Date published:- will be published on 17th March 2022
Publisher:- Avon
Genre:- Cozy Mysteries
Rating:- 3/5 stars
Introducing the three unlikeliest sleuths you’ll ever meet…
Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.
But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy.
By the next Thursday, Topsy’s dead.
The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.
But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it…
Sit down with a cup of tea and this perfectly witty, page-turning cosy crime novel. Fans of Agatha Christie, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders will be hooked from the very first page.
When three retired ex- teachers meet for tea they meet another one of their colleagues, Topsy with her daughter Kellyanne. Then Topsy suddenly dies, a large amount of money has been taken from her account, her daughter gone for the weekend and the three teachers– Liz, Thelma and Pat decide to investigate.
This wasn’t bad but this was OK cozy thriller. I have done reviews on cozy reviews before. The writing was good, there were funny parts that crack me up. But unfortunately, there were too much characters that I was slightly confused at some parts, which maybe it was just me. Liz, Thelma and Pat are likable characters and do like the fact that how these three old women get together to solve a mystery of the death of their colleague which they think is a murder. Overall, it was an OK cozy thriller. Worth three stars. Since the writing was great, I look forward to read more books from this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Date published:- will be published on March 30th 2022
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Women’s Fiction
Rating:-
A split-second decision can change everything…
At the edge of a forest, a husband and wife are driving through the winding lanes. When a song comes on the radio, the song that brought the high-school sweethearts together on a dancefloor forty years ago, they turn to each other. That split second – a stolen glance as memories wash over them – is one of their last. Moments later, their car crashes.
Yet from tragedy, comes hope…
Two strangers lie in hospital, their lives hanging in the balance. After a near-fatal accident, it’s a miracle that Zach survived. And with a life-long heart condition, Chloe didn’t think she would make it past her twenties.
But that day, Chloe and Zach’s lives are saved when they each receive a heart. Gifted a rare second chance, it’s up to them not to waste it – to make the most of every moment.
They don’t know it, but they are inextricably linked. And until Chloe and Zach find one another – two hearts searching for their missing part – their new lives can never begin… Will they be able to find each other before it’s too late?
This is a story about four people, two hearts and a love story that will captivate the reader and take the reader to an emotional ride.
Susan and Mike had been childhood lovers. While listening to a song that had brought them together, they meet with an accident. Years later, Zack gets into an accident that causes him get a heart transplant and Chloe also get a heart transplant. After the heart transplant operation, Zack felt a connection to Chloe and soon starts the story.
The plot of the story attracted me first and when I started reading the story, I immediately got hooked into the story. The story is told from the perspectives of Zack, Chloe, Mike and Susan and I do like the backstory of Mike and Susan’s love story, how Zack and Chloe’s love blossomed through the heart connection they had. I was drawn into the blossoming love story of Zack and Chloe and it was actually a heartwarming and emotional story. From the first chapter to the end, the story took me to a journey. I do like the concept of how a transplant of the hearts brought two people close together.
Overall, for the ones who liked to read a good heartwarming story that will captivate the reader from the first chapter itself this book is the one for you–worth five stars in my opinion!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
When Catherine Miller became a mum to twins, she decided her hands weren’t full enough so wrote a novel with every spare moment she managed to find. By the time the twins were two, Catherine had a two-book deal with Carina UK. There is a possibility she has aged remarkably in that time. Her debut novel, Waiting For You, came out in March 2016.
Catherine was a NHS physiotherapist, but for health reasons (Uveitis and Sarcoidosis) she retired early from this career. As she loved her physiotherapy job, she decided if she couldn’t do that she would pursue her writing dream. It took a few years and a couple of babies, but in 2015 she won the Katie Fforde bursary, was a finalist in the London Book Fair Write Stuff Competition and highly commended in Woman magazine’s writing competition. Soon afterwards she signed with Carina. Soon after that, she collapsed in a heap and was eventually revived by chocolate.
Since then she’s become an internationally bestselling novelist and hasn’t found a week that didn’t require revival by chocolate. She is one eighth of The Romaniacs – a group of writing friends who’ve supported each other since meeting through The Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme.
Date published:- will be published on 31st March 2022
Publisher:- Avon
Genre:- Historical Fiction
Rating:-
Rumi Orlstad is grieving and incensed. Livid. ‘They will pay!’ she howls into the twisting gusts. ‘BE SURE, MAGNUS – I WILL MAKE THEM PAY!’
Norway, 1942. War rages, and, under cover of darkness, Rumi Orlstad and her fellow resistance fighters smuggle British agents, fugitives and supplies across the North Sea into Nazi-occupied territory.
One night, when he braves a storm to complete an ill-fated mission, Rumi’s fiancé is lost to the dangerous waters. Broken-hearted, she withdraws from the clandestine group, vowing never to let her loved ones put themselves in the line of fire again.
But months later, Rumi stumbles across a Nazi secret that lays Hitler’s plans for Norway bare, and she knows she has no choice but to risk her life for her country once more.
She has lost everything to the Nazis. But now she fights back…
Mandy Robotham’s books are based on historical fiction, usually set during the Nazi period, except one book. This latest book, The Resistance Girl is set in Nordic region this time, in Norway about a brave and courageous girl named Rumi who fought against the Nazis and saving her friend, Anya and British fugitives and allies from the Nazis. Rumi lost her husband but she would do anything to oppose the Nazi regime.
Like all Mandy Robotham’s books, her books are always centered on the female protagonists who are brave, courageous and would do anything to risk their own lives. Rumi is such person and would do anything to her country, as loyal as she is and could be labeled as one of the true heroines of WWII. The story is set in 1942 when Norway fell under the Nazi regime. For all this time, I was reading books about Nazi regime based in Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Germany and Italy so this book based in Norway during WWII is completely new to me. The author must have done tremendous research on the lifestyle in the seas near Norway. I was immediately drawn into the story as the author has done a good job of making Rumi stand out in the story.
Overall, this book will make you hook into the story and is an unputdownable emotional historical fiction that will keep you up all night–worth five stars!
Date published:- will be published on March 24th 2022
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:- 2.5/5 stars
Everyone said she was the prettiest flower girl. But now her dress lies on the floor. It’s wet and torn, her shoes are lost. ‘Tell us what happened to you?’ her daddy sobs. Christine shakes her head. All she can remember are the red rose petals scattering like drops of blood spilling to the ground.
When Christine Lewis was a little girl, she witnessed something terrible at a wedding and buried it so deep in her memory, she managed to forget it ever happened.
Years later, Jessica Newman walks into the successful advertising agency Christine runs with her husband. Jessica is beautiful and excellent at her job but her presence triggers disturbing memories for Christine. Fragments of the wedding are starting to flicker in her mind and an unexplainable ball of dread begins to form in Christine’s stomach. Jessica is slowly beginning to destroy Christine’s marriage and her business. Why can’t anyone else see it?
Christine and Jessica’s lives were connected long before they set eyes on one another. But in unlocking the mystery of what happened at the wedding all those years ago, is Christine prepared for the truth she’s about to find?
When Christine was a little girl, she witnessed something horrifying but couldn’t remember what it was. Years later, Christine is working in a company when Jessica Newman enters into her life. Through Christine’s hazy memory, she couldn’t place Jessica but feel suspicious of her. Jessica slowly enters into her life and slowly breaks Christine’s marriage and slowly take over the company. Then Christine undergoes a hypnotherapy session and soon she slowly regains her memory in which Jessica may be involved…
The plot was good, the writing was great. But unfortunately, this wasn’t as interesting as I thought it should be. Maybe it was just me but it wasn’t as fast paced thriller as I thought it should be. Not much of twists and turns you would normally expect in a thriller and there were some parts where it was boring. However, I have to send, the ending was good–not great but good. Overall, in my opinion, this was an OK thriller, not a thing to die for.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Laura Elliot lives in Malahide, a picturesque, coastal village in Dublin, Ireland. She enjoys writing psychological thrillers and, to date, she has written nine novels: The Thorn Girl, The Wife Before Me, Guilty, Sleep Sister, The Betrayal, Fragile Lies, Stolen Child ( also titled On Your Doorstep) The Prodigal Sister (also titled The Lost Sister) and her most recent novel, The Silent House.
In the UK she is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Avon, and by Grand Central Publishing in the US. Her novels have also been widely translated.
AKA June Considine, she has written twelve books for children and young adults. In her earlier career, she worked as a journalist and magazine editor.
Date published:- will be published on March 29th 2022
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Two families. One house swap. A vacation to die for.
The white-washed Italian villa is perfect. I thought it might feel odd, living in a stranger’s house for the summer, but as my husband and children swim in the infinity pool, I start to relax. And then, in the back of a wardrobe, I find something that shatters everything…
Sparkling green eyes, square jaw, lopsided smile. A young man with his arm around a beautiful woman. The picture is old and faded but I’d recognise him anywhere. The man is my husband.
But we’ve never met the family we’ve swapped homes with and my husband swears it isn’t him in the photo. He’s lying. We argue on the balcony with the sun setting behind us and I storm out.
When I finally calm down enough to go back to the villa to confront him, I find his dead body sprawled across the veranda.
Who killed my husband? Was our marriage a lie? And are my children now in terrible danger?
Shalini Boland has done it again!
Niall and Beth decides to go on a holiday in Italy by agreeing to do a house swap with another family–the Mason family. Amber and Renzo moves to Niall’s and Beth’s small cottage while Niall and Beth with their children moves to white washed villa in Italy with a breathtaking view. But things don’t really go according to the plan when Beth discovers a secret that will threaten her marriage with Niall.
The story is told from the perspectives of Beth and Amber, each recounting their version of the story. From start to finish, the story is fast paced packed with twists and turns that come along the way. Beth’s marriage to Niall, Amber’s marriage to Renzo and their own relationships with their children is outline in the story. I was kept at the edge of the seat as I read this book, wondering what is going to happen next as I read the book. The story then picks up its pace when Niall was found dead and the ending of the story left me so breathless that I actually couldn’t believe that it was how the story ended! This is the fourth book I have rea from this author and looking forward to read more of her books!
Overall, The Family Holiday is an unputdownable thriller that will keep you at the edge of the seat–worth five stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Date published:- will be published on 15th March 2022
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Three-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter’s day, and nothing is as it seems…
It’s the phone call every mother dreads.
I’m climbing into the car after a trip to the grocery store. As the engine starts, my phone rings. It’s my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie.
‘I only went upstairs for a second,’ she says through her sobs. ‘She’s gone.’
I race home to find my blue-eyed baby girl missing, and my heart ripped out of my chest.
When the police turn up, Shelby’s story starts to unravel. What is she hiding?
Then I get a message saying, ‘Your husband is not who you think he is.’ Could he be lying?
Suddenly, my family feel like strangers. Everyone has a secret – even me.
No one knows why I was late coming back from the store, and the guilt I’ve been feeling ever since…
Once the truth comes out, all of our lies exposed, will it be too late to save my precious child?
Another one of those fast paced thrillers that will put you at the edge of the seat, by Nicole Trope!
Shelby is twelve years old and is asked to babysit her three-year-old half-sister Millie. But while babysitting, Millie goes missing.
The story is told from the perspectives of Leslie (Millie’s mother and Shelby’s stepmother), Shelby and a woman named Ruth, who seemed to be obsessed with Millie’s disappearance. From the start of the chapter, when Millie goes missing to the end, the story is fast paced, packed with twists and turns that you wouldn’t even expect! The story started getting more tense in the middle of the story and boy, the ending was completely unexpected. Kudos to the author for keeping the reader at the edge of the seat while reading this thriller! I stayed up all night reading the book, wondering what is going to happen–will Millie be ever found? Did someone kill her? What really happened to her? And finally all those questions were answered at the end!
Overall, if you like reading fast paced thrillers that will keep you up all night, an uputdownable thriller that will keep you at the edge of the seat, then this book is one for you–worth five stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. She went on to publish a further five novels in Australia before joining Bookouture in 2019. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children
A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love.
