the boy lies dying he presses an amulet into Persis' hand and whispers City of Destruction.

Unsure of whether the young man was working alone, was from Pakistan, was a fifth columnist etc, the Delhi Investigation Board call in MI6 for assistance. Persis is hauled off the case, which is given to two incompetent (male) detectives while she is given the body of a man found on a beach, assumed to have immolated himself.

Despite being taken off the case, Persis cannot leave it alone, she hopes that the amulet and the dying man's words will give her some clues as to his identity and his motivation.

I enjoyed this, I have read a few books set in India, including some which give some detail of the horrific violence that surrounded Partition, but this book gave some additional colour and flavour as the backdrop to the investigations. I was also interested in how much of the plot (as opposed to the history of partition) was based on historical facts.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope

The Mid-life Trials of Annabeth Hope by Alice G. May
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annabeth Hope has been left by her husband to look after his three teenage children from his first marriage and their young daughter in a ramshackle farmhouse in the New Forest, with no job and no child support she has been quietly selling off shares left to her by her parents to pay the mortgage and keep them fed, along with the menagerie of animals her family have gathered. However, her stepchildren are hostile, she doesn't really have any friends in the village, and life is getting on top of her.

Rick Mahon is an over-worked and harassed London GP. A walk-in patient to whom Rick prescribed medication mixed it with recreational drugs and is in a coma, he is a semi-famous Tik-Tok gamer with a high social media profile. There is no evidence that Rick warned the patient not to take any other drugs with his medication and the patient's mother is all over social media declaiming Rick. She is threatening to sue which could ruin Rick and destroy his career. Counselled by his partners to leave London and let the furore die down (paparazzi are trying to force their way into the surgery), Rick decides to decamp to the property his uncle left him in the New Forest.

Rick first meets Beth when he gets lost in the New Forest and comes across her trying to change a flat tyre. Later they discover that they are neighbours. Despite the immediate attraction neither of them has the bandwidth for a relationship, yet they keep getting thrust into each other's paths.

I loved this, but yet again I felt the ending was too abrupt and if I'm being really picky everything miraculously resolved itself a little too easily, but it was a fun read, reminiscent of Katie Fforde.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Book People

Book People by Jackie Ashenden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After escaping a controlling relationship, former book editor Kate returns to the small town where her mother grew up to open a bookshop in the building she inherited, apparently her great grandmother ran a tea shop in the building. She and her single mother led a peripatetic life during her childhood but bookshops always represented comfort and an escape. Kate's bookshop embraces genres, manga, romance, sci-fi, cosy mysteries - you name it. The only fly in the ointment is Sebastian who owns the highbrow bookshop directly opposite Kate's. She's tried to be friendly, but he refuses to even speak to her, he's even petty enough to rearrange his window displays deliberately to outdo Kate's.

Sebastian keeps himself to himself, his family has had the bookshop for several generations but his father and his grandfather's addictions have left the family bookshop deep in debt, and Kate opening a rival bookshop opposite him has only exacerbated the problem. Sebastian's family is unlucky in love, both his great-grandmother and grandmother left their husbands, and his own mother died when he was still young, which is why Sebastian knows he is destined to be alone. Sebastian is trying to revive the town's literary festival to (hopefully) bring some much-needed revenue to his shop. But when disaster strikes and his keynote author pulls out a week before the festival only Kate can help him save the day.

Kate is on good terms with a popular author from her editing days, a woman whose bestseller appealed to both populist and highbrow readers, if they can find a lure to encourage her to attend their small festival it will make it a winner and Sebastian has just the thing, a bunch of love letters between his great grandfather and an unknown woman.

I really enjoyed this romance because well books! However, I felt the mystery was a bit obvious to the reader, and the ending felt a bit rushed (like I'm 95% through the book and they haven't made up yet), which is odd because I've complained about the last few books by Lucy Score where the couple seem to get together about 35% into the book and then there's a lot of filler until the inevitable 'misunderstanding'.

Other than that, I will definitely look out for more books By Jackie Ashenden.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Not Part of the Plan

Not Part of the Plan by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Emma is Gia's middle sister and now runs the Pierce brothers' bar and restaurant. Having been burned by a player when younger she now has a plan: only sensible, reliable men who have the same goals, love is fleeting but a 401K is forever. After her mother abandoned her husband and children when Emma was a child she has had a fear of abandonment.

Nikolai is a famous fashion photographer who could grace a magazine cover himself (Summer Pierce's BFF from New York), but he's lost his mojo and has decamped to Blue Moon. When Nikolai runs into Emma at the restaurant she clocks him as a player and makes it clear that she wants none of what he's selling. Intrigued, and stimulated by Emma's quick wit and failure to fall at his feet, NIkolai suggests he proves his intentions are good - by being her friend, no strings attached. Guess how long that lasts ...

As with the previous books in this series, I was enjoying it until about halfway but then the pursuit ended, there was a whole lot of smexy filler, then a rather overblown 'conflict'. Nevertheless, I continue reading because this is catnip for me LOL/

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription - I would post a review on Amazon but my reviewing rights have been suspended for 'repeatedly posting content that violates our Community Guidelines ... or Conditions of Use', although helpfully Amazon won't actually tell me what guideline(s) have been breached or in what review(s). LOL. I'm trying to decide if I'm petty and delusional enough to stop buying things from Amazon until they left the ban.

View all my reviews

Review: Fall into Temptation

Fall into Temptation by Lucy Score
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Beautification Committee turns its eye to Beckett Pierce, town mayor and lawyer.

Gia is a yoga teacher, she has recently moved to Blue Moon to be closer to her father (who happens to be dating Beckett's mother) after divorcing her charming but feckless husband. She brings with her her stepson Evan and her daughter Aurora.

Beckett and Gia have a bit of a meet-cute where he doesn't realise she is his new tenant for the summerhouse at the end of his garden and he insists on walking her home.

Although they both try to resist their attraction, because children and landlord (that's two separate reasons), they can't resist for long.

I liked this opposites attract small-town romance, but I didn't love it. I had to skim too many smexy scenes (just bored) and the inevitable misunderstanding felt too manufactured. I'm not going to read Jax and Joey's story but I've already started the fourth book which features Gia's sister Emma and Summer's BFF the photographer Nikolai.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: A Deadly Flame

A Deadly Flame by Doug Sinclair
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

DS Malkie McCulloch's third outing, this time for a fire at a whisky bonded warehouse where a dead body was found in one of the offices and A firefighter lost his life. There are so many variables, was the fire arson? Was the firefighter's equipment faulty? Was the person dead before the fire was started? Did they start the fire? Why did one of the fire-fighters take the dead firefighters breathing apparatus away in contravention of standard procedure? Why was one firefighter shouting at another?

