The Love of my Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood BLOG TOUR #TheLoveofmyAfterlife @KirstyStories @PenguinUKBooks @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. She’s entered the afterlife wearing the sort of pyjamas you don’t want anyone to see and finds herself face-to-face with the most handsome man she’s ever encountered. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise – until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth.

In a twist of fate, Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to her previous life and reconnect with the mysterious man she’s sure is her soulmate.

The challenge? She only has ten days to find him.

Ten days to make him fall for her.

Oh, and he has no recollection of them ever having met…

The Love Of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood was published on 20 June 2024 by Penguin. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

This is such an uplifting, unusual novel, beautifully written with a nod to the author's love of romantic fiction, it's a book that I loved filled with characters who seem to leap from the pages. 

Delphie, age twenty-seven hasn't had an exciting life so far, she's missed out on romantic relationships, she was bullied at school. Delphie feels generally unloved and is loathe to get close to anyone. Her only friend is her elderly neighbour Mr Yoon. Delphie has nobody to call on when she gets a piece of food lodged in her throat. It's the end for Delphie .... well, for the time being. 

Delphie is now in Evermore, a kind of lauderette waiting room for the afterlife. Jonah also arrives there but it's not really his time so he's sent back to Earth. However, Merritt - an afterlife therapist in Evermore notices a spark between Delphie and Jonah and bends the rules just a bit. Delphie is going back to her life, but there is a condition; when she's there, she must find Jonah and get him to kiss her within ten days. If she fails, it's back to Evermore for Delphie. 

This is certainly one of the most unusual plot lines that I've come across for a long time, and to be honest, it could have been a little too sweet for me. It wasn't!  Kirsty Greenwood has created a story that is really down to earth, despite the whole set up. It's a story of one woman who discovers her life afresh, a woman who is particularly grumpy at times, but who slowly and surely begins to let others into her life. She discovers the joys of having people around her, having people that care and people that she can care about. 

I loved the journeys around the city of London, I adored the many references to romance books and authors that we are all familiar with and I loved the way that Kirsty Greenwood writes. It's a modern day fairy tale, with the prince and princesses - magical realism and romance all bound up together to create a story that entertains and lifts the heart. 

This is such a fun read, but also a read that explores relationships, family and how bullying and grief can shape a person's future.  Oh, and lots of laughs, lots of them. Recommended by me. 

Kirsty Greenwood is a bestselling author of funny, fearless and fast-paced romantic
comedies about extraordinary love. 

When she's not writing books she composes musicals and explores London where she lives with her husband. 

Kirsty Instagrams at @kirsty_greenwood and can be found on Facebook at KirstyGreenwoodBooks. Say hi! She loves a natter.

Darkness Falls in Jakarta by Louise Soraya Black BLOG TOUR #Giveaway #DarknessFallsinJakarta @louisesblack @MuswellPress @RandomTTours #Win #Prize

 

The death of Claire's parents triggers troubled memories of her past life in Jakarta, a time that Claire has been running away from her whole life. 

Haunted by guilt and the terrible misunderstandings and accusations that forced her to leave the city as a teenager, she decides to travel back in the hope of finding answers and perhaps forgiveness. 

Is confronting her past the key to her deliverance? 

Beautifully written, with sumptuous and enchanting descriptions of Indonesia, this is a novel that completely transports you to a specific time and place and perfectly portrays that shared sense of guilt in all of us about mistakes or inactions of the past.

Darkness Falls in Jakarta by Louise Soraya Black is published on 4 July 2024 by Muswell Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to have two signed copies to give away. Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this blog post.  UK entries only please. 

GOOD LUCK!

Two signed copies of Darkness Falls in Jakarta by Louise Soraya Black

Louise Soraya Black is English and Iranian and has lived all over the world. 

She worked as a lawyer in London for 7 years before publishing her debut novel, Pomegranate Sky which won the inaugural Virginia Prize in 2009. 

Her second novel, The Water Garden was published to acclaim in 2021. 

She divides her time between Ibiza and London

X @louisesblack

Instagram @louisesorayablack

In The Sweep of the Bay by Cath Barton #InTheSweepOfTheBay @CathBarton1 @LouiseWalters12 #BookReview

 

This warm-hearted tale explores marriage, love, and longing, set against the majestic backdrop of Morecambe Bay, the Lakeland Fells, and the faded splendour of the Midland Hotel.Ted Marshall meets Rene in the dance halls of Morecambe and they marry during the frail optimism of the 1950s. They adopt the roles expected of man and wife at the time: he the breadwinner at the family ceramics firm, and she the loyal housewife. But as the years go by, they find themselves wishing for more…

After Ted survives a heart attack, both see it as a new beginning. But can a faded love like theirs ever be rekindled?

In The Sweep of the Bay by Cath Barton was published by Louise Walters Books in November 2020. I bought my signed copy direct from the publisher some years ago and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. Sadly, the publisher is no longer around, but used copies of this book can be bought online. 

A novella of just over 100 pages in the print copy, I read this one afternoon in Corfu, sitting with a coffee and a slice of apple and cinnamon pie on the sea front. It is a beautiful read, and it is a very talented author who can create such a wonderful story that totally absorbs the reader with so few words. 

It is the story of a marriage. Ted and Rene were married in the 1950s after meeting at a dance hall in Morecambe Bay. Theirs was a steady relationship, just the normal. No fireworks, not a great deal of passion but a mutual love and respect for each other. They settled in the town and Ted worked in the family pottery firm, becoming well known for his fine paintwork. Rene stayed at home and raised their children. 

There are no huge twists, or extraordinary events in their story. It is a detailed and quite exquisite examination of ordinary folk. We are privy to Ted's moods, to recognise Rene's frustrations, we also realise that she feels unfulfilled, but unsure of how else to live her life. 

The author allows her readers to see life through the younger generations too, their daughter, their granddaughter, and there's also a glimpse into another family. Far away in Italy, tied to the Marshalls by a painted vase that they own and display proudly in their home. 

Written with such tenderness, this is a story that the reader cannot help but be touched by. It's the age-old trope of the ordinary people, living ordinary lives but also being so special, so unique and so utterly human. 

It's really quite perfect and highly recommended by me. 

Cath Barton lives in Abergavenny. 

She won the New Welsh Writing AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella in 2017 for The Plankton Collector, which was published in September 2018 by New Welsh Review under their Rarebyte imprint. 

She also writes short stories and flash fiction and, with her critical writing, is a regular contributor to Wales Arts Review. In the Sweep of the Bay is her second novella.

www.cathbarton.com

X @CathBarton1

I'm Still Standing by Richard Smith BLOG TOUR #ImStillStanding #RichardSmith #MyLifeinRecords @RandomTTorus @CameronPMtweets

 

Loved by wildlife, threatened by developers.

A heart-warming story of a reluctant and unlikely friendship between a pair of misfits, whose futures become linked to the survival of an urban ‘greenspace’.

Two young people are struggling to find themselves and a role in life. For one, the world is changing too quickly. For the other, change can’t come soon enough. Linking them are overgrown railway sidings - home to wildlife but about to be destroyed.

Jill Standing is mocked because of her name, ignored because of the way she looks and thought wacky because of her views on the environment. Harry Pratt is mired in traditions foisted on him by his father. His interests are vintage jukeboxes, creating Christmas cracker jokes and his boss, Sarah. He has no interest whatsoever in the environment. They’re indifferent to one another, yet both want to preserve the sidings, but for different reasons. Campaigning against a big business, a shared love of Blondie and a reclusive, retired school-teacher transforms their lives.

Set in 1989, and with a backdrop of music, environmental concerns and nostalgia, it follows frustrating wrong turns to a surprising, heart-warming conclusion.

I'm Still Standing by Richard Smith is published on 3 June 2024 by Troubador Publishing. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour I am delighted to welcome the author to the blog today. He's talking about his musical influences in My Life In Records. 

My Life in Books RECORDS

By Richard Smith

You’d expect my blog for My Life in Books, to be about, well, books. Except, while I have read innumerable memorable and remarkable books that meant a lot to me, I struggle to recall that much about them! They leave an impression rather than specific details. Similarly, I can’t follow a season of shows on Netflix and remember what happened in the last episode unless I binge-watch – and even then…. 

But records? I can name every B side of every 45 I bought as a child and sing through Beatles albums, track by track, occasionally pitch perfect. And each one with a memory. That is why my books are named after songs – Homeward Bound and now I’m Still Standing. 

Here is my life in ten records:

1) My Old Man's A Dustman - Lonnie Donegan. OK, not a classic that I still play, but this isn’t Desert Island Discs. It was my first ever record. I’d wager that yours was something cheesy too. I still know it off by heart, one the only songs that I can actually sing without tripping over the lyrics. It's little wonder that I never made it as a rockstar.

2) Runaway - Del Shannon. The perfect pop song. I think it’s the record that turned me from being a music lover into an addict. It was also the first record I put money into a jukebox to play. I eventually bought everything Del Shannon recorded. Spotify describes him as favouring ‘brooding themes of abandonment, loss, and rejection’. You’ll see a theme developing as we go on.

3) Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who. This is a great one to play when you’re feeling angry. It’s exciting, loud and the lyrics visceral. And the tension in the extended instrumental break is almost unbearable, ending in a primal scream!

4) Jealous – Labrinth. A heartbreak song, but so simple and you can feel his pain. And it’s important as a reminder to me that good tunes didn’t stop in the seventies. This came out in 2014. (And don’t forget, in the sixties, it wasn’t all Beatles. We also had to endure Ken Dodd and Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep!)

5) Turn On A Friend – Peanut Butter Conspiracy. The lyric has always stuck with me as I believe it to be an impossible suggestion! You can’t turn anybody on to a record, a TV programme or a book. It’s just too embarrassing to try, as tastes differ and invariably what one person likes will leave another cold. Not a comfortable feeling when I’ve a book out that I want people to like! Of course, the song’s probably about drugs (it is from 1967) so perhaps I shouldn’t worry.

6) Alone Again Or – Love. I hope people don’t see me as miserable, but I do find misery in songs weirdly uplifting. But this one inspires me with lines about people being the greatest fun and how the singer could be in love with almost everyone, and that’s a great way to start any day!  But even this one is in a minor key and has a melancholy edge.

7) Enjoy Yourself – Specials/Jools Holland with Prince Buster.  A positive sing-a-long at last. And an uplifting message. Though still with a dark side. Ideal for funerals. Not a dry eye in the cemetery!

8) Green River – the Everly Brothers. I think my love of music comes through harmony, and the Everly’s were the best. I could pick any from their thirty-year catalogue of recordings but nominate this later one as it’s about longing and nostalgia, more themes I love. I can almost feel the heat and smell wide-open plains as they sing. I spin this regularly, even though it’s from 1972.

9) Homeward Bound – Simon and Garfunkel. Harmonies and lyrics again. Paul Simon was influenced by the Everlys (they sing on Graceland) and his wistful, reflective, thoughtful lyrics bear frequent replays. Homeward Bound is especially important to me as it features in my first novel – they share the same title.

10) I’m Still Standing – Elton John. If I were a musician, I’d be jealous of Elton John. He’s not only a great songwriter, but also has an incredible voice and can make a piano rock! Of his up-tempo songs, I’ve picked this not just for its survival against-the-odds lyrics (and I really didn’t realise until compiling this list that so many of my choices are about betrayal, disappointment and inner strength), but because it’s the title of my new novel and why I’m writing this blog!

Richard Smith is an award-winning video writer, director, and producer, who stepped away from the camera to write his first novel, the acclaimed Homeward Bound, in 2021. 

He owns a jukebox and a record collection, some of which might be welcomed at Sotheby’s, most of which would be rejected by Oxfam. 

Richard resides in London.

The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch #BooksOnTour #TheSurpriseParty @thatjuliacrouch @bookouture #BookReview

 

This trip was meant to save our marriage. Instead it will destroy everything…

To celebrate my special birthday, my husband and I have returned to the beautiful Greek island village where we spent our honeymoon. As the boat pulls in to the harbour, I feel hope rise in my heart. The white houses, the blue doors, the brilliant turquoise of the sea, are just as I remember. If two weeks in this paradise won’t fix our marriage, nothing will.

But then the next day a boat arrives, full of my friends and family. My grown-up children jump on to the shore, grinning and holding balloons. My husband beams at me and says, “Surprise!”

I can’t believe it. It was meant to be just the two of us. This was my chance to confess what I’ve been hiding for years, the truth that will change everything.

Now I’m surrounded by all the people I’ve been desperate to escape, all the secrets I’ve been pretending I don’t know. I force a smile on to my face, but inside I want to kill my husband.

But even after my party ended in disaster, I didn’t expect anyone to die…

A completely gripping psychological thriller about the darkness at the heart of a family and how far a mother will go to protect her children that will keep you glued to the pages as you discover twist after twist. Fans of Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware and Lucy Clarke will love The Surprise Party.

The Surprise Party by Julia Crouch was published on 25 June 2024 by Bookouture. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this BooksOnTour promotion. 

I've read all of Julia Crouch's previous novels, I really love her writing and have been looking forward to The Surprise Party for some time. 

Not only is this a great thriller, with a cast of beautifully flawed characters who constantly surprise the reader, it is also set on the Greek island of Crete and most people who know me will know of my love of all things Greek. I love a novel set on any of the islands and especially one that I've visited. 

With a shocking prologue that sets the scene for the rest of the story, this novel is one that I found very hard to put down. There's always something to surprise and to make the reader think, it's certainly a page turner. 

It's October, quite late in the season for holiday makers and the small boat pulling into the jetty at Loutró,  a small village on the southern coast of Crete has very few passengers. Thirty year old hospital doctor Poppy intends to do some serious walking whilst there, she's recently split from her boyfriend and is no longer speaking to her Greek-born mother Eleni who lives in Cornwall. Also on board are Eve and Will, returning to the place that they spent their honeymoon many years ago, to celebrate Eve's fiftieth birthday. As Poppy observes the other couple, she comes to the conclusion that all is not right with their relationship. Will seems preoccupied, a little bit tetchy, whilst Eve just seems resigned to her fate. 

Later that evening, after Poppy has checked into her basic accommodation and Eve and Will have arrived at their luxury boutique hotel, they meet again. Stopping to chat, Poppy joins them for dinner.

It is clear that Poppy has a lot on her mind, and also that Eve and Will are not the strangers to her that the reader first imagined. Eve also has something important that she wants to explain to Will, but finding the right moment is going to be very hard. 

All plans are overturned the next day when Eve's family and friends arrive. Her mother, sister, two children, her best friend and her husband, and Jack. Jack is an almost-son to Eve, friend of her son Arthur, she took him in nine years ago when his parents died in a fire. None of her children have left home yet, a constant source of conflict between her and Will. 

Eve is dismayed that Will has arranged this surprise. Her planned holiday has completely changed and she has no idea when she will ever be able to speak out and tell him her secret. 

Poppy is also watching the new arrivals. She has her own secrets and it becomes clear that Eve's family are central to them. 

What follows is a deliciously dark slice of domestic noir, in a beautiful setting. As cracks in relationships are exposed and made bigger, the sense of impending tragedy heightens. This comes to a crashing, devastating climax on the night of Eve's birthday, as fellow holiday makers dance and drink, one person will not be returning home. The discovery of a body on the beach changes everything and every single person comes under scrutiny. 

This is a twisty thriller that kept me on my toes. I had so many suspects throughout, the author cleverly reveals snippets of each person that immediately made me suspect them all. The finale is shocking and unexpected, written with style. 

Julia Crouch remains one of my favourite authors and The Secret Party is a great addition to her list of thrillers. Recommended. 