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Seventeen-year-old Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Though the teenager has been told she’s dying, she still has plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.
As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years. Though their days are dwindling, both are determined to leave their mark on the world. With the help of Lenni’s doting palliative care nurse and Father Arthur, the hospital’s patient chaplain, Lenni and Margot devise a plan to create one hundred paintings showcasing the stories of the century they have lived—stories of love and loss, of courage and kindness, of unexpected tenderness and pure joy.
Though the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.
Delightfully funny and bittersweet, heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot reminds us of the preciousness of life as it considers the legacy we choose to leave, how we influence the lives of others even after we’re gone, and the wonder of a friendship that transcends time.
I absolutely ADORED this book!!!! I have to RECOMMEND this book if you still haven’t read this book.
Lenni Pettersson is a teenager living in the Terminal Ward at Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Knowing that she only have a few more days left to live, she joins an arts and crafts club, where she meets eight-three year old Margot, a purple pajama wearing fruit cake loving rebel who transforms Lenni. The friendship between Lenni and Margot develops and they are both determined to leave mark on this earth–with the help of Lenni’s doting nurse and Father Arthur, the two decides to create one hundred painting showcasing their lives along the way,
This book reminded me a little of a Fault in the Stars but in a different way. Both the stories of Lenni and Margot captivated me, particularly Margot’s story as we see Margot through her childhood years during the war period, to her adult year until to her older years. There were some funny parts in the book that will make you burst out laughing but there are some heartbreaking and emotional parts in the book that will make you the reader cry! The ending is so sad and tear jerking that I almost cried reading the end! The writing was captivating, and the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story! I so enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to read more of her books!
If you haven’t read this book yet, go and on and start reading! The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot will capture your heart! Worth five stars!
Hello, I’m Marianne Cronin, author of ‘The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot’. Welcome to my Amazon Author page!
Lenni and Margot took me seven years to write and I’m very excited that their story is now reaching readers here on Amazon.
Before I started working on writing fiction full-time, I spent my days in academia, writing things that nobody wanted to read (not even my mum!). I have a PhD in Applied Linguistics but I don’t use the title ‘Dr’ on official documents because I’m scared of being asked to help in a medical emergency and having only a thesis on linguistics to help.
I like to write at night and I like to be alone when I do. When I’m not writing, I can be found trying to be funny in various improv groups or watching my recently-adopted cat sleeping under my desk.
Bonus fact just for Amazon readers: When I was a student, I worked as a background extra in two Bollywood films. I needed the money, but what I really gained was a fun fact about myself. One of the films is currently streaming on Netflix and I’m not going to say what it’s called.
(You can find me on Instagram, @itsmariannecronin)
Date published:- will be published on March 17th 2022
Publisher:- Bookouture
Genre:- Women’s Fiction
Rating:- 2.5/5
Nora thought two weeks in a stunning villa in the south of France would be the perfect treat for the family she adores. She pictured them tucking into buttery croissants every morning before long days lounging by the sparkling pool. It’s probably too much to hope that it might heal the rifts growing between them, but she can’t wait to count the freckles collecting on the kids’ innocent smiling faces and feel the warm Mediterranean Sea wash all her fears away.
But Nora is nervous as she gathers everyone around the large oak table on the villa’s vine-covered terrace. Her daughters eye her suspiciously as she tops up her wine with a shaking hand and clears her throat to speak. The secret she’s about to tell will shatter their lives forever…
A heartbreaking and totally addictive page-turner about motherhood at its best, and its worst, and the lies we tell to protect the ones we love. Anyone who adores Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult and Kerry Fisher will stay up all night reading.
The front cover looked appealing, and this was initially labeled as mystery/thriller. But this was more a family drama between a mother and two daughters.
Nora invites her daughters, Libby and Emma and their families to spend the vacation at a villa in France. During their stay in the villa, a secret is soon revealed that threaten to ruin the relationships between each of the family members.