This was a gripping detective story, although the prologue made it obvious (to me) what had happened (although not necessarily why). However, ... I feel that in his attempts to create some personal lives for Malkie and Steph outside the cases Doug Sinclair draws with a very thick pen and is repetitious, very repetitious, to the point where, frankly, I no longer believed in the storyline. (view spoiler)[Steph has discovered that her she was a product of rape, by her step-father Dean's friend, a man she grew up calling 'uncle'. Now the timelines seemed off to me. Steph originally thought she was a last minute oversight from her mother's first husband, then it seems she was raped by her second husband's best friend Barry. But then why would she continue to happily allow him to visit the house and play with his biological daughter? And it also says her mother's attitude to Barry changed and she no longer wanted him around - why if the rape happened years earlier? Also Steph seems to have taken the news very, very badly. If she sobs into her Kahlua once about Barry and his rapist genes polluting her body she does it five or six times. (hide spoiler)]

I also find Doug Sinclair's depiction of women a bit problematic, you might argue that no-one comes out of this looking good and that would be a fair point, but I just feel that one way or another they are all victims. I said with the first book that maybe these were too dark and tortured for me and this has reinforced that view.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Queen of Trades

Queen of Trades by Dee Osah
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 30%.

Eden Kane is an immigration lawyer, the daughter of a very wealthy and powerful man who is trying to manoeuvre her into getting back together with her ex because he comes from the right family etc, no matter that he cheated on her repeatedly. Her ex is also trying to get back with her for his own reasons. I gather that Eden and her ex were in a physical relationship but Eden found god and has decided to save herself for marriage, this is conveyed in a mildly slut-shaming way (if one can do that mildly). Her father wants Eden to stop working as an immigration lawyer and join his firm, they make a ridiculous bargain where she has to repay him for her entire education (several million dollars)within in three months or bow to his wishes. He has also pulled lots of strings so she can't access her trust fund or borrow the money. Eden is described as exotic with men fetishising about sleeping with her, I think she has albinism but I could have misunderstood.

Daniel Keshi is Nigerian, a genius day trader, PhD student and he's writing a book, although he is looking for funding which makes me think if he's so good at trading why does he need funding? He is also having visa issues and could be facing deportation. Again, if he is making so much money day trading why can't he afford to pay a top-notch immigration lawyer to help him?

Eden and Daniel both attend the same fellowship hall (which again makes no sense, why wouldn't a billionaire's daughter attend services close to where she lives?). He is drawn to her looks but feels she could be trouble so has actively avoided her for over a year, even though they have several friends in common. Apparently, all their friends agree that the two of them love each other - now I ask you how on earth can you be in love with someone you never speak to/with? It makes no sense unless they just fell in love with each other's appearance.

So apparently (because it hasn't happened by the point I gave up), Eden will offer to make all of Daniel's visa problems go away if he can increase her investment in time to beat her dad at his own game. However, Daniel's strategy didn't seem to be very revolutionary from what I understood.

I read that the authors (a husband and wife team) like to bring part of their own lives into each story and I feel that maybe they did a bit too much? There is a LOT of christian messaging in the book, multiple references to praying to god etc which I found off-putting, I would not have requested it if I had known this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Heart of Hope

Heart of Hope by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bristol is a divorced mother of one. After the tragic death of her younger sister Hope a year ago, the entire family and town have been in mourning. Bristol's daughter has taken an interest in paying ice hockey for the local team (they are very bad) and Bristol feels she has to support her so when their hockey coach has a heart attack Bristol volunteers herself as replacement coach since all the other parents are somehow far too busy.

Beau has come to the small town of Hope Falls to check out Bristol for REASONS (I must admit I got the reason wrong but only slightly) and he happens to be a former professional ice hockey player so, while keeping his former profession and his actual name a secret, he starts to help Bristol and the team.

Sparks are flying, Beau wants to keep things platonic until he can tell Bristol the truth but Bristol wont take no for an answer.

This is a short sweet novella. I think the blurb could be misleading, most of the novella is about their developing relationship and resisting each other whereas I read the blurb to mean the novella pretty much started with Bristol waking up alone after they slept together.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: No More Secrets

No More Secrets by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summer Lentz is a workaholic aspiring editor for a New York glamour magazine (fashion, make-upp, etc) and she has come to the small town of Blue Moon Bend in upstate New York to write an article about Carter Pierce and his family who have created an organic farm, for a series she has been developing about healthy eating and living for REASONS.

Blue Moon Bend is one of those fictional small towns where all the residents are young and gorgeous/have successful off the wall businesses/are mad as a box of frogs. So in this case Carter's middle brother is also an attorney and the local mayor, and his youngest brother is a film screenwriter. There's a juice bar, a yoga studio, a great pizza place, etc, etc.

There's a fair amount of big city girl getting scared by farm animals but also impressing Carter with her determination to do what is asked of her without complaining eg harvesting lettuces. Soon the smouldering glances turn more carnal but Summer thinks Carter wouldn't want her if he knew the truth about her (which, now I know the truth is just silly) and Carter feels he is broken because he had PTSD after he came back from Afghanistan and still has nightmares sometimes. Oh and they also live miles apart and couldn't easily move to be with each other.

I enjoyed this, I don't think Summer's REASONS were a big surprise, I thought the catalyst for the change was a bit left field because there were no warning flags previously, but it didn't spoilt the story.

Overall, I was looking for something light and fun to read (my TBR pile of ARCs is bringing me down) and this fit the bill. I am already part way through the second book which features Carter's middle brother Beckett.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: My Mother's Ridiculous Rules for Dating

My Mother's Ridiculous Rules for Dating by Philip William Stover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sam Carmichael had dreams of becoming an author, he even won a prestigious writing prize when he was younger. Unfortunately, things didn't pan out, he spent many years ghostwriting for a female romance author who just couldn't be bothered to write any more, but when she retired none of the publishers wanted him to continue writing in her style. Now he's working part-time in an advertising agency, toying with the idea of completely giving up on his dreams and becoming a full-time corporate 'normal'.

Since his aunt Shug died a year ago, Sam's mother Gloria has really struggled to find joy in life, so when she unearths a 'contract' Sam signed years ago in which he promised his mother that if he wasn’t coupled up by thirty-five, he would do whatever she wanted to find a boyfriend. Well guess what, he's thirty-five and single (after his much older boyfriend Paul went back to his husband) and Gloria is coming to make good on his promise.

I really liked the premise of this story but to me it didn't quite work. Sam's ex, Paul, was just too obviously a creep, Gloria set Sam up on some truly horrendous dates with some ghastly people - why? Even Sam's love interest seemed to delight in telling Sam what to do - he was too similar to Paul in that respect.

OVerall, I suspect there is a bit too much autobiography in this and I didn't really find Sam a likeable character (although I did sympathise with him over the way everyone pushed him around 'for his own good').

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Only Hard Problems

Only Hard Problems by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lord Zane Zimmer, new leader of the Arrows since Kyrion went off with Vespa, hides his keen mind and strong sense of duty behind a ready smile and a charming personality (think The Scarlet Pimpernel), the gossipcasts think he's as deep as a puddle. His grandmother Beatrice is head of House Zimmer and she is plotting to marry Zane off to Lady Asterin in order to secure her family's mineral wealth for their manufacturing processes, over both of their objections.

Since Zane learned that Vesper is actually his half-sister he has been struggling between his duty as an Arrow to capture and return her and Kyrion to a life of being psionic batteries for the Emperor (because they have a true bond), and his desire to meet and know his sister. Oh, and he's none to happy that neither his grandmother nor his father has yet mustered the courage to tell him Vesper is his sister ... so much for family first!

Forced to attend the Summer Solstice party by his grandmother, who is keen to cement the almost engagement with Lady Asterin by Zane presenting her with a beautiful necklace, Zane is being hounded by the Emperor to find out where Vesper and Kyrin fled, whilst also worrying about where the Techwave will strike next.

