Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg

 

Steven Harding is a handsome, well-respected professor. Ellie Masterson is a wide-eyed young college student. Together, they are driving south from New York, for their first holiday: three days in an isolated cabin, far from the city.

Ahead of them, the promise of long, dark nights - and the chance to explore one another's bodies, away from disapproving eyes. It should be a perfect, romantic trip for two.

Except that he's not who he says he is. But then again, neither is she…

I was really excited to be on the tour for this one, I went into it not knowing much about the book, or the storyline really, and I’m glad I did! 

This book was, as I described it immediately after finishing, bat-shit crazy. I don’t even want to go into too much about it here as to spoil anything for anyone, but the twists and turns this one takes is mental. Two liars, a remote cabin, no phone signal, no neighbors, and a lot of secrets… what could go wrong!

If you like psychological thrillers with a bit of blood and gore too, I would recommend you check this one out!

Thanks so much to Penguin Random House for my gifted physical copy of this book, and for asking me to be on the tour. 

The Safe House by Louise Mumford

 

Esther is safe in the house. For sixteen years, she and her mother have lived off the grid, protected from the dangers of the outside world. For sixteen years, Esther has never seen another single soul.

Until today.

Today there's a man outside the house. A man who knows Esther's name, and who proves that her mother's claims about the outside world are false. A man who is telling Esther that she's been living a lie.

Is her mother keeping Esther safe - or keeping her prisoner?

I was very excited to get a spot on the tour for this one though InstaBook Tours!

This is the first of Louise Mumford’s books I’ve read and really enjoyed it. It had very easy to read and quick chapters which I love, it means I can grab a chapter or 2 in before I fall asleep at night.

I really liked Esther, I was rooting for her throughout, and was really excited when she saw the man outside the house! It was very cult like to me, Mother making her repeat the whole ‘Who keeps us safe….’ mantra every night. But I was also interested in how mother kept everything ‘safe’ as she put it. So many things Esther didn’t know about. 

It was a good story, with a good ending. I’d definitely read more of Louise’s books. Thanks so much to InstaBook Tours for my advanced e-arc, and for my spot on the tour.

Which Would You Rather by Graeme Puckett

 

A black comedy NN where the hero is an incompetent psychopath. Brian is a troubled and easily irritated man with flexible morals. Passionate about film, he sees film references in everything. As an artist, a surrealist, his love of art, and colour in particular, tend to guide his judgements and decisions. Many of Brian's challenges in life are a result of an inept social awareness and some fairly politically incorrect ways of thinking. Consequently, these challenges usually lead to even greater dilemmas involving an array of new crimes and misdemeanours for him. Killing three of his neighbours - albeit in record time, of which he is extremely proud - do nothing to help Brian's situation. Inclined to lie and cheat his way out of, and into, trouble, his options increase once he has become a killer and the murders have been committed. Now, in Brian's mind, any lesser crime has become acceptable and free to use in his bid to escape detection.

Thanks so much to Literally PR for my gifted review copy.

I was rather intrigued by this book when I saw it on Literally PR’s proof list, so I jumped at the chance to review it. So it starts off quite quickly with the murders happening quite near the start. To say they happen in quick succession is an understatement, I remember being shocked at the end of each killing, if you read it you will know why.

Brian’s way of thinking is so different. He’s obviously a murderer, so you know we don’t like him, but we also are very intrigued by him. There is a part in the book which mentions On The Spectrum, and being a mother to 2 children with Autism I can see this completely (not the being a murderer part mind you, just the literal way of thinking, and seeing things beyond what they look like on the surface). He’s actually a very interesting person in a way, and it made me want to read more. The way he plays everything out as a movie scene in his head, it got to the point where I could actually see what he was seeing.

I devoured the book over 2 days really and weirdly enjoyed it! Also, Arse Paste made me actually laugh out loud to the point my husband asked why I was laughing.

Definitely an interesting one, give it a go!

Thanks again to Graeme, and Literally PR for my proof and asking me to be on the tour.

Book Tour. The Blackbird by Tim Weaver

David Raker is back with another heart-pounding and tense missing persons case. Ten seconds before the crash, Cate and Aiden Gascoigne are recorded on CCTV. The couple are laughing - happy, untroubled. Then their car plunges into a ninety-foot ravine.

The impact should kill them. And if that doesn't, the fire will. Within seconds, the vehicle is an inferno - with the Gascoignes trapped inside. But when fire crews arrive at the scene, they find something impossible. The vehicle is empty. Cate and Aiden have vanished.

