Curse The Day by Judith O'Reilly BLOG TOUR @judithoreilly @HoZ_Books #CurseTheDay

A murdered scientist.
An AI breakthrough that could change the world.
A conspiracy at the heart of the British elite.

At a global tech gala hosted at the British Museum, scientist Tobias Hawke is due to unveil an astonishing breakthrough. His AI system appears to have reached consciousness, making Hawke the leading light in his field.

But when terrorists storm the building, they don't just leave chaos in their wake. They seize Hawke's masterwork, sparking a chain reaction of explosive events which could end the world as we know it.

Michael North, ex-assassin and spy-for-hire, must find the killers and recover the AI. But he can't do it alone. Hawke's wife, Esme, and teenage hacker, Fangfang, have their own reasons to help complete North's mission – and together they unravel a dark and deadly conspiracy which stretches right to the top of the British elite.

Can North survive long enough to uncover the whole truth? Or is it already too late for humanity?

Curse The Day by Judith O'Reilly was published on 2 April 2020 by Head of Zeus. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, and invited me to take part on this Blog Tour.

Curse The Day is the second book by Judith O'Reilly to feature Michael North; a fearless ex-assassin with a bullet lodged in his brain. North knows that the bullet could kill him at any time and makes makes him more ruthless, more unforgiving and more determined to ensure that everything he sees wrong in the world is put right ..... or as right as he can make it, in his own unique way.

Opening with a prologue that pulls absolutely no punches at all, and sets the reader up for what is going to be a fast-paced and at times, very violent ride, this book kept me glued to the pages throughout.

O'Reilly has created a bunch of characters here who nobody would want as enemies; they are incredibly flawed, yet vulnerable at times, meaning that instead of stereotypical, macho, all muscle fighters, we get to know some complex and intricately created lead players who, despite some of their actions, the reader backs all the way.

When Esme Hawke is almost murdered in her own apartment, the fall-out is huge. Her husband is the next victim; killed as he presents his amazing invention, Syd. Syd is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) robot which appears to have a conscious, and is certainly worth killing for. 

Michael North is currently hiding out abroad when he is summoned home by Fangfang, after an unwelcome visit from an old acquaintance. The partnership between North and Fang is something to behold, and then add Esme into the mix and it becomes pretty explosive.

Curse The Day is an action-thrilled conspiracy thriller which reminded me of a Hollywood blockbuster movie; with shades of Bond and Mission Impossible running through it. The author never lets up with the pace and the action and plotting are faultless throughout.

High energy, cleverly crafted with some amazing characterisation. Explosive, fun and perfect escapism.

Judith O'Reilly is the author of Wife in the North, a top-three Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. 

It was based on Judith's eponymous blog which was named as one of the top 100 blogs in the world by the Sunday Times, and credited with kicking off the popularity of domestic blogging in the UK. 

Judith is a former political producer with BBC 2's Newsnight and ITN's Channel 4 News, and, when she isn't writing novels, she writes for the Sunday Times, has acted as a strategic communications adviser for both government and business.

www.judithoreilly.com

Author Page on Facebook

Twitter @judithoreilly

A Theatre For Dreamers by PollySamson @PollySamson @HydraDreamers @BloomsburyBooks #ATheatreForDreamers #RandomThingsTours

1960. The world is dancing on the edge of revolution, and nowhere more so than on the Greek island of Hydra, where a circle of poets, painters and musicians live tangled lives, ruled by the writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, troubled king and queen of bohemia. Forming within this circle is a triangle: its points the magnetic, destructive writer Axel Jensen, his dazzling wife Marianne Ihlen, and a young Canadian poet named Leonard Cohen.

Into their midst arrives teenage Erica, with little more than a bundle of blank notebooks and her grief for her mother. Settling on the periphery of this circle, she watches, entranced and disquieted, as a paradise unravels.

Burning with the heat and light of Greece, A Theatre for Dreamers is a spellbinding novel about utopian dreams and innocence lost - and the wars waged between men and women on the battlegrounds of genius.