I was really enjoying this, think Bridgerton meets The Tomorrow People, meets every werewolf PNR you've ever read. Fancy clothes, aristocratic soirees, high-tech equipment, mental powers, and a true mate bond. And then it ended with no conclusion and lots of questions. I see the next book in the series reverts to focussing on Vesper and Kyrion so what happens? This should have been titled 'Only Questions' .


View all my reviews

Review: Murder in Verona

Murder in Verona by T.A. Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

The ninth outing for former Scotland Yard detective Dan Armstrong and his trusty labrador Oscar.

Dan's girlfriend Anna's daughter has gifted them tickets to the opera in Verona. It's something Anna loves but Dan doesn't know much about it and fears he may loathe it.

Whilst getting a light refreshment with Oscar in the village, Dan is introduced to one of his neighbours, an elderly lady called Violetta Argento who drives a vintage Bugatti with reckless abandon through the village. Violetta is intrigued when she discovers Dan is a private detective, her son Rudolfo, a famous opera singer died recently in a car crash. The police have concluded it was an accident or (whispers) suicide, but Violetta is convinced that it was murder and suspects his wife who she loathes.

The Argento family are extremely wealthy, and the family business is jointly owned by Rudolpho and his two cousins - could his death have been motivated by greed? Rudolpho was also notorious for his womanising - could his wife or maybe a spurned lover have tried to kill him? Was he upset in anyway to substantiate the allegation of suicide?

Dan, Anna, and Oscar travel to Verona to the Argento Opera Academy, close to the family business headquarters, which was generously founded and endowed by Rudolpho to interview Rudolpho's widow and his cousins. Dan's investigations reveal that Rudolpho was a man of contradictions, generous and friendly, but he left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Some women hint that he may have been pressing unwanted attentions on women. Did his womanising end when he married? Why does his mother hate her daughter-in-law?

This was yet another cosy mystery set in the wonderful Italian countryside. My only complaint is that I am on a diet and all the descriptions of the luscious Italian food was very distracting.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Caught Off Guard

Caught Off Guard by Catherine Cloud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Matthias Brandl is a German playing NHL hockey as the second goalie. After a game in Vegas he and his team mates go drinking, they meet up with some of the Vegas players and Mattias ends up hooking up with the Vegas leading goalie Casey Wallace, which wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, they both agreed it was a one-time thing. But then Matthias gets traded to Vegas and he's Casey's back-up. Whilst the Vegas guys agree that Casey can be a bit grumpy they think he's a good guy - but he seems to hate Matthias.

Matthias' new teammates seem good people, especially his neighbour and friend Oliver who looks after him and tries to avoid getting involved in the drama.

I first heard about this in a Dear Author review https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o... and put it on my Kindle Wish List but an upcoming holiday and an Amazon gift card bumped it to the top of the list - I was not disappointed.

View all my reviews

Review: 1982: A Year in the Life of Wendy Wood

1982: A Year in the Life of Wendy Wood by Jason Ayres
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's New Years' Eve 2022 and Wendy Wood is 'enjoying' a karaoke night at the local British Legion Hall. A stroke two years ago has left her confined to a mobility scooter and she's regretting all the mistakes she made with her life. Then a stranger approaches Wendy with the opportunity of a lifetime. She has been selected to go back forty years to 1982 with the chance to put her life back on the right track with the help of a magical bracelet which will warn her if she is making bad choices.

Back in 1982 Wendy was the lead singer with a band called Velvet Temptation. They could have made it big, but egos, infidelity, bad luck, and artistic differences coincided to scupper their chances and Wendy has spent the last forty years working for minimal wage at local supermarkets.

Returned to 1982 Wendy must steer the band through shark-infested waters and change her future.

I enjoyed this, but I felt it was too straightforward, I understand that this is part of a series in which each book is set in a different year of the 1980s. For those of us who were young in the 1980s this is a trip down memory lane touching on the music, the TV, the celebrities, the news stories. However, I do wonder whether a younger reader would have the same enjoyment. I also worry how different the other books will be if they follow a similar premise.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: Love & Other Inconveniences

Love & Other Inconveniences by Catherine Cloud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Morgan Boyle is a non-drinking hockey player which has earned him the nickname of the fun police with his teammates. His family background isn't good, broken home, addictions, violence, and so he struggles to understand how to socialise. He'd really rather just hang out with his dog. Morgan is also in denial about his sexuality, whilst supporting gay rights, his homophobic upbringing has led him to vehemently deny being anything other than heterosexual.

At the start of the novel, Morgan is sent to the train with the Olympics team where he meets Noah Andersson, son of hockey royalty, who is his complete opposite, loud, friendly, touchy-feely. Somehow, Noah and Morgan end up sharing a brief kiss, which Morgan self-explains as satisfying a curiosity.

As the season(s) progress, Noah and Morgan inevitably meet when their teams play against each other Noah makes it clear he is interested in Morgan but Morgan is still in denial.

Can Noah and Morgan overcome their geographical separation, as well as Morgan's deep-seated issue with his own sexuality?

This was such a lovely slow burn romance. I understand that some in the LGBTQIA+ community might find the suddenly gay trope an issue, but I think Catherine Cloud does a good job of explaining that Morgan has been brought up by people who have demonised and vilified homosexuality and so he has supressed his feelings from a very young age.

Loved it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Canning Town Murder

The Canning Town Murder by Mike Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second outing for the Blitz detective. After a night of bombing an ARP clean-up crew find a woman's body amongst the wreckage, the only trouble was ... the body wasn't there when they cleared the site earlier that evening.

Detective Inspector John Jago and Detective Constable Cradock are called in to investigate. The woman is Mary Watkins, an HR administrator for a local factory which, among other things, is manufacturing transistors for secret government work.

Jago's investigation encompasses Fifth Columnists, black marketeering, blackmail, bigamy, and just plain greed.

This series is growing on me nicely, some personal development between Jago and the American journalist and good historical detail.

Apologies for the brief review, I've returned from holiday with half a dozen books to review!

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: We Could Be So Good

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nick Russo is a big brawny Italian American writer for the New York Chronicle, he's also gay which is a problem in 1950s America. To try to live as authentic a life as possible he has moved to The Village area, away from his family so that he doesn't have to pretend. However, his only 'romantic' encounters are of the one-night stand variety and cloaked in fear and secrecy.

Andy Fleming is the boss' son. Nick's polar opposite, he's charming and slightly helpless, forever losing his glasses or his keys, getting lost on the subway etc. As part of his grooming to take over the newspaper from his father Andy is rotated to work with Nick in the newsroom.

Nick finds himself attracted to Andy, even though he knows Andy isn't gay, in fact he's dating one of Nick's closest friends. Over the months they work together Nick spends his time finding Andy's keys, rescuing him, etc and they become best friends. So who else would Andy turn to when his fiance suddenly dumps him?

Andy has always wanted a family, marriage, children, maybe a dog, that's just how he's made, maybe in reaction to his parents' divorce and his mother's globe-trotting career as an investigative reporter. And for his entire life that vision included a woman. But sharing Nick's apartment suddenly opens Andy's eyes to a hitherto unacknowledged attraction.

Goodness, this was just sooooo good. I loved it. I loved Andy and Nick, I loved their family lives, I loved the way in which they could quarrel/speak at cross-purposes and then both come back with an apology. I loved the 1950s vibe and the reminder that while we haven't overcome homophobia yet we are still a long way past the repression and hatred of those times.