Now only missing persons investigator David Raker can solve the mystery…

I was asked by Jennifer from Michael Joseph if I’d like to be on the tour for The Blackbird. I had already received a gorgeous #gifted proof of this book from Mubarak Elmubarak, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House. I have him to thank massively, I don’t think I’d have picked this up without him asking me if I’d like to read it. I’d never read a Weaver book before.

So I’ve been really tired lately, and have been falling asleep every time I try to read, so I haven’t been getting far with The Blackbird. That is until recently when I absolutely drank in the last ⅓ of the book in one sitting. 

Wow is Tim Weaver a good writer or what?! I thought I had maybe a small idea of where the story was going, then you hit a certain point where he just smacks you in the face with all the twists! And he pulls no punches, the twists keep coming right until the book ends, and it ends on a cliffhanger that makes me desperate to find out what’s coming next! The main character of Raker was great, I loved reading about him visiting all the places in my hometown, wandering down Dean Street, seeing the bridges, the Metrocentre, and plenty more. 

I’m definitely up for going back to the start and reading all of the Raker novels.

Thanks again to Jennifer for asking me to be on the tour, to Murabak for talking me into reading it, and Mr Weaver for writing a bloody great story!

My name is on the book sleeve!!!!!!!!

The Silent Brother by Simon Van Der Velde

When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic mam, his violent step-dad and his guilt. Too young to understand what has really happened, Tommy is sure of only one thing. He is to blame.

Tommy tries to be good, to live-up to his brother’s increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays.

Or so he thinks.

A teenage drug-dealer for the vicious Burns gang, Tommy’s life is headed for disaster, until, in the place he least expects, Tommy sees a familiar face...

And then things get a whole lot worse

I was extremely excited when Simon asked me if I’d like to be an early reader for The Silent Brother, and waited in anticipation for my review ebook so I could dig straight in. And boy am I glad I got to read this!! Thanks so much to him and Northodox Press for my arc ebook.

The Silent Brother had me glued to the screen. Being a born and bred Geordie had me loving reading about the places in the book, the bars and pubs, the areas I know and pass through quite often. We took our kids to Inflataspace last week, and passed the Byker Wall on the Metro, I immediately thought of Tommy and Annie.I love it when a book does that, and places and things take you back to it.

So The Silent Brother had been described to me by someone as a Geordie ‘Shuggie Bain’, and you know what? They were totally right. The sadness and poverty in the story really shows itself and is always there in the background. The crime rang so true, in Newcastle the crime, especially drug related crime is huge, and something we see around here more often than not. Reading the way Tommy felt like working for the drug gang was the best way forward, makes you see how easy it is to be pulled into a lifestyle like that. 

The first few chapters had me reading with my hand on my chest, and as I told Simon, my stomach was in my arse! Benji, oh sweet Benji, his story is remembered all the way through the story, and pulled at my heart strings. But also Annie, ‘the girl with the scrunched up face’. I loved reading about her and Tommys friendship and how it developed when they were young. 

There were so many things that made me smile, or cry, but I don’t want to get into much more and spoil anything. 

Please give this book a go, it really is amazing. 

Book Tour - The Setup by Lizzy Dent

There are two men in my life. But this is not a love triangle.

Mara Williams reads her horoscope every day - but she wasn't expecting to be in a whole other country when destiny finally found her. Just as a fortune teller reveals that her true love is about to arrive, a gorgeous stranger literally walks into her life. And now Mara is determined to bring them together again . . . Surely even fate needs a nudge in the right direction sometimes?

But while Mara is getting ready for 'the one', the universe intervenes. Her new flatmate Ash is funny, and kind, and sexy as hell . . . There was no predicting this: it's as if her destiny just arrived on her doorstep.

So will Mara put her destiny in fate's hands - or finally trust herself to reach for the stars?

I was very excited when this book dropped through my door, I loved The Summer Job and love being part of Lizzy’s Lobster Army!

I ended up giving The Setup 3.5 stars. I was drawn in at first, but felt the second half dwindled a bit. I liked Mara, but at times I found her quite annoying. There were things she done which I just thought probably wasn’t a good idea. I loved the fact that she started concentrating on herself, making herself feel better etc.

 I loved the character of Ash, and found him a very kind person. I also really liked Joseph, the gorgeous stranger, I loved the idea of him being in the orchestra, and I imagined him like someone’s from 2 Cellos. 

I know who I was rooting for throughout the story, I wonder if you were or will root for the same person!