A Theatre For Dreamers by Polly Samson was published in hardback on 2 April 2020 by Bloomsbury.
My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. I am delighted to share my thoughts here as part of the #RandomThingsTours blog tour.

  

The prologue of A Theatre For Dreamers is a reflection on life by lead character Erica. She looks around her as she walks the streets on the small Greek island of Hydra and her memories are evoked by every sight, every sound and every smell.

For someone who adores Greece, and has just had to cancel our annual trip, and whose favourite era to read about is the 1960s, this book was a beautiful and very welcome gift. As I read it, with the very unseasonal March Lincolnshire sunshine in the background, I was transported to those heady, lazy days that Erica recalls so well.

Erica arrived on Hydra in 1960. She was an ordinary girl, with an ordinary job. Since her mother's death her life has been a constant battle of will with her domineering father, and when she finds out that her mother has left her a small legacy, and a car, she is determined to escape. It is clear that there were secrets in her mother's life that Erica knew nothing about, and she is pulled to Hydra by the thoughts of finding out more, from her mother's old friend and neighbour Charmian Clift who now lives there.

Erica, accompanied by her brother and her boyfriend survive the long journey across Europe and find themselves among a mixed and charismatic bunch of creatives; writers, artists and musicians. They are living a bohemian lifestyle, so very different to anything that Erica knows. Sitting outside the local taverna; eating, smoking, drinking and creating.

A Theatre For Dreamers is a fictional story told about real characters and the author presents each one of these wonderfully. From the daily bickering of Clift and husband George Johnston, to the heartbreak and pain caused to Marianne Ihlen by her husband Axel Jenson, the reader becomes something of a fly on the wall as Erica's first person narrative so beautifully tells their stories. It is the arrival of charismatic Canadian Leonard Cohen that creates much of the story though. Polly Samson cleverly weaves  the traditional power structures, and controlling behaviour of the men into the plot.

The author's descriptive prose is beautiful, the island of Hydra becomes a character in its own right, and the smells and sounds of the neighbourhood are vivid and stunning in their portrayal.

I adored this book, it gave me a 'hit' of Greece, that I needed so very much at the moment.

Polly Samson is the author of two short story collections and two previous novels. 
Her work has been shortlisted for prizes, translated into several languages and has been dramatized on BBC Radio 4. 

She has written lyrics to four number one albums and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

pollysamson.com @PollySamson 

Act 3 : The Art of Growing Older by Judy & Adrian Reith BLOG TOUR @Act3Life #Act3Life #RandomThingsTours @unbounders #Act3

At last, the life you want . . . post 50.

We re living longer, in better health, with higher expectations than any generation in human history. With an extra adult chapter to look forward to, what will you do? Who else could you be? How will you evolve the best plan for your life between 50 and 80?

Judy and Adrian Reith have decades of experience in helping people see hidden possibilities, clarify their goals and achieve life-changing results. In Act 3 they suggest practical steps to make your life more fulfilling as you age. From the ground up this book will help you identify and strengthen the four roots you ll need for a happy and successful third act. It illustrates how your attitude, purpose, relationships and values are keystones to a life without regret.

Act 3 gives tools and tips to help you focus on what matters, with chapters on Work, Home, Money, Health, Play, the World and Friends. You ll be inspired by original stories of those who have changed their lives after 50 and be able to re-imagine your future, and so get the life you want . . . at last.

Act 3: The Art of Growing Older by Judy Reith and Adrian Reith was published by Unbound on 2 April 2020.

I'm delighted to host the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour today

None of us want to think of ourselves as 'old', and I believe that being in your 50s these days is completely different to how it was when I was younger.

For me, turning fifty felt like something of an achievement, after being really ill in my twenties and believing for many years that I wouldn't actually see middle age. Now I'm here, aged 54 this year and apart from the grey hairs and creaking joints, I honestly believe that this is the best time of my life.

Judy and Adrian Reith have produced a light-hearted, yet really positive guide for those people who want a happier balance in their lives. They've included real-life stories from people who have completely changed their life after the age of 50, and these are truly inspirational.