View all my reviews

Review: A Lethal Walk in Lakeland

A Lethal Walk in Lakeland by Nicholas George
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rick Chasen, nicknamed Chase, is a retired American police detective. A fan of walking, he has arranged to meet his friend Billie and love-interest Mike on a shortened Coast-to-Coast walking tour in the Lake District. Unfortunately, an outbreak of some mysterious illness in Mike's home county of Devon means he cannot join them (he's the local coroner). Even worse, instead of the disparate group of walkers Chase was hoping for, the remainder of the group consist of a Canadian bird watcher and six members of the Upton family from Texas.

The reasons for the family joining the trek aren't clear, none of them seem like hikers. The oldest brother appears overly familiar with his younger sister and picks on one of his twin brothers, his wife is ridiculously superstitious. One twin is gregarious and outgoing, although too fond of a quick fix. The other twin is a former soldier who seems to have psychological problems. The only sister is a recent widow, although by her on admission she cheated on her husband while he was dying of cancer. The final member of the family group is actually the sister's best friend, although she gossips incessantly about all the other family members and clearly had a crush on her friend's husband.

The tensions between the family group frequently boil over into arguments, and occasionally physical fights, at one point the tour guide even kicks them all off the tour, although he is persuaded to reconsider.

But when one of the Uptons is mysteriously poisoned at a country hotel suspicions fall on the other members of the walking group and it is up to Chase to give the local police force the benefit of his observations about the group.

I think part of the reason for my average score for the novel is that I have recently read another book about a Coast-to-Coast walking tour, You Are Here so the theme was familiar. Also, given the mention of Mike, I assumed he would play a role in the story, but he only appears towards the end. Finally, although I knew that Chase had retired I assumed he was a fifty-something retiree rather than close to seventy.

I felt that any one of the tour group could have murdered the victim, because they were all given plausible motives, and I was rather irritated that the 'evidence' of the murderer was something that the reader could not have seen (which I am pretty sure breaks one of the mystery writing rules I read recently in another novel).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Camilla Deschamps is at the end of her nine months' maternity leave and about to go back to work as a literary agent. However, when she wakes up her husband Luke is nowhere to be seen, apparently he (a ghostwriter for celebrity memoirs) has gone into to his shared workspace early. Cam feels slightly aggrieved by this, she's the introvert and catastrophiser and he's the extrovert happy-go-lucky one -on a day like today she really needs him to talk her off the ledge about putting their daughter Polly in nursery. He's not even answering his phone or reading her messages.

Later that morning at work, Cam is astonished to see that the man holding three people hostage in a London warehouse is none other than Luke. Although instinctively she can't think of any reason why this charming, sunny-natured man would do such a thing, as the police question her she recalls a few instances where he snapped at her, or behaved out of character.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be vague. Seven years later Luke has disappeared without a trace, Cam seesaws between thinking it has all been a big mistake and hating him for what he put them through. Although the police are monitoring Cam's internet searches and phone calls their investigation is very low key, except for Niall, the hostage negotiator that day, whose personal and professional lives fell apart on that day. he can't get over what happened and is looking for some kind of closure.

Can Cam or Niall piece together the clues and find out what really happened that day?

First off, let me say this was a really good book, loved the story. However, having read a couple of Gillian McAllister's books before I was already looking for the surprise twist - didn't always get it right, mind - and therefore in some respects this was a little too predictable. I also felt at one point that there were going to be too many similarities with (what I consider to be her best book) Wrong Place Wrong Time, although that turned out to be incorrect.

Overall, if you are new to Gillian McAllister's work I think you'll love the twisty-turny plot, but if you read and loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time I suspect you will find it fell slightly flat. Still better than most of the contemporary mystery/thrillers out there.

I received an ARC from the publisher Penguin Random House via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Camilla Deschamps is at the end of her nine months' maternity leave and about to go back to work as a literary agent. However, when she wakes up her husband Luke is nowhere to be seen, apparently he (a ghostwriter for celebrity memoirs) has gone into to his shared workspace early. Cam feels slightly aggrieved by this, she's the introvert and catastrophiser and he's the extrovert happy-go-lucky one -on a day like today she really needs him to talk her off the ledge about putting their daughter Polly in nursery. He's not even answering his phone or reading her messages.

Later that morning at work, Cam is astonished to see that the man holding three people hostage in a London warehouse is none other than Luke. Although instinctively she can't think of any reason why this charming, sunny-natured man would do such a thing, as the police question her she recalls a few instances where he snapped at her, or behaved out of character.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be vague. Seven years later Luke has disappeared without a trace, Cam seesaws between thinking it has all been a big mistake and hating him for what he put them through. Although the police are monitoring Cam's internet searches and phone calls their investigation is very low key, except for Niall, the hostage negotiator that day, whose personal and professional lives fell apart on that day. he can't get over what happened and is looking for some kind of closure.

Can Cam or Niall piece together the clues and find out what really happened that day?

First off, let me say this was a really good book, loved the story. However, having read a couple of Gillian McAllister's books before I was already looking for the surprise twist - didn't always get it right, mind - and therefore in some respects this was a little too predictable. I also felt at one point that there were going to be too many similarities with (what I consider to be her best book) Wrong Place Wrong Time, although that turned out to be incorrect.

Overall, if you are new to Gillian McAllister's work I think you'll love the twisty-turny plot, but if you read and loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time I suspect you will find it fell slightly flat. Still better than most of the contemporary mystery/thrillers out there.

I received an ARC from the publisher Penguin Random House via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: The Blitz Detective

The Blitz Detective by Mike Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Its 1940 and the Blitz has begun. For Detective Inspector John Jago it brings back unpleasant associations from his time in the trenches in WW1, being bombarded day and night. During the height of the bombing of East London an ARP Warden finds a man dead, slumped over the steering wheel of a van, it appears he has committed suicide, but on closer inspection he has also been stabbed in the heart.

The victim, Charles Villiers is a local Justice of the Peace and owns a printing factory nearby. However, before DI Jago and his new assistant Detective Constable Peter Cradock can get a police photographer and coroner to view the body the van is hit by German bombs and explodes!

When Jago starts to investigate Villiers it appears he wasn't a very nice man. His wife was clearly put upon, his son feels relief that his father is dead, his brother barely speaks to him, he's known to chase his female employees (and worse) and a lot of the people Jago speaks to suspect that he may have been involved in something 'dodgy'.

I did have trouble keeping the various characters straight in my head at times, especially when the story just leaps into a discussion between (say) Albert and Gus and you can't for the life of you remember who either of them are. Also because the man was such a pill there are clearly a lot of people with motive.

On reflection, perhaps the motive was a little far-fetched, and the final discovery overly dramatic, but it all hung together.

On to the second book.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: The Soho Murder

The Soho Murder by Mike Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the ninth book in the series, I hadn't read any of the others and it didn't affect my enjoyment of the plot.

Detective Inspector John Jago and his trusty sidekick are called to disreputable Soho where an antiquarian bookseller has been found shot in his own flat. The man, only fairly recently married (ie last few years), owned a bookshop and his wife owned an ecclesiastical printing business and bookshop.

Investigating the murder will take John deep into Soho, exploring the jazz clubs which tip off their (male) customers, and the underground card games which sucker in losers.