Thanks to Viking Books for my beautiful proof, and for asking me to be on the tour. Good luck to Lizzy for the release!

BLOG TOUR - Wild Fires by Sophie Jai

Grief is like an inside joke: you have to have been there to really get it.

The only things Cassandra knows about her family are the stories she's heard in snatches over the years: about the aunt and cousin she never got to meet, about the man from the folded-up photograph in one of her aunt's drawers, and of course about her cousin Chevy, and why he never speaks - but no one utters a word about them any more.

When a call from one of her sisters brings Cassandra news of Chevy's death, she has to return home for the funeral. To Toronto and the big house on Florence Street, where her sisters are hiding more than themselves in their rooms, where the tension brewing between her mother and aunts has been decades in the making, and where sooner or later every secret, unspoken word and painful memory will find its way out into the open.

Moving between Toronto and Trinidad, Wild Fires is a vivid and compelling story exploring the ways we mourn and why we avoid the very things that can save us.

I was very excited to be on the tour for Wild Fires, and love the beautiful physical copy HarperCollins sent me.

Wild Fires is a story of grief, it delves so deep into how grief and death effect everyone differently. I loved the character Cass, and I loved her mother. What a character her mother was! I did laugh out loud at a couple of phrases she used, I could picture her perfectly in my head. Big, headstrong, no nonsense woman, who wouldn’t be afraid to smack you round the head if you were cheeky.

Cassandra’s family seemed so shrouded in mystery and secrets, and I loved figuring things out from the past. I particularly enjoyed the parts which went back to the past, to Trinidad, when the aunts were young, getting jobs, meeting boys etc. The sound of the fresh food in the store, the colours and the heat. Made me want to be there. 

I think you’d like this book, it stays with you for a while after. Try it. 

Thanks again to HarperCollins for letting me join the tour, and the book. And of course to Sophie Jai for writing it.

Book Tour! My Perfect Daughter by Sarah Denzil

Most mothers hope their little girl turns out like their dad, but not Zoe. She hopes the apple falls far from the tree.

Zoe didn't meet her daughter the way most mothers do. She finds five-year-old Maddie alone and dirty on a countryside road. Frightened for Maddie's safety, she picks her up and takes her back to her father, not knowing what she's about to step into. Because Maddie wasn't just lost, she was there to lure her serial killer dad's new victim.

After escaping from the clutches of Maddie's dangerous father, she bonds with the little girl. Only Maddie knows what it was like to be at that house. And when no family members come forward to claim Maddie, Zoe decides to adopt her. They move away to a safe house on the Cornish coast and become a family of their own. Zoe gets married and has another child, a baby brother for Maddie.

But Maddie is still traumatised by what she experienced. Diagnosed with callous and unemotional traits, Zoe has a tough job to ensure Maddie has the love and support she needs. Zoe truly loves her daughter—she wouldn't change a thing about her. But there is a part of her that always stays alert. A part of her is afraid of Maddie.

And now, eleven years later, Maddie's school bully is found dead, and another girl is missing.

Zoe can't help but wonder... like father, like daughter?

I was thrilled to be asked to be on the book tour for this one, as I had previously joined a tour for another of Sarah’s books: The housemaid. This one seemed very different though and the blurb caught my eye straight away. 

I was hooked from the start, the first chapter was all I read before I fell asleep, but I woke up thinking I needed to get on with it as it was brilliant! You’ll understand why if you read it. I have been glued to my kindle app since and could hardly put it down (damn the housework for making me stop from time to time haha). 

The story focuses on Zoe and Maddie, it passes from the past to the present, and I actually enjoyed both timelines. The past is harrowing, reading about the capture and what happened, what Maddie went through back then, what she thinks is normal, but what clearly is not. But Maddie and Zoe’s bond is so strong, you can understand why as they’ve been through so much together. But they do sincerely love each other, but even after all these years, still struggle with certain things, and definitely with certain emotions. I liked reading the ‘past’ bits, but more of the after the farm, seeing how emotions were dealt with, how Zoe’s parents dealt with it. I can’t even imagine what something like that would do to a person, a family.

The missing girl brings up so many memories for Zoe, and the girl happens to be Maddie’s best friend. Then another girl dies, she also goes to school with Maddie. It made for a really good guessing game, with a lot of different factors and theories flying around.

The story was so gripping, so many different people you judge for so many different reasons. But are they all right? Once you’ve guessed, sometimes you may end up guessing again!