I don't have children, but I was really interested in the parts of the book that deal with life when your kids have grown up. I could relate these to many of my friends.

The book is beautifully and attractively presented, enabling the reader to pick and choose which parts to read, and when. It's not the sort of book that one would sit and read from cover to cover; it's more of a 'pick and mix' sort of read; pick out certain parts that apply to you, and then go and read those that you hadn't considered, and realise that most of it really can apply to anyone.

Act 3 is a book that will remain on my bookshelf. If I'm having a wobble, I'll be going right back to it, and reading through the ways to identify what I need to change.

Judy Reith draws on her professional training in child development, coaching and parent education to help thousands of parents, some of whom are also entering Act 3.

She is the author of 7 Secrets of Raising Girls Every Parent Must Know, Be a Great Mum and Transform Living with Teenagers.

Aged fifty in 2006, Adrian Reith ditched a successful career as a writer and director in advertising to help coaching clients unscramble their mental spaghetti.

He and Judy live together in Cambridge.

www.Act3life.com

Twitter @Act3Life

The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves @AbbieGreaves1 @arrowpublishing @PublicityBooks #Giveaway #Win @midaspr #TheSilentTreatment

Frank hasn't spoken to his wife Maggie for six months.

For weeks they have lived under the same roof, slept in the same bed and eaten at the same table – all without words.

Maggie has plenty of ideas as to why her husband has gone quiet, but it will take another heartbreaking turn of events before Frank finally starts to unravel the secrets that have silenced him.

Is this where their story ends?
Or is it where it begins?

With characters that will capture your heart, THE SILENT TREATMENT celebrates the phenomenal power of love and the importance of leaving nothing unsaid.

The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves was published in hardback on 2 April 2020, by Century / Arrow Publishing. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

I am delighted to host the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour for this wonderful book today. I can honestly say, hand on heart, that this is one of the most special books that I've read for a long time. I devoured it.

My full review of The Silent Treatment will be published in the Daily Express this Friday (10 April),  and I will share it on the blog after publication.
Meanwhile, I am delighted to be able to offer one hardback copy as a prize for one lucky winner today.
Entry is simple, just fill out the competition widget at the end of this blog post. UK ENTRIES ONLY

GOOD LUCK! 

PRAISE FOR THE SILENT TREATMENT

‘A remarkable debut’ JOJO MOYES

‘It’s beautiful, so moving and clever. I truly adored it.’ JOSIE SILVER, author of One Day in December

‘An original and moving debut from a talented new voice.’ SANTA MONTEFIORE

‘This moving debut unpicks the secret selves of Maggie and Frank to reveal the tragic miscommunications of their broken family. It’s a pleasure to read such a stylish and confident new voice’ LOUISE CANDLISH, author of Our House

‘Heart-breaking secrets tenderly evoked with intelligence and depth. Maggie and Frank are unforgettable characters’ RACHEL HORE, author of The Memory Garden

‘Such stunning prose, and such insight for a debut author… I was bowled over by Abbie’s writing.’ CLARE MACKINTOSH

‘An unforgettable love story with a mystery that had me captivated until the last, heart-wrenching page. It deserves to be huge’ CATHERINE ISAAC, author of You Me Everything

'A tender, heartfelt portrayal of a long marriage with all its secrets. Cleverly structured and beautifully written, this novel celebrates love, hope - and the importance of finding the right words.' LUCY DIAMOND

‘In her tremendously moving debut, a novel that pulses with emotional tension, Abbie Greaves masterfully unpicks a history of ordinary lives facing extraordinary challenges. I found it impossible to look away from the relationship at the heart of this novel.’ GILLY MACMILLAN, author of The Nanny

One Copy of The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves


Abbie Greaves studied at Cambridge University before working in a literary agency in London for a number of years.
She was inspired to write her first novel, The Silent Treatment, after reading a newspaper article about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before.