This was a well-written and fast-paced detective story, set against the backdrop of the Blitz. On the strength of this book I have downloaded the first two in the series (which are currently available on Kindle Unlimited if anyone wants to try before they buy).

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Caroline Minuscule

Caroline Minuscule by Andrew Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a bit of a curiosity, having read several of Mt Taylor's other series I bought this book because it was only 99p, but was (frankly) put off by the title - don't be. It's not clear when this is supposed to be set, I initially thought the 1950s but I suspect it was contemporary when it was written in the 1980s - doesn't' that make me feel old!

William Douglas is a mature(ish) student who chose the rather obscure Caroline Miniscule medieval script for his post-graduate studies (mainly because of its obscurity which would make any research easier to pass off as new). He is lackadaisically preparing to provide a translation of a piece of said Caroline Miniscule from a photo provided by his tutor when he finds the tutor's body garotted in his study. Rather than call the Police, William basically runs away.

Later William is accosted by a man called James Hansard, who he suspects is his tutor's murderer, apparently his tutor was to have translated the text in the photograph for this man and he offers William an eye-wateringly large sum of money to translate the script instead.

But then William reads that James has been killed and later receives a letter and a parcel from James' bank. The letter explains that James was searching for a cache of diamonds, hidden by a client, but the client has shared clues with James and another man, James suspects this man will kill him and has asked William, if that happens, to find the diamonds in his place.

The ensuing search involves a road trip from London to East Anglia and the fens. There's murder, double-crosses, and more.

Loved it, loved the ambiguous ending and I've already bought the second book in the series.

View all my reviews

Review: The Perfect Rom-Com

The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two years ago Bryony Page attended a rom-com workshop/conference to try to get an agent for her book, which is a genre-defying fictionalisation of her grandmother's work setting up an ESL school, where Bryony also works. She never got any interest in her book (she's still trying), but the last agent she met, Jack Sterling, offers her a job as ghost-writer for Amelia Benedict, a successful rom-com writer, famous for being the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the US.

Two years on, Jack hasn't been able to get even a whiff of interest in Bryony's own book, but she has proved herself a brilliant ghostwriter, successfully increasing Amelia's sales and critical acclaim. Bryony has tried to walk away from the contract many times, but she is paid handsomely for her work (including a percentage of sales) which she uses to anonymously donate to her grandmother's school, and Jack can talk her out of anything, she's such a pushover.

Jack and Bryony have become friends, maybe even best friends, over the past two years. They eat together once a week and play on the same bowling team. If it weren't for Bryony's boyfriend Parker (also an ESL teacher in Aukland, Russia) and Jack's girlfriend Chloe (or is it Claire) ...

Amelia is a nightmare. She only wrote the first book and since then has relied upon a series of ghostwriters, but Bryony is so good that over time the others have been let go. Amelia doesn't even read her own books and has made some truly awful gaffes about characters and scenes when being interviewed or when talking to fans.

Bryony wants to complain about the ever-shortening deadlines and pressure to write two books a year, on top of her dayjob, with Amelia's mindless twittering about how she wants the books to be written, but instead she gets railroaded into going on a two week book tour with Amelia and the rest of the team to perform damage limitation after saying things like she based one of her characters (a murderer) on her father.

Two weeks on the road with Jack and feelings are starting to develop, but when a multi-millionairess relies on you to write the books that get her fame and publicity she has a vested interest in forcing you to stay.

I wanted to like this because I loved Meet Me in the Margins, but sadly there were too many flaws with this. Firstly, the convenient boyfriend who's been overseas for 27 months - puhlease that relationship is so dead. Second, to have become a successful writer and not realise that your original story was an overblown, confusing mess? Smacks of one of my favourite films Teacher's Pet (amazing film starring Doris Day). Third, the way in which the conflict was resolved was pure end of the film Singing in the Rain. Fourth, Bryony was just so wet. And finally, Jack said something to Bryony which I imagine was supposed to be sweet and romantic but came across as slightly alarming and a bit of a red flag. (view spoiler)[You might not have been dating me for the last two years, Bryony, but i've been dating you (or words to that effect). (hide spoiler)]

As above, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: The Death at the Vineyard

The Death at the Vineyard by Emylia Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Shell House Detectives are called in to investigate the theft of quad bike by Owen Harper, oldest son and part-owner of the late Frank Harper's farm turned vineyard Shoreline Vines. Owen, his mother Ruth and younger brother Edwin, together with Edwin's wife Karensa run the vineyard together but Frank's death uncovered that the vineyard was not in a good financial state.

Just as Ally and Jayden are approaching the vineyard they see the police are already in attendance, apparently a man has been trampled to death by their neighbour's cattle which he keeps in a field he rents from the Harpers. Although the body is unrecognisable the Harpers are sure it is Russell Tremaine, the ne'er do well son of their former odd-job man, Shaun Tremaine. Their story is that Russell stole the quad bike and was coming back to see what else he could steal when he got scared, hid in the field and got trampled by the cattle.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Owen is no longer interested in finding the quad bike (although the loss of a £10,000 practically new machine must be a blow to a struggling business), but Shaun asks the Shell House Detectives to find out what really happened to his son, because he's convinced that nothing on earth would have persuaded Russell to go anywhere near cattle.

Their investigations uncover all sorts of secrets and come to a very satisfying conclusion - nice to know I was right in my suspicions!

I think this series has really hit its stride. The personal stories are advancing slowly, the characters are deepening and the investigations are more organic. I still have a soft spot for Mullins and Saffron, but he still has some developing to go.

And can I just say how much I love these covers? Honestly its what drew me to the series in the first place.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: The Death at the Vineyard

The Death at the Vineyard by Emylia Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Shell House Detectives are called in to investigate the theft of quad bike by Owen Harper, oldest son and part-owner of the late Frank Harper's farm turned vineyard Shoreline Vines. Owen, his mother Ruth and younger brother Edwin, together with Edwin's wife Karensa run the vineyard together but Frank's death uncovered that the vineyard was not in a good financial state.

Just as Ally and Jayden are approaching the vineyard they see the police are already in attendance, apparently a man has been trampled to death by their neighbour's cattle which he keeps in a field he rents from the Harpers. Although the body is unrecognisable the Harpers are sure it is Russell Tremaine, the ne'er do well son of their former odd-job man, Shaun Tremaine. Their story is that Russell stole the quad bike and was coming back to see what else he could steal when he got scared, hid in the field and got trampled by the cattle.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Owen is no longer interested in finding the quad bike (although the loss of a £10,000 practically new machine must be a blow to a struggling business), but Shaun asks the Shell House Detectives to find out what really happened to his son, because he's convinced that nothing on earth would have persuaded Russell to go anywhere near cattle.

Their investigations uncover all sorts of secrets and come to a very satisfying conclusion - nice to know I was right in my suspicions!

I think this series has really hit its stride. The personal stories are advancing slowly, the characters are deepening and the investigations are more organic. I still have a soft spot for Mullins and Saffron, but he still has some developing to go.