Julia Crouch is the author of ten internationally published Domestic Noir novels:
Cuckoo, Every Vow You Break, Tarnished, The Long Fall, Her Husband’s Lover, The New Mother, The Daughters, The Perfect Date, The Surprise Party and The Wrong Child. 

She has also written eleven plays and is developing a screenplay. 

She teaches for UEA, Faber Academy and the National Centre for Writing, and mentors writers trying to start, finish or polish a novel. 

Once a committed pantser, she is now an avid plotter.

X @thatjuliacrouch

Instagram @juliageek

The Last Time I Saw You by Jo Leevers #TheLastTimeISawYou @JoLeevers @AmazonPub #BookReview

 

She’s waiting to become a mother―but first she has to find her own.

Weeks away from the birth of her first child, Georgie should be enjoying the peace of her new life in the country, but boredom has settled in and nerves are running high. A viral news story about the rescue of a missing child warms her heart until she sees the photo: the woman who found the child is her own mother, Nancy, who disappeared twenty years ago.

How could Nancy have abandoned her own children? Georgie needs to know before becoming a mother herself, even if it means calling on her estranged brother Dan for support. As the siblings set off on a road trip towards the Scottish island where Nancy was last seen, they don’t yet know that her side of the story has just as much heartache as their own.

Caught between her new life and old secrets, Georgie must make peace with the past. Can she and Dan unite to uncover the truth? And can piecing together Nancy’s story fix their broken family―or are some wounds too deep to heal?

The Last Time I Saw You by Jo Leevers is published today, 1 July 2024 by Lake Union Publishing. My thanks to the author and publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I read this one whilst on holiday in Corfu and it is the perfect book to get totally immersed in. I love a dual timeline, and two points of view and this one is perfectly and cleverly done. Quite often, one story can overpower the other narrator, but in The Last Time I Saw You, both eras and both characters are fascinating, nuanced and wonderfully delivered. 

Georgie is about to become a mum for the first time. With only a month to go until her due date, she often questions herself. Will she be a good mother? Georgie doesn't really have a great role model; her own mother, Nancy abandoned her and her brother Dan twenty years old. That was the last time she saw her, explaining the title of the novel. 

Georgie's husband is working away, and she's mindlessly scrolling social media when a news story makes her stop. It's a typical feel-good story; a lost child has been found by a woman on a remote Scottish island. The woman is known locally as something of a loner, she doesn't mix with the community and she looks awkward in the photo. It is the photo that makes Georgie stop and look again. That is Nancy, her mother, the woman who left her. Yet she's rescued another child. Georgie needs answers. 

Georgie and her brother Dan have a strained relationship and haven't spoken for a couple of years. The reader finds out this back story later on, and it's another tragic tale in Georgie's past. Regardless of this, they agree to travel together to find Nancy. The journey ahead is a long one, their vehicle is not the most reliable, Georgie hasn't told her husband, and she's about to give birth! 

This is an entrancing, warm story that touches on many emotional and quite dark issues. Setting most of the story during an enclosed journey in a car is a nice touch and adds depth and atmosphere to the tale. The reader learns so much about Georgie and Dan along the way

Meanwhile, we are also listening to Nancy's own story, and for sure, at first, I expected her to be a selfish woman who only cared for herself. She is certainly damaged, but as the story unravels, we can see that terrible circumstances that she was trying to cope with, and like it or not, we can also understand why she made the decision that affected so many lives. 

Long hidden truths are exposed and all of the characters begin to realise that many things that they assumed were not the real truth. It's complex and layered so well and an absolute joy to keep reading and keep discovering.

A story of family and hurt, of motherhood and despair. There are secrets and shocks and characters that will surprise the reader. A wonderful read and recommended by me.

Jo Leevers grew up in London and began writing fiction after a career in magazine
journalism. 

Her bestselling debut, Tell Me How This Ends, was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club choice. Whether writing fiction or interviewing people for articles, she is fascinated by the stories and secrets that we all carry with us. 

She has two grown-up children and lives with her husband and their wayward dog, Lottie, in Bristol.

X @JoLeevers

Instagram @joleevers