Abbie lives in Edinburgh with her boyfriend and is hard at work on her follow-up novel, The Ends of the Earth

Twitter @AbbieGreaves1
Instagram @abbiegreaevesauthor

www.abbiegreaves.com

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon BLOG TOUR @ArielLawhon @headlinepg @RosieMargesson #CodeNameHelene #RandomThingsTours

In 1936, foreign correspondent, Nancy Wake, witnesses first-hand the terror of Hitler's rise in Europe. No sooner has Nancy met, fallen in love with and agreed to marry French industrialist Henri Fiocca, than the Germans invade France and force her to take on her first code name of many. The Gestapo call her the White Mouse for her remarkable ability to evade capture when smuggling Allied soldiers across borders. She becomes Hélène when she leaves France to train in espionage with an elite special forces group in London. Then, when she returns to France, she is the deadly Madame Andrée. But the closer Frances gets to liberation, the more exposed Nancy - and the people she loves - will become.

Inspired by true wartime events, Code Name Hélène is a gripping and moving story of extraordinary courage, unfaltering resolve, remarkable sacrifice - and enduring love.

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon was published on 31 March 2020 by Headline Review. As part of the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I'm delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.

Nancy Grace Augusta Wake

The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.

—VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES

Hélène

BENSON MILITARY AIRFIELD, ENGLAND

February 29, 1944

I have gone by many names.
Some of them are real—I was given four at birth alone—but most

are carefully constructed personas to get me through checkpoints and across borders. They are lies scribbled on forged travel docu- ments. Typed neatly in government files. Splashed across wanted posters. My identity is an ever-shifting thing that adapts to the need at hand.

Tonight, I am Hélène and I am going home.

It is February 29. Leap Day. The irony of this is not lost on me, because I am about to jump out of an aeroplane for the first time. I’ve only just been lifted into the belly of the Liberator bomber like a clumsily wrapped package. Me in slacks, blouse, and silk stockings beneath my coveralls, tin hat, and British army boots. The camel- haired coat and parachute pack don’t do much to help the ensemble. But this isn’t a fashion show and I’m not here to make friends, so I don’t care that every man on this plane is looking at me as though I don’t belong. Besides, I’m hungover. And I think I might throw up.

There are only four of us on this flight: an RAF pilot, a dispatcher, “Hubert”—my partner on this mission—and myself. A motley crew indeed. I settle into the jump seat across from Hubert and we watch with trepidation as the aperture in the floor closes. There’s a grind- ing of gears and the clank of metal and then we’re locked inside. I very much regret that third bottle of wine I shared with the boys last night. Headquarters delayed the mission by an entire day so we would have extra time to memorize key details of our cover story, which meant that, for the second night in a row, we raucously cel- ebrated our looming departure and likely death. By the end of it we were singing “Blood on the Risers” at the top of our lungs, and now I can’t get the stupid song out of my head.

“Gory, gory what a helluva way to die . . . ,” I hum, only to find the pilot staring at me with a bemused grin. I shrug. It’s the truth. This would be a helluva way to die. Too late now, though, because all four engines shudder to life with an angry bellow.

I begin counting as the plane rumbles across the aerodrome. Ten. Twenty. Thirty—good grief, when will this thing ever get off the ground?—forty. And then my stomach drops as we lurch into the air like a drunken seabird. The Liberator heaves and rumbles its way into the low-hanging clouds over the English countryside, sounding all the while as though someone has tossed a pound of bolts into a meat grinder.

Once we’re through the clouds and the engines dim to a lesser roar, the dispatcher looks at me and shouts, “Witch?”

Under normal circumstances I would be offended, but Witch is my code name for this flight. I nod in the affirmative.

He turns back to his control panel and radios Command. “Witch on board”—a pause and then a glance at Hubert—“Pudding as well. Approximately two hours until the drop.”

Poor guy, it’s not his fault. He’s not been given our real code names, much less our actual names. Need to know, etcetera, etcetera. I make a face at Hubert and he grins. We’d argued over which of us had the worse handle. Mine is sexist but his is stupid, so in the end we declared it a draw.

“At least the plane is heated,” I say, but Hubert has settled into his jump seat, closed his eyes, and is trying to sleep. If he hears me he doesn’t let on. Hubert is not what you’d call a conversationalist.

A thrilling and heart-wrenching novel inspired by the astonishing real life story of Nancy Wake. Perfect for fans of Suzanne Goldring's MY NAME IS EVA, Kate Quinn's THE ALICE NETWORK and Imogen Kealey's LIBERATION, soon to be a blockbuster movie.

'Lawhon breathes new life into Nancy Wake's extraordinary story. Rich and thoroughly researched, an exciting, well-written account of wartime valour and the protagonist's qualities shine through' The Times

'This is the next book I won't be able to stop talking about...so, so good!' 5 stars (Goodreads reviewer)

'A gripping thriller based on the life of Nancy Wake... Lawhon's vivid, fast-paced narrative will keep readers turning the pages' Publishers Weekly 

Ariel Lawhon, author of I Was Anastasia (2018), Flight of Dreams (2016) and The Wife, The Maid And The Mistress (2014), is a critically acclaimed writer of historical fiction. 

She lives with her family in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee.



www.ariellawhon.com
Twitter @ArielLawhon
Author Page on Facebook

Virgin And Child by Maggie Hamand @DrMaggieHamand BLOG TOUR @BarbicanPress1 #RandomThingsTours #VirginAndChild

Newly elected Irish Pope Patrick has plans for his future church. The he is attacked in St Peter's Square. Leading cardinals turn against him, and he doesn't know who he can trust, doubting even his private secretary. Then he makes a discovery that overturns everything he has previously thought, undermining not just his papacy but his faith. Will the cardinals succeed in removing him? And what lengths are they prepared to go to to achieve their goal?

As the pressure on Patrick ramps up, the story becomes a battle for his survival both as pope but also as a person, as we move between the power struggles in the Vatican to Patrick's uncovering of family secrets back home in Ireland, secrets that will affect his actions and inform the difficult choices he will soon have to make...

Virgin & Child by Maggie Hamand was published on 2 April 2020 by Barbican Press. As part of the #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to welcome the author today with a fabulous guest post.

Easter is a time of betrayal and loss so it’s very appropriate that my new novel, Virgin and Child, is being published on 2 April. It’s a novel that was five years in the making because I knew that I would have to do an enormous amount of research to make it convincing. I was writing from the point of view of an Irish Pope - someone so completely unlike me on the surface that I knew it would take a long time to work out how to portray him convincingly, let along get all the Vatican details right. 

I visited Rome in April, attended the Pope’s Wednesday audience in St Peter’s Square, went round the Vatican museum and gardens, and a friend took me to the Pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. Strange to be visiting these beautiful places with half my mind on how an assassination attempt on my Pope might take place. In particular I went up onto the roof terrace of an Institute near the Vatican, working out the right firing angles and distances! Through a brilliant scheme called Monastery Tours I was able to stay in a little convent right outside the Vatican walls, which later became a location in the novel. (This is a very cheap and comfortable way to stay in Rome and other Italian cities for those on a budget!) I walked for miles through Rome checking on locations and journey times and soaking up the atmosphere, and selecting the right locations for scenes in the story. I was also lucky to know an Italian journalist in Rome who arranged for me to speak to a couple of a Vatican insiders. 

There is a section in Ireland too, and because I have a cousin in Cork I went to visit her and all the locations I needed for my Irish Pope’s childhood and his life as a priest. The south-west of Ireland is so beautiful, like my own North Wales merged with Cornwall. As I walked down a street in Cork, a busker was playing a haunting theme on an old piano and as I listened two priests walked past, deep in conversation - that snapshot in time went straight into my novel unchanged. You only get such details when you visit a place, you can’t get them from guidebooks. 

Why did I write the book? Because, despite being a scientist, a feminist, and a liberal, religious faith does matter to me. There’s a mystical dimension to Easter, a sense that since the dawn of time people have held special sacred ceremonies to welcome the spring. I hope some of my sense of the mystery of life and faith has come through in a novel which is also a criticism of dogma and the misuse of power, wrapped in a suspenseful narrative.

© Maggie Hamand

Maggie Hamand is a journalist, novelist, and creative writing lecturer. 

She was the first winner of the World One-Day Novel Cup and her novel, The Resurrection of the Body, was published by Penguin and has been optioned for film and television. 

She was founder and director of the award-winning independent publisher Maia Press. 
Maggie has a degree in biochemistry, a Masters in theology, and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Hull. 
She has taught in a range of institutions including Holloway Prison and is author of the best-selling Creative Writing For Dummies. 

She lives in East London.

www.maggiehamand.com
Twitter @DrMaggieHamand

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan @SVaughanAuthor @simonschusterUK #LittleDisasters #BookReview

You think you know her…
But look a little closer
 
She is a stay-at-home mother-of-three with boundless reserves of patience, energy and love. After being friends for a decade, this is how Liz sees Jess. 
 
Then one moment changes everything. 
  
Dark thoughts and carefully guarded secrets surface – and Liz is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her friend, and about herself.

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan is published today; 02 April 2020, by Simon and Schuster. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.


I have read and reviewed all three of this author's previous novels and she has become one of my all time favourite writers. It's fair to say that she became more well-known after publication of her last book; Anatomy of a Scandal which was something of a change in direction for her. However, I would also recommend her earlier books too; The Farm at the Edge of the World, and The Art of Baking Blind; they are both wonderful reads.

So, Little Disasters.  Oh my goodness, this is such an emotional and often terrifying read. It's written incredibly well and opens with a prologue that is shocking in its intensity and emotion, and the story doesn't let up at all. You will be kept on the edge of your seat as you experience every possible emotion, it felt almost voyeuristic at times as this wonderfully talented author allows the reader to see the plot from all sides.

Liz is a doctor, she works long shifts on the children's ward of the local hospital, often called to A&E to deal with an emergency admission. When, one night, she is called to assess baby Betsey, just three months old with a head injury, she has no idea how much this case will impact on her life. On her relationship with close friends, and on what she begins to learn about her own family background.

Betsey is the daughter of Liz's friend Jess, and is her third child, and only daughter. Jess has always been the perfect mother. often appearing over protective of her brood, but always loving and caring, putting the needs of her children before anything else. When it becomes clear that Betsey's injury could be very serious, Liz has to make the tough decision to call in the authorities.

What follows is a cleverly layered and very intimate look at relationships and how we can hide the truth. The author's ability to portray such perception into motherhood; and all that entails is superbly crafted. The constant worry, the guilt, the trying to keep up with the other mothers, the difficulties in ensuring a marriage thrives despite the impact of small children, and most of all, the secrets that are buried underneath the gleaming worktops and the freshly ironed baby clothes. Sarah Vaughan captures all of these and more; she carefully and empathically weaves issues around mental health and neglect into this wonderfully compelling story, revealing so much more to the characters than originally shown.

Little Disasters is so impressive. It is so carefully crafted, with multiple threads and so many shocks revealed. It is a story that haunts the reader as more is revealed. I was totally gripped throughout.

Sure to be one of my top books of the year. Highly recommended




Anatomy of a Scandal, Sarah Vaughan's 3rd novel and her first courtroom drama/psychological thriller, combined her experiences as a news reporter and political correspondent on the Guardian with her time as a student reading English at Oxford. 

Translated into 22 languages, it was an instant international bestseller, Sunday Times top five bestseller, and kindle number 1 bestseller. It has been optioned for television and shortlisted for awards in the UK, Sweden and France.

Little Disasters is published on April 2 in the UK, on August 18, in the US, and in various other countries in 2021. 

Married with two children, she lives just outside Cambridge, and is currently working on her fifth novel.


FB: Sarah Vaughan Author
Twitter: @SVaughanAuthor
www.sarahvaughanauthor.com