And can I just say how much I love these covers? Honestly its what drew me to the series in the first place.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: Fair Play

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Abigail's brother Benjamin's birthday is on New Year's Day and so, to make it special they started a tradition of booking an AirBnB stay with a group of old friends and Abigail meticulously plans a murder mystery evening, loosely based around a theme. This year things are a bit tense, Benjamin has invited his PA Barbara of all people to join them, which won't go down well with his ex-fiance Margaret. Abigail is glad that Benjamin's school friend Stephen is coming alone, his girlfriend has gone home to Poland for Christmas, because she's always harboured a bit of a crush on him. Then there's another of Benjamin's old friends Cormac, and his newish girlfriend Olivia, and finally Declan, he grew up with Abigail and Benjamin but hasn't really grown-up, Abigail understands Benjamin has had to bail him out with money more than once. So they all meet up in this big old Irish house and drink champagne and play their murder mystery, but in the morning Benjamin is found dead, locked in his room. The police believe it's suicide but Abigail is sure its murder so she hires the renowned detective Augustus Bell to discover the truth. As another reader said, so far so good, although I found the writing style of the omnipotent narrator a bit irritating.

But then, the story changes, new characters are added, the house is no longer an AirBnB but Benjamin and Abigail's family home. New information is given about each of the characters (just like in a murder mystery game). The reader gets 'treated' to tracts of rules about classical murder mysteries (many of which have been flagrantly broken time and time again). Augustus Bell himself seems to know he is a character in a book as he often informs people that something will happen later ie in chapter sixteen I will ask three of the guests to try to climb into Benjamin's window, he also refers to previous cases by the sort of name they would be given in a Golden Age mystery. I also noted a fair few references to other detectives of the Golden Age eg (Lord Peter) Wimsey and Tommy and Tuppence.

So we now have two stories running in parallel, one an homage/send-up of a Golden Age mystery with overlapping characters but different stories (eg in one story Benjamin runs the family business whereas in the other he is merely an employee at a company). The formatting of the ARC didn't help as there were asterisks cross-referencing to footnotes relating actions/characters to mystery theories but sometimes they were several pages apart.

There were also some random passages where things were repeated but altered slightly five or six times on the trot, eg Abigail's recounting of how she and Benjamin spent Christmas.

(view spoiler)[Much like a hapless Golden Age detective Bell ends up accusing pretty much each of the suspects, giving plausible motives and methods - but some of them were ludicrous - if he had been strangled even a hapless detective could have seen the ligature marks on his neck? And again, the whole 'aha, I know who did it round up the suspects' bit was repeated each time - I'm not sure if this is supposed to be one of those books where you choose your ending? (hide spoiler)]And then it just abruptly ends. No resolution of any description, people confess and then it seems Bell dismisses their confessions and accuses someone else.
This to me was just a hot mess. Some reviewers have raved about this as a study in coming to terms with loss, well I'm impressed that they found that from this hotchpotch of tales that go nowhere.

I received an ARC from the Publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: We Three Kings

We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maggie Field is head of a small IT team. Although initially horrified by the guys in the team, over the last four years she has gently smoothed some of their rough edges and now they are like family, united against the rest of the firm who banished IT to the basement and forgot about them (at least until they forget a password).

An only child, her parents have gone on a cruise for Christmas so Maggie was resigned to spending the holidays alone, until her team take it upon themselves to share their very different Christmas plans with her. First Maggie is Frank's 'plus one' at a family wedding, then she spends a few days with posh Jasper and his family at their stately home, and then she spends Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Leo and his family oop North.

But just before she leaves for Christmas, HR break the news to Maggie that she needs to make one of her team redundant. As she spends time with each of the guys she realises how much they each need their jobs, and how can she break such awful news at Christmas?

I read Kristen's last book Five Gold Rings, and although I enjoyed it it was a little too full-on for me, too many Christmas puns etc. Consequently, I was not sure whether to request an ARC when I saw this on NetGalley. I needn't have worried, whilst there is plenty of humour here, and it too is Christmas-based, it is altogether gentler, less frenetic.

Overall, a lovely, funny, holiday romance.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Available on Kindle Unlimited.

View all my reviews

Review: The Last Word Is Death: Historical mystery novel, perfect for fans of cozy crime

The Last Word Is Death: Historical mystery novel, perfect for fans of cozy crime by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second outing for Arbie Swift, gentleman of leisure and author of the wildly successful travel book The Gentleman's Guide to Ghost-Hunting and his childhood friend/nemesis, vicar's daughter Val Coulton-James.

Arbie is visiting the Dashwood House Hotel, a newly refurbished hotel in the seaside town of Galton on the South coast. When he wrote the book he would spend a few days mooching around, doing a bit of fishing and the like, and frequent local hostelries to get tall tales of ghosts and ghoulies from the populace. He then wrote a chapters about the hotel and its surrounds and his comical attempts to spot the Headless Horseman or the White Lady. Being both informative and humorous,the book proved very popular and so his publisher is keen for Arbie to repeat his success.

As one might imagine of a vicar's daughter, Val is organised and relentless. She also has a bit of pash for Arbie. So when she discovers that Arbie is visiting the same hotel as the one her friend Beatrice has hired to celebrate her engagement, she agrees to join the engagement party. As a single woman of a certain age, her parents are hinting heavily that she should find a nice young man to marry so she thinks if only she could persuade Arbie to take her on as his assistant she could do something exciting and keep him on the straight and narrow.

The guests at the hotel, and the proprietors are a mixed group. Wealthy self-made men, society Bright Young Things, elderly but wealthy widows, antiques dealers, down-on-their luck divorcees, middle-aged women fond of a tipple, middle-aged couples, etc, its like an Agatha Christie novel brought to life.

I've really enjoyed these two books, although I find Arbie and Val hard to pin down as characters. Arbie would like to do nothing more than loaf around doing as little as possible, yet when it comes down to it he's the one with the razor sharp mind. Whereas Val might be practical and kind but she's a bit dim. DIgressing hugely, I feel that if Val did somehow trap Arbie into marriage he would be very unhappy, hounded from pillar to post by a domineering but intellectually inferior woman - he'd turn into the sort of man who hides behind a newspaper in his club. Couldn't Faith Martin give Val some qualities to make her his equal, like understanding human nature better? Even when the two of them discover clues Arbie's is front and centre whereas Val's happens offstage as it were.

Anyway, if you enjoy a sort of Brideshead/Bertie Wooster character ambling around solving crimes while trying to avoid doing any real work while a well-meaning vicar's daughter chivvies him along then you'll love this. The crimes are fiendishly complicated, lots of people have motives, but as Loyd Grossman used to say on that 1980s TV show 'The clues are there'.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Protecting What’s Mine

Protecting What’s Mine by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes when you've got a pile of ARCs to read and none of them grab your fancy you need a palate cleanser of small-town sexy romance.

Fire Chief Lincoln Reed first meets Doctor Mackenzie O'Neill at a freeway pile-up when her helicopter airlifts the man he rescued from a burning car to hospital. Linc has lived in small-town Benevolence all his life and he loves playing the field with his flirty manner and classic good looks, he's the ultimate good time guy (with a heart). Lately however, he look around and all his friends are married and loved-up and he's starting to think he wants some of that for himself.

Mack was used to rescuing people in war zones, until she totally burned out on the adrenaline, now she's accepted a six-month part-time locum post at a small-town medical practice although keeping up her first response activities with the helicopter will continue. She's done with the meaningless one-night stands, but not yet ready to settle down - maybe a short-term no-strings fling is in order, but not with the fire chief - he's got commitment written all over him. Too bad they turn out to be neighbours ...

