December Giveaway is now live

Hey guys I am so sorry it is the 15th of December and that is us just getting the competition up. We have had loads going on and this is the first chance.

As it is the run up to Christmas we have also been sorting the house, we love all the Christmas tat. Whilst I haven't had much time we are on our next festive read, "Murder At Holly House" by Denzil Meyrick.

For December because it is the middle of the month so I am just going to do a £15 Amazon voucher giveaway. I do apologise as these are UK only as Amazon won't allow me to gift outside my country. I will get a giveaway sorted that is open to all but I need to play it by ear, between visiting, prepping for Christmas, working and jugglig some other stuff. Tonight I am off & tomorrow so aiming to catch up on reviews, house stuff. chill, book, dp just all the wee bits/self care.

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Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose

Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a week

Pages - 517

Publisher - Headline

Source - Netgalley and bought copy

Blurb from Goodreads

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose comes another explosive novel in the New Orleans series, where some secrets are worth dying for—or killing to keep.

Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

Employed as the nighttime security guard of Broussard Private Investigations, Phineas Bishop has been working through overwhelming PTSD episodes from his Army service while still utilizing his military skills. But when a violent break-in occurs at the office, the accusatory eyes of the NOPD glance to Phin, and he resolves to track down the intruder and clear his name.

Phin’s only lead and witness is Cora Winslow, a spirited librarian who also needs answers. Her father’s body has been discovered under a recently demolished building, murdered twenty-three years ago. So, who has been sending her the handwritten letters—written and signed by him—every year since she was five? Someone wants to keep Cora in the dark. And now, they’re coming for her.

As Cora’s bodyguard, Phin is surprised by his fondness for the woman’s fierce determination and research prowess. But New Orleans’s Garden District holds secrets as old as the streets themselves. With help from the entire Broussard P.I. team, Phin and Cora enter a labyrinth of fraud and homicide that threatens to bury them all.


My Review

The book opens with a shooting/execution then flips forward to present day Phineas Bishop is recovering/dealing with PTSD - working security at Broussard Private Investigations. When Cora J Winslow comes into the office needing help, her father has been found dead, died over 20 years ago however Cora has been getting letters from him all this time. The police aren't interested and soon Cora is being hunted and targeted but she doesn't know why. Phineas becomes her bodyguard, the squad take on her case and starts digging, what could be driving someone to hunt Cora and what is it she has that they want?

As with Rose books we always have a bit of spice, this one only has a little less than I remember from the others but still if you haven't read her before this is your heads up, there is some spice! We split between Cora and co and the bad guy so as the reader we are clued in a bit to what is going down.

This is book 3 of the New Orleans series, I don't know if I have read the previous ones and if I have it has been a while so you can absolutely read it as a standalone. There are themes and scenes with behaviours relating to PTSD and the long lasting/reaching affects it has, not only on the individual but their loved ones and daily life.

I do enjoy Rose books and I like how we have characters that have been in other series or maybe I am just thinking of the previous book(s), I need to check my blog/Goodreads, 4/5.

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A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane

A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 358

Publisher - Hera

Source - Review copy & bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A mother will stop at nothing to protect her family

Cheryl Davidson was happy with husband Leo, watching her beloved son, Dean, grow into a handsome young man, dreaming of the paths his life would take, the grandchildren he would bring home.

Until the day that Dean was murdered, his body dumped in an isolated scrapyard with a bullet in his head, and Cheryl’s world exploded.

Discovering that Dean had been mixed up in the underworld of the Glasgow crime world, and worst of all, that Leo had brought him in, means that Cheryl’s sanity is hanging by a thread.

Overwhelmed by grief and with no one left to trust, Cheryl plans to take deadly retribution on the family that caused her son to be killed, vowing that they should suffer her same pain.

Cheryl might be up against the formidable Janey Hallahan, the woman who runs Glasgow gangland with guns and fear, but Janey and the Hallahans might discover that a grieving mother with nothing to lose might be the most dangerous opponent of all…

A heart-stopping, gritty gangland thriller that fans of Kimberley Chambers and Jacqui Rose won't be able to put down.



My Review

This is marked as a standalone BUT it does feature characters from the previous book, you can read this as a standalone but I absolutely recommend reading "Two Sisters". Cheryl Davidson is a woman on a mission, her son has been murdered, she blames her husband and his boss, if it wasn't for him/them Dean would still be alive. She doesn't just blame them, she blames Janey and her grand daughter Molly Rose and they are the full focus for her revenge. How do you get close to a female gangster type? Cheryl has a plan in place and she will get her revenge and take all of Janey's family down.

Guys this one, like the previous has some really shady ugly awful characters, there is people trafficking and all the abuse that goes with it, drugs, violence, murder, it is a full bag! Janey is reeling and still trying to recover after being run off the road, the love of her life is in a coma, one daughter gone, another in rehab and Molly Rose it trying to get back to normal. A new threat is coming, they are looking over their shoulder constantly trying to figure out who is after them.

The book is quite fast paced, there is always something going on, some skulduggery, revenge plan. In amongst that and themes of recovery we have Cheryl who is slowly falling apart, torn up by her grief and driven by her rage and thirst for revenge we follow her as she pursues justice for her son.

The depths of depravity, people using and abusing others for profit and getting their kicks, despite it being fiction I think because you know stuff like this goes on in parts of the world, you are hoping for retribution, 4/5.

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A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas

A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 757

Publisher - Bloomsbury Publisher

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she's struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can't seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre's Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta's orbit. But her temper isn't the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other's arms.


My Review

This book is hugely Nesta's story - don't get me wrong the others do feature especially Cassian but mainly they two. If you haven't read the previous four please do, you get much more out of them and clarity of the situation and characters. Nesta has been on a path of self destruction, time for intervention is here and man is she raging! Forced by Feyre she now lives in the house that is 10,000 steps back to the village and she can't winnow in and out so is completely at the mercy of the others. Cassian is to train her, no alcohol is allowed and Nesta is furious. Furious and self loathing from what previously transpired and ptsd, clearly there is a spark with Cassian but Nesta refuses to acknowledge anything, remaining on her path of self destruction.

If you aren't familiar with the books well there is a lot of spice AND body fluids, man do they love their fluids so you have been warned lol! Nesta really ripped my knittin and I know some will relate to the self destructive behaviour but she really is her own worst enemy at times and has a spiteful mouth on her! That being said I did warm a wee bit to her, she has been through a lot and loathes herself so has more than a few chips on her shoulder.

The whole will they won't they, reluctance to do anything and slowly dealing with her own issues, making acquaintances and dare I say, friends, Nesta thinks she isn't entitled to anything good so it is quite the journey. Can we please talk about the house, I LOVE that house, I have always had a thing about magical houses, furniture/objects with any kind of brain power, personality AND magic, I blame Beauty and the beast, Bedknobs and broomsticks etc and fling in a love of books, I was hooked.

There is a lot of sexism, predatory behaviour from some of the males in the book, referred to traumas females have suffered/survived from males. I loved how brave the library ladies are and as much as Nesta royally annoyed me for probably three quarters of the book she also made me laugh with some of her sass, exasperated by her self sabotage and spiteful tongue but she also has some metal. 4.5/5 for me, this was my first series by this author - I am sure I have at least one other book by her, not sure which series or number but will absolutely be reading her again!

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In The Blink of An Eye by Jo Callaghan Blog Tour

Today is my stop for the blog tour "In The Blink Of An Eye" by Jo Callaghan.

For my stop I have my review, enjoy. The book is available to buy, link HERE for Amazon UK.

In the Blink of An Eye by Jo Callaghan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 416

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - bought/review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds.
Just gone. Vanished. In the blink of an eye.

DCS Kat Frank knows all about loss. A widowed single mother, Kat is a cop who trusts her instincts. Picked to lead a pilot programme that has her paired with AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock, Kat's instincts come up against Lock's logic. But when the two missing person's cold cases they are reviewing suddenly become active, Lock is the only one who can help Kat when the case gets personal.

AI versus human experience.
Logic versus instinct.
With lives on the line can the pair work together before someone else becomes another statistic?

In the Blink of an Eye is a dazzling debut from an exciting new voice and asks us what we think it means to be human.



My Review

Debut novel and a pretty new fresh idea/spin on police investigation. DCS Kat Frank is just back at work after being off, she has had a lot to deal with and now windowed and mum to a teenage boy. Work is rolling out a new AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) - trialling an AI "detective" Locke (he is a programme that generates a learning interactive hologram that can be present or removed and interacting via a wrist strap). Locke can process and access hundred of thousands, millions even, items of information in a fraction of the time human detectives can. So what could go wrong? Well Locke may be learning as it/he goes but he interacts in real time so makes a few faux pas with the human side of interaction. Kat being so angry at the reliance upon machines makes her the perfect person to pair/pilot this system with. They are looking at cold cases which may not be quite as cold as you think, dun dun dun.

So for Locke, think a bit like Sheldon Cooper of the big bang theory, he misses certain social ques and assesses everything clinically, I mean he is a machine. However because of his uniqueness he processes and learns as he goes so that is pretty interested to read as it develops. The fact that Kat is so against/distrustful gives a great contrast especially with how Locke reacts to her compared to the team.

Missing youngsters, interviews with families, suspicion of self harm/termination is considered and the interviews with the parents of those from the cold cases is a tad emotional. I smirked a little at bits and laughed out loud at others, some of Locke's behaviour/commentary, ooft - but I also felt for those in the book and Kat as we learn more about her and her adjusting after a period off work.

The book is fresh, different, dark in areas but also laced with humour, I am absolutely looking forward to book two and seeing where the story heads next. I am hoping this is going to be a series because I think this has great potential and breathing a breath of fresh air into - book two is out and our review will be coming soon, 4/5.

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Hideaway by Dean Koontz

Hideaway by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Pages - 413

Publisher - Mass Market Paperback

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Strange visions plague a man after he survives a near-death experience in this chilling thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.

Surviving a car accident on a snowy mountain road is miraculous for Lindsey Harrison, but even more so for her husband, Hatch, who was clinically dead for eighty minutes.

After experimental procedures bring Hatch back to life, he awakens with the terrifying feeling that something is it out there . But it soon becomes apparent that the evil stalking Hatch is within him—a dark force of murderous rage that hides within us all...


My Review

Lindsey and her hubby Hatch are plunged into a freezing river, Hatch is clinically dead for eight minutes. However a doc has been working on Resuscitation with his specialised team to bring back people after they have been clinically dead for longer than the normal resuc time. Hatch is a perfect candidate and things are looking up. There is a sadistic depraved killer on the loose, not only is he killing and desecrating the bodies but he believes he is more than human and desperate to get back into Hell. When Hatch is back living his life he starts getting horrific and terrifying visions, seeing through the eyes of the killer. If Hatch can see into the killer, can the killer see through him and is he and or his family at risk?

The book is different, the resus stuff was interesting to read and different. The killer is a shocking vile creep, zero regard for human life and the more he desecrates the body as an offering to the devil the more chance he feels he has getting back into Hell, the only place he feels he has ever really belonged.

It is a different type of book, a mix of medicine and revival (only for the start of the book really), the sadistic serial killer and his killing spree, the visions between the two. Hatch trying to get back to normal, both him and his wife had been lost in grief and now they have a new lease of life & look to bring another into their family who btw I absolutely loved, sassy.

Bit of a mixed bag but I liked it, creepy, eerie and a bit of everything mixed in, 4/5.

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The Long and Winding Road by Lesley Pearse

The Long and Winding Road: the extraordinary life story of Lesley Pearse by Lesley Pearse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days (in and out as able)

Pages - 351

Publisher - Michael Joseph

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

One of the world’s bestselling storytellers, Lesley Pearse writes brilliantly about survivors. Why? Because she is one herself . . .

Born during the Second World War, Lesley’s innocence came to an abrupt end when a neighbour found her, aged 3, coatless in the snow. The mother she’d been unable to wake had been dead for days. Sent to an orphanage, Lesley soon learned adults couldn’t always be trusted.

As a teenager in the swinging sixties, she took herself to London. Here, the second great tragedy of her life occurred. Falling pregnant, she was sent to a mother and baby home, and watched helplessly as her newborn was taken from her.

But like so many of her generation, Lesley had to carry on. She was, after all, a true survivor. Marriage and children followed – and all the while she nurtured a dream: to be a writer. Yet it wasn’t until at the age of 48 that her stories – of women struggling in a difficult world – found a publisher, and the bestseller lists beckoned.

As heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, Lesley’s story really is A Long and Winding Road with surprises and uplifting hope around every corner . . .



My Review

Pearse has been writing books and taking us on adventures for years, now, this is her story and my what a life it has been so far. The tale opens so sad, her and her brother are found out in the garden, cold, no jackets and in the snow. Their mum having died a few days earlier, her and her brother are split up before finally being reunited with their dad, his new wife and new sister. We then follow Lesley's life growing up, experimenting, marriage, kids, drugs/dabbling, jobs and through to her writing journey and pretty much present day.

I think what makes this different to a lot of the other memoirs we have read is obviously Lesley's childhood, war/post war and growing up in such a different time. Then she has brushed shoulders with a few famous names and had quite a journey with a whole array of people/circumstances. Good people, not so good people, the nicer and not so nice examples of humanity.

There is quite a few emotive parts too, women getting pregnant back then and what happened to them with no husbands/fathers around. Forced adoptions and abuse of those vulnerable young ladies pregnant and their family having turned their backs on them. Pearse wasn't quite in that boat but did still find herself vulnerable and on a path that had lasting effects.

Also folk taking advantage in different situations, Pearse is nobody's fool but even she found herself on the disadvantage of circumstances. That made her push on and always come through but ooft I just wanted to reach out and hug her more than a few times. Honest, raw, emotive and so so many adventures - it is no wonder her books draw you in as she has such a wealth of experience and researches otherwise, she gives us a wee insight into her publishing journey and achievements also, 4.5/5 for me, what a woman!

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