The New Mother by Julia Crouch BLOG TOUR @thatjuliacrouch @bookouture Books On Tour #TheNewMother #BookReview

 

Who would you trust with your precious family?

Wanted: full-time, live-in help for expectant mother. Must be organised, friendly and willing to do anything.

Rachel is determined to be the perfect mother. She has a birth plan, with a playlist and a bag ready by the door. She’s chosen a lovely light cream paint for the nursery, and in wide-eyed, innocent Abbie she’s found the perfect person to help her with her baby.

After all, every mother needs a bit of help, don’t they?

But Rachel needs a little more than most.

She still makes sure her bedroom door is locked before she goes to sleep. She still checks the cameras that are dotted throughout the house.

Rachel trusts Abbie. Even if Abbie’s smiles don’t always reach her eyes, and the stories she tells about her past don’t always add up, it doesn’t matter.

Because Rachel knows better than to trust herself…

The New Mother by Julia Crouch was published on 12 October 2021 by Bookoutre. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour.

Julia Crouch is a very talented author who always entertains. I've read and enjoyed her books in the past and was delighted to have the opportunity to read and review The New Mother. 

I was gripped! It's relevant and up-to-date, focussing on that fairly recent phenomenon; the social media influencer. The rise of Instagram and more recently Tik-Tok has given authors such a lot of new material and Julia Crouch has tackled this subject so very well. The language is perfect, the observations are precise and the road to the shocking ending is littered with events that both shock and impress. 

Rachel @rachelhoneywell or just RR as she's known to her millions of loyal followers is having a baby and she wants a #MothersHelper. She's posted a request on her Insta grid and now she and her loyal #FriendFran are sorting through the many applicants.

Abbie is Rachel's hugest fan. She uses the products that Rachel endorses, she checks the grid for new posts regularly, she is utterly team Rachel and she is also determined to be the person who Rachel picks. The person who will help Rachel take care of baby beansprout when she or he appears. 

However, this is not just a tale of new mothers and social media influencers .....  oh no. This is a chilling and sometimes brutal psychological thriller that develops fairly slowly at the beginning and increases in tension throughout. The reader becomes aware that Rachel has an 'event' in her past. Something that affects her behaviour at times, she does things that she cannot prevent and it worries her. Only #FriendFran is aware of Rachel's past and does everything that she can to support her. 

Abbie is also a complex and complicated character, and as the story moves on, it becomes clear that her own past has had a profound effect on her mental state, and her desire to be Rachels' helper stems from more than just admiration. 

This is a story that made me hold my breath at times,  the darkness of the situation gets bleaker and blacker, the tension increases and the explosive ending is totally and utterly satisfying. 

A brilliant story, with excellently created characters who the reader may not like, but who are enthralling to read about. Highly recommended by me. 

Julia started off as a theatre director and playwright. While her children were growing up, she swerved into graphic design. 

After writing and illustrating two children’s books for an MA, she discovered that her great love was writing prose. The picture books were deemed too dark for publication, so, to save the children, she turned instead to writing for adults.

Her first book, Cuckoo, was published in 2011, and she has been writing what she calls her Domestic Noir novels ever since.

She also writes for TV and teaches on the Crime Writing MA at the University of East Anglia.

She has three grown up children and lives in Brighton with her husband and two cats, Keith and Sandra.

http://juliacrouch.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/JuliaCrouchAuthor/

https://www.instagram.com/juliageek/

https://twitter.com/thatjuliacrouch

A Dark Song of Blood by Ben Pastor BLOG TOUR #ADarkSongOfBlood @bitterlemonpub #BenPastor @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 

Rome, 1944. While the Allies are fighting their way up the Italian peninsula, Rome lives the last days of Nazi occupation. 

Their world falling apart, the Germans continue to vie for power while holding glittering and debauched parties. 

But this is also a time of Italian partisan attacks, arrests and mass executions. 

Baron Martin von Bora, an officer in the Wehrmacht, has the complex and delicate task of solving not one, but three murders. 

With Italian police inspector Sandro Guidi at his side, Bora sets off to establish the truth.

A Dark Song of Blood by Ben Pastor was published in April 2014 by Bitter Lemon Press and is number three in the Martin Bora series.

As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.

Extract from A Dark Song of Blood

by Ben Pastor

ROME, 8 JANUARy 1944

Again, the airplane. And again, the animal. Same dream in all details, an obsessive sameness. Russia, last summer. I walk toward the fallen plane making my way through the black stumps of the sunflowers, fearing what I will find there. My brother’s voice is everywhere, but I do not understand one word of what he is saying. I only know it’s the voice of the dead. A blood trail preceding and following me. Then, the rest of the dream, as always.

I woke up in a cold sweat (this is also becoming frequent), and tried for a long time to stay awake. I only knew I was dreaming again when the sound of the animal behind me filled me with dread. It’s a quick, scraping sound, as of a large hound racing up stone steps. I climb and climb and the stairs wind around corners in a wide spiral; a blinding light comes from deep windows to the right. By inches the animal gains on me, and all I know is that it is female, and I will find no mercy with it. Its claws are like metal on polished stone, marble perhaps. I can’t climb fast enough to avoid it. Looking back into this diary, I can see the first time I dreamt this was the night before the ambush in September.

Martin Bora’s nightmares had been set aside by the time he walked into the Hotel Flora from the wide street, early in the morning. A tiger sky drifted white behind the city blocks, wrinkling here and there with striped, ribbon-like clouds. Via Veneto was filling with light like a slow river at the bend, on Saturday which promised to be a cold and clear day. His soul was secure inside, well kept, guarded. Anxiety had no room in his waking hours and, surprisingly, things that had been amusing were amusing still.

Half an hour later Inspector Sandro Guidi of the Italian police stood before the massive elegance of the same hotel, shielding his eyes. At the entrance he presented his papers to a stolid-faced young soldier. While he waited in the luxurious lobby to be let upstairs, he gave himself credit for not getting lost on his way here, but still wondered why the unexpected summons to the German command.

In the third-floor office, another wait. Beautiful wallpa- per, hangings around luminous windows. Behind the desk, a detailed map of the city, a crowded bulletin board, three moist-looking watercolors of old Roman streets. Paperwork lay on the desk, neatly stacked but obviously being pro- cessed. Several maps were folded in transparent sheaths under a notebook. Guidi had seen German aides once or twice. The crimson stripes on their breeches came to mind, and the silver braid draping right shoulder and breast in the ceremonial dazzle of army hierarchy. What could Gen- eral Westphal’s aide-de-camp possibly want from him? It was likely a formality, or even a mistake. But he could not mistake the voice coming from the door, because its Italian had no accent whatever.

Ben Pastor, born in Italy, lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Vermont, before returning to her home country. 

A Dark Song of Blood is the third in the Martin Bora series and follows on from the success of Lumen and Liar Moon, also published by Bitter Lemon Press. 

Ben Pastor is the author of other novels including the highly acclaimed The Water Thief and The Fire Waker, and is considered one of the most talented writers in the field of historical fiction. 

In 2008 she won the prestigious Premio Zaragoza for best historical fiction.

The Woman in the Middle by Milly Johnson @millyjohnson #TheWomanInTheMiddle @simonschusterUK @TeamBATC #Giveaway #Win #Prize #BookReview

 

Shay Bastable is the woman in the middle. She is part of the sandwich generation – caring for her parents and her children, supporting her husband Bruce, holding them all together and caring for them as best she can.
 
Then the arrival of a large orange skip on her mother’s estate sets in motion a cataclysmic series of events which leads to the collapse of Shay’s world. She is forced to put herself first for a change.
 
But in order to move forward with her present, Shay needs to make sense of her past. And so she returns to the little village she grew up in, to uncover the truth about what happened to her when she was younger. And in doing so, she discovers that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to find the only way is up.

The Woman In The Middle by Milly Johnson is published today, 14 October 2021 in hardback by Simon & Schuster. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

I loved this story, I think it is Milly Johnson's best book yet. My review was featured in S Magazine a couple of weeks ago and I'm delighted to share that review here. 

I have one hardback copy of The Woman in the Middle to give away

Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this post.

UK Entries only please.   GOOD LUCK! 

Shay Bastable feels like the filling in a sandwich. She's crushed between the needs of her ailing elderly parents and the ongoing dramas of her two grown-up children, while her marriage also seems to be falling apart. Every single day finds Shay giving everything to other people without taking a moment for herself. 

Sadly, Shay's mother Roberta is in the early stages of dementia. And when a large orange skip labelled 'Sharif's Skips' appears on next door's driveway, it sparks memories of a past romance. As Roberta starts letting long-kept secrets slip, Shay begins to realise that, all her life, her family have been living a lie. Let down by everyone around her, it's time for Shay to put herself first. So she returns to the small village where she grew up to start piecing together the truth of her past, however painful that may prove to be. 

Milly Johnson gets better and better with every novel she writes. Filled with her trademark humour and populated with a cast of larger-than-life yet utterly realistic characters, this is a story full of wisdom and redemption. 

It's a warm, touching read and you'll be longing for Shay to find her own happy ending. 

One copy of The Woman in the Middle by Milly Johnson

(c) Chris Sedgewick

Milly Johnson was born, raised, and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. 

A Sunday Times (London) bestseller, millions of copies of her books have sold across the world. 

Milly writes from the heart about what and where she knows and highlights the importance of community spirit. 

Her books champion women, their strength and resilience, and celebrate love, friendship ,and the possibility of second chances. 

She is an exceptional writer who puts her heart and soul into every book she writes and every character she creates.

www.millyjohnson.co.uk

Twitter @millyjohnson

Instagram @themillyjohnson

Author page on Facebook

The Lighthouse Witches by C J Cooke @CJessCooke BLOG TOUR @fictionpubteam @RandomTTours #TheLighthouseWitches #BookReview

 

Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island, Lòn Haven, stands a lighthouse.

A lighthouse that has weathered more than storms.

Mysterious and terrible events have happened on this island. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing without explanation.

Coincidence? Or curse?

Liv Stay flees to the island with her three daughters, in search of a home. She doesn’t believe in witches, or dark omens, or hauntings. But within months, her daughter Luna will be the only one of them left.

Twenty years later, Luna is drawn back to the place her family vanished. As the last sister left, it’s up to her to find out the truth . . .

But what really happened at the lighthouse all those years ago?

The Lighthouse Witches by C J Cooke was published by HarperCollins on 30 September 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, as part of this Random Things Tours Blog Tour.

What a fabulous read this is!  Last year I read CJ Cooke's The Nesting and was transfixed by it. In her follow up, she takes her readers to a remote, quite wild island off the coast of Scotland, and it's an eerie, spooky and quite spine chilling tale that she tells. 

I love multiple points of view, and a also love dual time lines and The Lighthouse Witches has both of these, it's an extraordinary read and whilst the magic perplexed me at times, and to be honest, I'm still not quite sure about the 'wildings' and the disappearing people, I really really loved it! 

This is a mix of ancient folk lore, handed down through the generations and contemporary life. The author cleverly weaves the old traditions and beliefs in with the more modern day tale and even the most cynical of readers (me!) will begin to believe in magic! 

It is the late 1980s, Liv and her three daughters arrive on the island, Lòn Haven. Liv is an artist and has taken a commission to paint a mural on the inside walls of an old lighthouse. Whilst this may be her main reason for arriving, it soon becomes clear that she and her daughters have spent most of their lives running away. From the outset, the story is creepily intense. When Liv sees the outline of the mural she's to paint, she is uneasy. As she gets to know her new community, she hears things that are chilling, but it's safe here, away from danger.    Or is it?

Twenty years later, only one of the sisters remains. Liv and the other two girls disappeared from the island, with no clue as to where they went. Remaining daughter Luna has always feared the island and swore never to return, but finds herself back there, right in the middle of things that don't really seem to have changed. 

As Luna discovers more and more about this tiny, strange community, and some of the age old traditions, she becomes more and more concerned ... will she ever discover just what happened to her mother and sisters?

The Lighthouse Witches kept me reading long into the night. It's a book that is really difficult to put aside. The writing is so beautifully crafted. It's atmospheric and haunting and I loved every page. It's not a simple plot it's full of magic and myth and hidden truths, but it's a belter of a story. Highly recommended by me. 

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other
publications written under the name of Carolyn Jess-Cooke. 

Her work has been published in twenty- three languages to date. 

Born in Belfast, C.J. has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. 

C.J. Cooke lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children. 

She also founded the Stay-At-Home Festival.

#TheLighthouseWitches  Twitter @CJessCooke

The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella @KinsellaSophie #ThePartyCrasher @TransworldBooks @BeckyShort1 #Giveaway #Win #Prize #Competition

 

Effie's still not over her parents splitting up a year ago. Her dad and his new girlfriend are posting their PDAs all over Instagram - and no one should have to deal with photos of their dad with the hashtags #viagraworks and #sexinyoursixties. Now they're selling the beloved family home and holding a 'house-cooling' party. When Effie receives only a last-minute 'anti-invitation', she decides to give it a miss.

Until she remembers her precious Russian dolls, safely tucked away up a chimney. She'll have to go back for them - but not as a guest. She'll just creep in, grab the dolls and make a swift exit. No one will know she was ever there.

Of course, nothing goes to plan. Not only does Effie bump into her ex-boyfriend (who she's very much not over), she can't find the dolls. And as she secretly clambers around dusty attics, hides under tables and mournfully eyes up the dessert table, she discovers unexpected truths about her family - and even about herself.

With time (and hiding places) running out, Effie starts to wonder if she'd be better off simply crashing the party. Perhaps that's the only way to find out what's really going on with her family...

The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella is published on 14 October 2021 by Bantam Press. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I have one hardback copy of The Party Crasher to give away.  Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this post. 

UK entries only.

GOOD LUCK! 

I've always enjoyed this author's writing. I came across her when she wrote as Madeleine Wickham and read all of those novels in the late 1990s. Like many people, I went on to read the Shopaholic series featuring Becky Bloomwood, fabulously funny contemporary humour with a lead character who always made me smile. 

It's been a while since I read anything by her and have been looking forward to The Party Crasher and I've not been disappointed. I read it in a couple of days, fully immersing myself into the chaos of Effie's world. 

Effie is the youngest child in her family, she has one brother and one sister. They were brought up at Greenoaks, a house with strange brickwork, a turret and lots of memories. It's their Dad's birthday and they've gathered for their annual 'decorate the Christmas tree' event. Things don't seem quite right though and Effie and her siblings are shocked when their parents announce that they are separating. 

Fast forward some months and Effie's relationship with her Dad has broken down. He has a new girlfriend, much younger than him and there are far too many Public Displays of Affection on Instagram for Effie to cope with. 

Greenoaks is sold and a party is being held to say goodbye to the house. Effie is not invited but she needs to get into the house to rescue her beloved Russian Dolls. A set of dolls that have been her companion since childhood. Effie decides that she will crash the party, remain unseen, rescue her dolls and then disappear. 

However, little that Effie does goes to plan and the party crashing turns into a huge drama. She also has to deal with facing up to her ex-boyfriend, the guy who shattered her heart, and lurking under tables in in cupboards means that she overhears and sees lots of things that are both hurtful and revelatory. 

The Party Crasher is a feel-good, fun read that kept me entertained. Effie can be incredibly annoying, she's often a bit selfish and thinks about herself a great deal. However, she's also honest and loyal and full of hurt. I liked her, and I understood her feelings. She felt let down, abandoned and misunderstood. She's the baby of the family and has behaved like it, but has also allowed others to patronise her and protect her. 

This is a joyful, warm and emotionally uplifting read and I recommend it. 

One copy of The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella is an internationally bestselling writer. 

She is the author of many number one bestsellers, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series. She has also written seven bestselling novels as Madeleine Wickham and several books for children. She lives in the UK with her husband and family.

Visit her website at www.sophiekinsella.co.uk 

Facebook at www.facebook.com/SophieKinsellaOfficial. 

You can also follow her on Twitter @KinsellaSophie and Instagram @sophiekinsellawriter.

The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman BLOG TOUR #Giveaway @hannahbeckerman @FMcMAssociates #Prize #Win #ImpossibleTruths

 

When Nell’s father makes a deathbed declaration that hints at a long-held secret, it reignites feelings of isolation that have plagued her for years. Her suspicions about the family’s past only deepen when her mother, Annie, who is losing her memories to dementia, starts making cryptic comments of her own.

Thirty-five years earlier, Annie’s life was upended by a series of traumas―one shock after another that she buried deep in her heart. The decisions she made at the time were motivated by love, but she knew even then that nobody could ever understand―let alone forgive―what she did.

As the two women’s stories unravel, a generation apart, Nell finally discovers the devastating truth about her mother’s past, and her own.

In this beautifully observed and emotionally powerful story of identity, memory and the nature of family, Hannah Beckerman asks: To what lengths would you go to protect the ones you love?

The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman was published on 5 October 2021 by Lake Union Publishing.

I read this book a couple of months ago and adored it. My review was featured in the Express S Magazine last week, and I have shared it again in this post.

As part of the Blog Tour organised by FMcM Associates I am delighted to have three proof copies to giveaway. Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget in this blog post. UK entries only please.

GOOD LUCK!

Nell is the youngest of three sisters, but she has never felt that she fitted in with her family and her relationship with her sisters is strained. Still, when her mother Annie develops dementia and her father Bill is dying, Nell steps up to help care for them.

On his deathbed, Bill tells Nell how much he loves her, but Nell is bewildered when he also says she was never really his to love. Then, as her mother begins to live more and more in the past, she hints cryptically at complex secrets that the couple have buried for decades. 

The reader is then whisked back in time to the 1980s, when Annie and Bill started trying for a family. their first pregnancy ends in devastating heartbreak. And, when Annie finally gives birth, she begins to fear a terrible mistake has been made. 

Nell needs to find out exactly what happened to her parents - and what it means for her future. 

Hannah Beckerman tackles some of the most traumatic events a couple can face with a breathtaking sensitivity and insight and her compassion for her characters shines through in beautiful prose. 

This powerful noel is emotionally challenging, but also a rich and deeply moving read. 

Three proof copies of The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman

Hannah Beckerman is a novelist and journalist. 

She is a book critic and features writer for The Observer and FT Weekend Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of publications from The Guardian to Red magazine. 

As a regular chair at literary festivals and corporate events she has interviewed a host of authors and celebrities, as well as appearing as a book critic on BBC Radio 2 and Times Radio. 

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Hannah worked in television as a producer and commissioning editor for the BBC, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel USA. 

She lives in London. 

The Impossible Truths of Love is her third novel.

www.hannahbeckerman.com

Twitter @hannahbeckerman

Instagram @hannahbeckermanauthor

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley BLOG TOUR @Rebecca_Netley @MichaelJBooks @ellamwatkins #TheWhistling #BookReview

 

Alone in the world, Elspeth Swansome takes the position of nanny to a family on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea.

Her charge, Mary, hasn't uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William - just days after their former nanny disappeared.

No one will speak of what happened to William. Just as no one can explain the hypnotic lullabies sung in empty corridors. Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms. Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night . . .

As winter draws in and passage to the mainland becomes impossible, Elspeth finds herself trapped.

But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?

OR THE SECRETS OF THE LIVING . . . ?

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley is published on 14 October 2021 by Penguin Michael Joseph. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, as part of this Blog Tour 

The Whistling is the perfect read for the halloween month of October.  Atmospheric, tense and really quite dark, it's the sort of story that pulls the reader in, takes them on a twisted and eerie journey and leaves them with a feeling of huge satisfaction at the end.

It's the year 1860 and young Elspeth Swansome leaves Edinburgh to take a live-in nanny position on the remote isle of Skelthsea. Her charge, Mary has not spoken since the day that her twin brother William died. The children were orphans, losing their mother not long before William's death. Their father died years ago and Mary is in the care of her spinster Aunt. 

Elspeth bears her own sorrows, her own tragic past is slowly revealed throughout the story and adds an edge to this gothic chiller. 

If The Whistling were a film, it would be one of those movies that is made up of creepy shots, set in dark rooms with corners that hide secrets. This story has all the ingredients that make up a chilling ghost story, with unexplained whisperings,  strange dolls that suddenly appear and of course, the whistling noise that haunts Elspeth.

It becomes clear that the local people have much to hide, with Elspeth beginning to fear, and suspect many of them. Who knows who she can trust? What really happened to the children's previous Nanny, and was William really quite as evil in life as is reported to Elspeth?

At times, the story is quite a slow mover, but the author takes great care in her creation of character and place. The darkness of the story matches the bleakness of the setting and the sense of place is outstanding. 

Beautifully written and wonderfully crafted, The Whistling is a story best enjoyed as you are tucked up safely, out of the wind and the rain, and preferably with the lights on!  Recommended by me.

Rebecca Netley grew up as part of an eccentric family in a house full of books and music, and these things have fed her passions.

Family and writing remain at the heart of Rebecca's life. She lives in Reading with her husband, sons and an over-enthusiastic dog, who gives her writing tips.

The Whistling is Rebecca Netley's debut novel and won the Exeter Novel Prize.

Twitter @Rebecca_Netley