Obviously there's off the charts sparkage, and in a small town its inevitable that Linc and Mack are going to keep running into each other at parties, the diner, and town events. But Mack's past is murky and abusive, nothing like the Norman Rockwellesque family and friends Linc has, she has to hide her past from him.

Loved it, small town romance between the Fire Chief and the Doctor, BBQ parties, dogs and children, nosey friends, a bit of drama, lots of smexy times.

Available on KIndle Unlimited.

View all my reviews

Review: The Cold Light of Day

The Cold Light of Day by Anna Lee Huber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

June 1920, Verity and Sidney are in Ireland at C's request, searching for Verity's friend and fellow wartime spy Captain Alec Xavier who has disappeared while trying to infiltrate the IRA. Tensions are mounting in Dublin as much of the populace sympathises with Sinn Fein and is actively resisting the English rule. Everyone suspects wartime hero Sidney is there in some military capacity and Verity hopes her presence will be overlooked as she frequents (in disguise) the various bars and hotels that Alec told his handler were frequented by the enigmatic Michael Collins.

Luckily, the Kents have the perfect smoke-screen for their investigations, the Viceroy has asked them to investigate the assault and subsequent suicide of the daughter of a prominent barrister, Miss Kavanagh. And of course, they are still hunting for those blasted missing gas canisters.

Verity and Sidney might love King and country, but they are not blind to the criminal mismanagement during the Great War which resulted in many more dead., and their eyes are opened wider during their stay in Dublin where English troops are practically being allowed carte blanche to terrorise the population in retaliation for the IRA's murder squads killing policemen. Walking about Dublin the Kents see the harassment and brutality first hand, so when they discover that Alec is not a spy, but now has become a member of the IRA they are shocked but not surprised.

I appear to be in the minority on NetGalley, I found this book difficult to get through. Anna Lee Huber has clearly done a lot of detailed historical research on the fight for independence in Ireland. Unfortunately, for me this research was regurgitated as a history lesson which overshadowed the story. I learned a lot about what happened, but the story got lost in translation so to speak. I've seen this before, in the previous book A Certain Darkness and I fear Verity is turning into another Maisie Dobbs who eventually became involved in what seemed like every historical incident after WW1. Do you know what, I actually welcomed the appearance of the dastardly Lord Ardmore!!

Also, Verity is very self-satisfied, accepting everyone will look at her because she's so beautiful, bleurgh.

This sort of ends on a cliffhanger, with Verity and Sidney solving the mystery of what happened to Miss Kavanagh but resolving to stay in Ireland. I do wonder whether Alec will eventually turn out to be a double agent.

Overall, a fascinating glimpse into a tumultuous time where people did unspeakable things but it needed to be a more subtle backdrop to the plot for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Gold Digger

Gold Digger by Susie Tate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THIS DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!

Sorry about the shouting, but when I read Daydreamer I REALLY wanted to read Gold Digger and find out why Oliver love/hates Lottie so much and now I have and it was awesome.

Lottie is a young woman, trying to look after her younger sister Hayley who has selective mutism. She's working several jobs, including cleaning the Duke of Buckingham's London townhouse. She might even have a bit of a crush on his Grace, but then who wouldn't have a crush on a tall, fit, good-looking billionaire? Oliver knows its inappropriate to lust after his employees, but Lottie is just so cute, and nothing like the sort of girls he normally dates.

But Oliver has been burned by girlfriends before and so when he thinks Lottie has betrayed him, without knowing all the facts, he jumps to the wrong conclusion and banishes her from his life. Unfortunately, his little sister Vicky has hired Lottie as her Executive Assistant. Oliver is convinced Lottie is trying to scam Vicky, but that pesky attraction just won't go away.

As a girl who grew up in foster care, Lottie knows she can't rely on anyone to have her back, and she needs to keep everyone happy so that she can juggle her minimum pay jobs and keep a flimsy roof over their heads. But it also made her a good reader of people and their body language, skills that she uses to help Vicky (who has autism) to navigate social situations.

When Oliver realises his mistake he'll do anything to get Lottie back, even fake an engagement (well at least until Lottie accepts he means it), but can Lottie trust him after he broke her heart before?

I loved this. Loved Olie, loved Lottie, loved Hayley and I can't wait for Mike and Vicky's book.

I received an ARC from the author via BookFunnel.

Also available on Kindle Unlimited.

View all my reviews

Review: A Very Irish Christmas

A Very Irish Christmas by Debbie Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Cassie O'Hara is a New York events planner, but (fairly) recent events have really put her off her game. Her fiance dumped her at the altar and then married someone else, her beloved Nana Nora died just short of her 100th birthday, and of course COVID. She's been demoted to children's parties rather than the swish corporate events she used to plan and basically she can't get over it all. The approach to Christmas is the worst because her wedding was to have taken place on Christmas Eve. The thought of Christmas shopping, or spending the holidays with her judgemental mother and sister, is just too much.

Cassie's best friend June suggests Cassie spends Christmas away, visit her Nana's home country of Ireland, maybe meet Hugh Grant or one of the other English actors she used to obsess over. And so, much like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday, Cassie finds herself in the Cotswolds four weeks before Christmas. Unfortunately there has been a terrible mix-up, the charming cottage she booked and paid for is cold, dirty, and damp. Intending to console herself with a pint of Guinness in the local pub, she is beset by a stray dog, and rescued by a charming, flirtatious Irish man called Ryan and an elderly woman called Eileen who taker her in and help her get straight before going to the pub. Bemoaning her accomodation to the handsome man beside her, Cassie is horrified to discover that he is none other than her landlord Charles, Lord Bancroft. As an apology for the cottage (which was being refurbished) being left up for rental, Charles invites Cassie to stay with him and his family at the Manor.

Can the attentions of two very different men help Cassie to forget about her broken heart? Can Cassie help Charles to bring the Manor back from the brink of insolvency with her clever event planning ideas?

This is a classic feel-good holiday romance. It's gentle, there's no unnecessary drama, just a cosy small town HEA. Classic Debbie Johnson.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Things We Hide from the Light

Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Police Chief Nash Morgan got into law enforcement to ensure people like his friend Lucian were treated fairly and with compassion, the very opposite of his predecessor. At the end of the first book he was shot at the side of the road and left to die. Ever since then he has felt disassociated, as if he's just going through the motions, he's having panic attacks, he can't remember the attack, and he's short-tempered. Nash is prime husband material, he wants to live in Knockemout, have kids, coach softball etc, etc.

Lina Solavita is a high-skilled insurance investigator who retrieves high-value assets for clients. She is in Knockemout looking for a stolen asset, which is linked to the man suspected of shooting Nash (although she's keeping quiet about that). After a childhood health scare Lina's parents have tried to wrap her in cotton wool and call her at least once a day, so Lina lies to them about her job and how risky it is. Oh, and she was Nash's brother's girlfriend once upon a time. Lina loves fast-paced life, travelling most of the year, the excitement, the thrill of the chase. Family and settling down aren't in her future, but if the sexy police chief who happens to live in the apartment next door wants a fling she's all in.