OK, initially, I thought this was a mystery/thriller but I realized this book was more of a family drama book. The story is told from the perspectives of Nora the mother, and the two daughters, Libby and Emma. I hate to say this but I found this book boring to me. Too much of mindless senseless dialogues and I was slightly confused to the story…but maybe, it was just me. The ending though predictable was slightly emotional but nonetheless, I felt like this was more like a family drama soap opera.
Overall, if you like a book based on family drama, this book maybe one for you. I do like the books based on family drama but this was not my cup of tea. Worth 2.5 stars.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Clare lives with her husband and their two daughters in Surrey, where her little green shed at the bottom of the garden provides a haven for her writing life. Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold.
Clare’s books LITTLE LIAR, THREE SECRETS, HER CLOSEST FRIEND, MY PERFECT WIFE and THE PRETTY ONE are published by Bookouture and are available to buy now.
Date published:- will be published on March 17th 2022
Publisher:- Avon
Genre:- Psychological Thriller
Rating:-
Someone is watching her. She just doesn’t know it yet.
Nell Sweeney has led an ordinary life. Every day she walks to and from the hospital where she works as a nurse, believing that no harm can befall her.
Until one day she is taken.
Because someone out there has a secret. Someone out there has been watching Nell – and they’ve been watching others like her too.
Nell is the unlucky one – she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And if she isn’t found soon, someone will make sure that she isn’t the last woman to disappear…
The Nurse by Claire Allan is a fast paced thriller that will hook you into the story from the first chapter itself.
Marian and Stephen Sweeney are happily married with a daughter Nell who is independent and works as a nurse. One day, Marian gets a call from Nell’s roommate that Nell hasn’t been seen around for a few days and that she didn’t even go to work, which is highly unlikely of her. Someone has been watching Nell and that someone has a deep dark secret.
This is the first book I have read from this author and actually, this story was really good. There were some twists and turns along the way, with a fast paced theme that will draw the reader into the story. Besides the family drama of Marian dealing with her daughter’s disappearance, there is also the dark story of that “someone” who gets into a wrong type of group. The story is told from the perspectives of Marian, “the someone” and Nell, who is describing her situation as a kidnapped person. Overall, to me, I stayed up all night, reading this book, trying to see who this “someone” is and what will happen in the end! This was actually a really good fast paced thriller that will not disappoint anyone!
Worth five stars in my opinion!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Claire Allan is a Northern Irish author who lives in Derry~Londonderry.
She worked as a staff reporter for the Derry Journal for 17 years, covering a wide array of stories from court sessions, to the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday, health and education and human interest features.
She wrote her first novel in 2006, to mark her 30th birthday and it (Rainy Days and Tuesdays) was subsequently published and became an instant bestseller in 2007.
Claire wrote seven further women’s fiction novels between 2007 and 2015. In 2016 (when she turned 40) she decided to change genre and try her had at domestic noir. Her first domestic noir novel, Her Name Was Rose was published by Avon/ HarperCollins in 2018 and became a bestseller in the UK, Canada, Australia and was a USA Today bestseller.
It was subsequently nominated in the Dead Good Reader Awards in 2019.
Claire has followed up on the success of Her Name Was Rose with Apple of My Eye and Forget Me Not.
Her next novel, The Liar’s Daughter, will be published in 2020.
She is working on a fifth psychological thriller at present.
Claire still lives in Derry with her husband, two children, two cats and a very spoiled puppy.
Hello all! Today I decided to select books that has diverse characters in it. Diverse characters means where at least one of the main characters in the book belongs to a minority race.
So here’s my list
Hana Khan Carries on – Uzma Jalaludin
2. Take A Hint- Dani Brown – Talia Hibbert
3. Dial A For Aunties – Jesse Q Sutanto
4. Tokyo Ever After – Emiko Jean
5. The Children’s Secret – Nina Monroe
6. Arsenic and Adobo – Mia P. Manansala
7. Firekeeper’s Daughter – Angeline Boulley
8. The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams
9. The Arctic Curry Club – Dani Redd
10. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow – Laura Taylor Namey
Tropical Girl Reads 