If you like thrillers, who dunnits, and family dramas… this is definitely one you should read.

Thanks so much to Victoria from Insta Book Tours for letting me be a part of this fabulous tour, and thank you to Sarah for all of her comments and for writing such great stories! And obviously, thank you for my e-arc :)

Please remember to check out the other stops on the tour, it’s been great so far! 

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun

 

In the summer of 2002, nineteen-year-old Kim Hae-on was murdered in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold.

Seventeen years pass without justice, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she's lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened.

I received a gorgeous proof parcel from Head of Zeus for which I’m very thankful for (the chocolates were amazing by the way). And I was excited to be asked to be on the tour!

This is possibly the first translated fiction I’ve read, and it was a good experience. I also read this alongside my friend Kath who received a proof too. I was good to hav someone to chat with about it while reading. 

This book is short, and quite an easy read, I was thrown off a little at the start with the peoples names and was a bit confused as to who was who, but I soon figured it out. 

To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with this book, maybe a little more of a thriller , but it does keep you guessing! Me and kath had a couple of discussions on who it was, what had happened etc. Totally different to what I was expecting and still I’m not quite sure if I really know what happened! I think I will be giving it a re-read so my rating might change !

Thanks for letting me be on the tour HOZ, and please everyone check out the other stops on the tour!

BLOG TOUR! The Housemaid by Sarah Denzil

It seems like the perfect job. Great wages, accommodation provided, and all located within the walls of Highwood Hall, a stunning stately home owned by the Howard family. Not many little girls dream of becoming a maid, but this is an opportunity for me to get back on my feet. And for me to revisit my past...

But I soon realise I’ve made a mistake. The strict housekeeper, Mrs Huxley, watches my every move, emerging from the shadows when least expected. Lord Howard’s son, Alex, takes an interest in me, and as a former addict, I find myself drawn to him because I know he’s bad for me. There’s a general atmosphere of unease at Highwood Hall, from the narrow tunnels laced throughout the sprawling house, to the abandoned north wing, rumoured to be haunted. It’s easy to imagine the secrets hidden within these walls, like the secrets I hold close.

On my first day, I receive a mysterious package. I open up the pretty gift box to find a miniature doll version of me trapped inside a dollhouse. In this scene I’m dead, lying in a pool of red paint at the bottom of the perfectly recreated staircase. Someone sent this threatening diorama to me, but who even knows I work at the hall? And what do they want?

I know only one truth: my perfect job is turning into my perfect nightmare.

Thanks to Instabooktours for including me on the tour and my e-arc, and thank to Sarah Denzil for my gorgeous signed book. I was really up for reading and reviewing this book when I found out there was to be a tour. 

This book is brilliant. It’s totally not what I expected. I’m not sure how much I’m going to be able to say without giving anything away!! So we start seeing the housemaid on her way to Highwood Hall for an interview. Mrs Huxley the housekeeper, immediately seems to take a dislike to her, but she has no idea why. 

Mrs Huxley reminded me of the housekeeper from Downton Abbey, Mrs Hughes, so I couldn’t get her voice out of my head while reading it! But she was a great character I thought, very grumpy, stern and proper, but I loved it! I loved the secrets and hush-hush stuff that was obviously known by certain people, and I was guessing left right and centre as to what was going on. By the end I realised I hadn’t a clue and was left reeling with the shock of it all!

The housemaid lets us know little things about her life, we read pieces of letters from her mother to her father, and learn things about her past and why she wants to be at Highwood Hall so bad. I liked her, I liked her character and her voice. Alex, I wasn’t sure what to think. He seemed very domineering, a man with a Christian Grey demeanour, ‘do what I say or else’ kind of thing.

It’s a great read, I devoured most of it in one day. I would definitely recommend this if you like thriller/mysteries with a little difference.

Thanks again to Instabooktours and Sarah Denzil.

Blog tour: Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

 

Tony has always looked out for his younger brother, Nick. So when he is called to a hospital bed where Nick is lying buttered and bruised after a violent sexual assault, his protective instincts flare and a white-hot rage begins to build.

As a small-town New England lawyer, Tony’s wife, Julia, has cases involving kids all the time. When Detective Rice gets assigned to this one, Julia feels Nick is in good hands. Especially because she senses that Rice, too, understands how things can quickly get complicated. Very complicated.

 

After all, one moment Nick was having a drink with a handsome stranger; the next, he was at the center of an investigation threatening to tear not only him but his entire family apart. And now his attacker, out on bail, is disputing Nick’s version of what happened.

As Julia tries to help her brother-in-law, she sees Tony’s desire for revenge—to fix things for Nick—getting out of control. Tony is starting to scare her. And before long, she finds herself asking: Does she really know what her husband is capable of?  Or of what she herself is?

I was so happy to be asked to be on the blog tour for Caitlin’s book. I read this book a little while back on Netgalley and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for my e-arc and my gorgeous physical proof! Make sure o check out the last few blogs on the tour!! 

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure where it was going to go and it took a few turns before it got to the end, this was a good thing as it kept me guessing for a while! 

The story is told from a few different points of view. There is Nick, Tony, Julia and Detective Rice. I really felt for Nick the whole way through the story. The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the male sexual assault storyline, it’s not something I think I remember reading in a book before. So this piqued my interest. Poor Nick, the trauma he endured and was going through afterwards was awful and my heart really went out to him.

Julia I liked, she is a strong woman and knows what she wants. She is Tony’s wife, and Nicks sister in law. Tony was a strange one. I liked his character and the caring nature behind him, but he was easy to snap. I can’t imagine I wouldn’t feel the same though, so I understand his anger and frustration. Detective Rice was one to figure out too, he seems sneaky and underhanded. 

The story has so much hurt in it, sadness and love. It digs deep into relationships with marriage and family. I’d definitely read more from his author.

Thank again to Penguin Michael Joseph, and Caitlin Wahrer for my early copy of the book!

Blog Tour! In Other Words by Mainspring Arts

 

I was happy to be included on the blog tour for this book, especially since stories written about or by people with Autism intrigue me a lot. I have 2 children who have Autism and I love being in their world and seeing jus how great they do. I’m only half way through this book, there are 8 stories and I have read 4 so far. The stories ar good though, well written, and have underlying meanings which you feel coming through.

I wish this book and the authors all the best success! Thanks to Random Things Tours for including me and my fab gifted proof.

In Other Words by Mainspring Arts

– Features a foreword by David Mitchell (Bone Clocks, Cloud Atlas) and an introduction by Joanne Limburg (Small Pieces).

– Highlights remarkable works of fiction by autistic writers and addresses the gap in their representation – and in doing so blurs the border between the imagination, creativity and neuro-atypicality.

– For fans of The Reason I Jump, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 (Naoki Higashida, tr. David Mitchell).

A shift in the nature of light reveals an eighth colour in the visible spectrum. A boy befriends the last tree in the natural world. A single mother finds help at the darkest point of her life. A young man finds himself trapped in a university overrun by crows.

These stories and more form In Other Words, an anthology as diverse as the writers themselves. Some cover trauma, societal issues and stigma; others offer fragments of hope and light. Some reach back in time while others transport us to another dimension altogether. There is heartbreak, wit, humour, poignancy and above all a mastery of the imagination.

What these transcendent stories share is that they were created by autistic writers, people often dismissed as unimaginative or incapable of creativity – a myth that has persisted for generations. This collection hopes to shatter those stereotypes, those misconceptions and misunderstandings, and the perception that one must be neurotypical to be afforded a voice in the arts.

EDITOR DETAILS

Mainspring Arts, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to making the arts inclusive, diverse, and accessible to all, was founded in 2015 by Katya Balen and Miranda Prag. They were frustrated by the lack of diversity in the arts, where neurotypical and non-disabled actors or writers frequently assume the roles or voices of neurodivergent people, or those with disabilities. Katya and Miranda believe those people should be able to tell their own stories, and Mainspring Arts exists to help them do it. @mainspring_arts

BLOG TOUR! The Murderess by Ivan Jenson

30% of murders in the US go unsolved.

Becca Garner hopes her lover's is one of them.

Because she found him.

He bequeathed her a million dollars.

She's married.

And so is he.

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher Dark Edge Press in return for an honest review and a spot on the blog tour! Thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me!

This book is a good quick read. I enjoyed it, and was waiting to find out what happened to Becca’s lover! We see Becca quite blatantly sleeping with other men, with her husband and teenage daughters at home unaware of what she is doing. But when she finds her sugar daddy (or Grandad maybe, he’s old) dead in the hotel bath, and she can’t remember a thing from the night before, things have changed.

A good book of mystery and I was itching to know what happened. I’d recommend it and gave it 3 and half stars.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murderess-Ivan-Jenson-ebook/dp/B08Z475FVG/

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Author Information at: www.ivanjenson.com

 

Twitter @IvanJenson