Add in the hunt to discover who shot Nash and this sexy, opposites attract romance is a winner.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: Things We Left Behind

Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sloane Walton is Knockemout's librarian. As a teenager she was close with their next door neighbour Lucian Rollins. Whilst Sloane's family was kind, loving, and generous, Lucian's father was a drunk and abusive. 'Something' happened when they were teens and since then they have been sworn enemies. However, when Sloane's father dies, Lucian is thrust back into her life (even more than he is normally because they have mutual friends in KNox and Nash and their significant others) and these enemies decide they have to at least pretend to play nice in the lead up to their friends' wedding.

Sloan is small-town, she wants a husband, a family, a dog, the white picket fence. Lucian is big city, a wheeler dealer with the power to make or break politicians, and enough money to make things happen, after his upbringing he doesn't want a family, afraid he could be just like his father.

They might loath each other but these opposites can't deny the sparks that fly between them - is the best way to get over it to have a one-night stand?

Sexy, funny, cute. Loved it.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

View all my reviews

Review: The Camborne Killings

The Camborne Killings by Sally Rigby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

The fourth outing for DI Lauren Pengelly and DS Matt Price. Two female former police officers have been found murdered in identical circumstances with cryptic notes left besides their bodies indicating that they may only be the first two of possibly ten murders.

Detailed investigation suggests the only link between the two women, who lived in different parts of Cornwall, is that they both worked out of Camborne Police Station in the 1990s. With the fear of further murders happening in quick succession, the team have to find out the truth fast, and it might lead them to higher echelons of their own force. But with the truth buried back 30 years ago it won't be easy.

This series is growing on me, Matt is becoming less of a smug git (albeit his sanctimonious mansplaining to Lauren of historical sexism and harassment of women in the police was a bit OTT), and Lauren is becoming a more rounded character.

Looking forward to the next one, although I would like to see more development of personal lives, at the moment its a bit same-same Matt works and can't be with his daughter Dani, Matt, Dani, Lauren and her two dogs go to the park, rinse and repeat each book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Bad Actors

Bad Actors by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where to start?

The UK has entered the COVID years, there's an oily Downing Street disruptor (think Dominic Cummings) leading the Prime Minister around by the, let's say, nose, and a Swiss Superpredictor has vanished into thin air. Claude Whelan, former First Desk of MI5 has been tasked/blackmailed into looking into her disappearance and tries to lean on Lady Di (Diana Taverner, current First Desk at Regent's Park) with predictable results.

Rather than his usual misdirection (of which I have complained in previous books) Mick herron instead tells this story in flashbacks and real time, without giving the reader clues as to which is which.

I loved this, a combination of Slough House ineptness/bad luck and Jackson Lamb's insights keep this story gripping to the end.

View all my reviews

Review: A Pocketful of Diamonds

A Pocketful of Diamonds by Pam Lecky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

This is the fourth book in a series, I haven't read the others but I didn't find that an issue.

Lucy Lawrence, now Lucy Stone, and her new husband Phineas Stone were supposed to be on their honeymoon in Paris, but Phin's sister Elvira has sent a message that her husband Conte Luca Carmosino has disappeared, the police have dismissed it as a domestic disagreement but she is beside herself with worry.

Phin is an insurance investigator, it's how he met Lucy, so the two of them rush to Lake Como in Italy to help Elvira search for Luca. Luca and Elvira were a love match, something his starchy Italian family disapproved of.

Why did Luca travel to Milan at the height of the August heat when his hotel empire was at its busiest? Who did he meet? Why did he leave his valet without a word to return to Lake Como? What was the contract he wanted to discuss with his lawyer? Why did he keep his intentions secret from his brother, and business partner, Matteo.

This was a perfectly pleasant historical cosy romance. There were certain suspects highlighted from the start and honestly, much like the stage play The Mousetrap, it could have easily been any one of them as the explanation/motive could have worked for all. I would be happy to read others in the series.

I requested an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: My Secret Vice: An Escapist Political Romance

My Secret Vice: An Escapist Political Romance by Alicia Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cindy Wight is a newly elected Democratic member of Congress, one of the so-called Freshman Six who were swept in on a progressive three-pronged marijuana platform which seeks legalisation, decriminalisation for banking, and pardons for those previously convicted of marijuana offences. She knows that there is probably sufficient cross-party support for legalisation but that doesn't help those whose lives and incomes have been adversely affected.

Alexander Drake is dubbed the world's most eligible bachelor being the single Vice President of the United States. He's his party's inevitable nominee when the President's second term ends, provided he doesn't rock the boat. He sees the grass-roots support for legalising marijuana but getting anything else through risks alienating different factions, but he has a soft spot for the outspoken new representative so he's willing to try to reach a compromise.

Cindy's known for being a hot-heat, all too quick to speak before she thins, and it seems every thing she says to the Vice President sounds just a leetle bit flirty. But when she's championing a just cause there's no room for romance ... or is there?

But of course rumours abound in Washington and a single handsome man under sixty is a rarity sounds the rumours about Alex abound, is he gay? Is he dating a film actress? A member of the royal family? Any remotely single (or not) woman he sits next to at a formal dinner? So when Alex and Cindy are put together to try to find common ground on her bill the rumours are bound to fly.

This was an enjoyable political romance. I liked both characters, they came across as genuine grown-ups who cared about their careers as well as each other. This was the first book I have read by Alicia Wilder (I was drawn by the cover) and I will certainly look out for more.

I requested an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Rise of the Fallen Court: An addictive fantasy romance you need for 2024 inspired by the fairytale of Rapunzel!

Rise of the Fallen Court: An addictive fantasy romance you need for 2024 inspired by the fairytale of Rapunzel! by Lilly Inkwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Did I love it or hate? Did I even understand it? I don't know.

Blanche is King Etienne's sister. She has the ability to enter other people's minds while they are sleeping and rummage around their memories. Their society is very misogynistic, men from the Red Kingdom who have magic are taught to use it for attack and defence whilst women are taught to sue their magic for domestic purposes (eg filling wells with water), and women cannot ascend to the throne or hold power. Blanche's magic is very rare, there hasn't been another mind-walker for hundreds of years, and is a closely guarded secret.

But gradually Blanche comes to realise that her brother is using her gift to identify people who oppose his reign and then torture and kill them, so she tries to actively thwart him by both encouraging a distant cousin to build up an army to defeat Etienne and by warning dissidents before she 'informs' on them. For this trespass she is exiled to Mora's Tower in the middle of nowhere and the head of the magic school binds her powers. But deep in the forest, accompanied by other disenfranchised young women who have displeased their families, Blanche begins to ferment revolution.

Initially I thought my confusion with this book was that it was the second book in a series, but having read the blurb for the first book it appears to be nothing to do with this one (albeit it might be set in the same world). Then I thought the confusion was because the book jumps back and forth in time (and I never read the headers of chapters) between now, when Blanche was at court, and various times at Mora's Tower. But now I've finished I suspect that this could have been an epic fantasy (what is going on with the Blue Kingdom and the Green Kingdom) but not all of it made it to the finished book and so there is a whole load of back story/side story that we don't know, and what is that epilogue all about? Ah, I've just read a review by someone who read the first book and apparently this book is set 44 years before the first one - so apparently the epilogue made sense to them.

Fascinating characters, interesting world building, vague similarity to Rapunzel, confusing. I also felt it went on too long (without explaining how the pieces fit together), I was ready to finish reading a good hour or two before it ended. But I am intrigued as to the other book(s) in the series.

So I veered between a two star and a four star, so plumbed for the middle of the road three stars.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews