Come Back For Me by Heidi Perks Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for "Come Back For Me" by Heidi Perks, this is the last day of the tour, please check out the other stops as we all offer different content.





Come Back For Me by Heidi Perks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Cornerstone

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

A shocking discovery.
An island wrapped in secrets.

A tiny island community is stunned by the discovery of a long-buried body.

For Stella Harvey, the news is doubly shocking: the body was found in the garden of her childhood home.

The home her family fled without explanation twenty-five years ago.

Now, questioning her past and desperate to unearth the truth, Stella returns to the isolated Dorset island. But she quickly finds that the community she left isn’t as welcoming as she remembers – and that people in it will go to any length to protect their secrets.

But one thing rings true…
You can’t bury the truth forever.


My Review


Stella and her family had to leave the island when she was just a little girl, late in the middle of the night, dangerous weather to be sailing. No explanation, no looking back, now twenty five years later a body has been found in her garden. After seeing it on the news Stella HAS to go back to the island to try and get some answers. Islands are notorious for keeping things private and Stella is no longer one of them, will she get any answers or wish she had never gone looking in the first place?

We flip between then, when Stella and her family lived on the island and the run up to what made them leave to present day, Stella trying to make sense of her past and going to the island, trying to get answers. From the beginning we know something isn't right, her relationship with her sister is questionable, she doesn't come across as a very nice person. She is pretty rude, curt or dismissive yet Stella continues to be her strongest support. Her father can't give her much in the way of information so the island is her only option.

I think many can relate to Stella, in parts, the needing to know, the longing for the place you grew up even if you have been away from it longer than you lived there. When we get to the island it becomes a wee bit "we only like locals" and she gets no support from home either. I really felt for her, I would want to know too, reconnect with old friends and families. I would even want to go back to my old home and have a look, well maybe not if they found a body!

You feel, well I did, there is something big going on that Stella has unwittingly found herself drawn into but as well as the whole there is a body it is her personal journey. The need for closure, re-connection, relationships lacking or missing in her adult life I felt that was what urged her back to the island. I do like a mystery/thriller where you know there is skulduggery and some kind of danger hinted or looming but I think it a great thing when the author interweaves a personal side to it all.

Islands and small communities always have secrets, Stella is desperate to find out what theirs is, loyalty is huge and sometimes some people will do anything to protect a secret. Whilst I can't say I loved any of the characters I did sink into their lives and feel as much frustration as Stella to uncover the mystery of her old home and her family. This was my first dance with this author, it won't be ,my last, 4/5 for me this time. A psychological thriller with lots of family drama, dynamics, relationships, secrets and what can happen when you don't let go of the past!

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My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour and closing it for My Name is Anna, debut novel by author Lizzy Barber, please check out the other stops if you haven't already.



You can find Lizzy on Twitter and her website





My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Century

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

Two women – desperate to unlock the truth.
How far will they go to lay the past to rest?

ANNA has been taught that virtue is the path to God. But on her eighteenth birthday she defies her Mamma’s rules and visits Florida’s biggest theme park.
She has never been allowed to go – so why, when she arrives, does everything seem so familiar? And is there a connection to the mysterious letter she receives on the same day?
ROSIE has grown up in the shadow of the missing sister she barely remembers, her family fractured by years of searching without leads.Now, on the fifteenth anniversary of her sister’s disappearance, the media circus resumes in full flow, and Rosie vows to uncover the truth.
But will she find the answer before it tears her family apart?


My Review

Anna has just reached her eighteenth year, instead of celebrating like a normal eighteen year old she is inspecting her skin for dirt/dust. Anna's mother has taught her about God and they both know cleanliness is next to Godliness, birthday or not she mustn't forget what is important. But Anna is troubled, she is having recurrent dreams/memories/thoughts of another time, another person? But who or what and why is it becoming more and more insistent. When she disobeys her mother and goes off on a jaunt with her boyfriend Anna may get more answers than she could have bargained for. Meet Rosie, plagued by her sisters disappearance, constant whispers, media interest always the other sister, Rosie just wants normality. Now on the anniversary of her sisters disappearance this is the last push for someone to come forward and Rosie is more driven this year than ever to find out what happened.

The chapters alternate between the two girls, poor Anna, living with her mother has echos of Carrie (Stephen King). Religious, OCD, minimalism it is clear Anna's mother is a bit of a complex character and this has impacted on poor Anna. Rosie is equally complex, having lived in her missing sister's shadow, watched the strain on her parents her own mental health has suffered. Self harm in many ways Rosie has tried to power through every single day of life figuring out who she is, other than the other sister.

The book tackles a few issues, some of which I can't comment on without spoiling and I never do spoilers. Mental and emotional health, survival, adapting to stunted social growth, family, secrets, lies, abuse, death, betrayal are just some of the themes. The reader knows early on the jist of what has transpired and now, fifteen years on how everyone is getting on. Despite this the book has many surprised and when you think you know everything Barber throws another curve ball.

I think the real hold in this story is just how believable it all is, I am sure if you trawl the news you will find many cases like this. It is the impact each of these happenings have on the characters, the ripple effect how one event impacts on another and on and on. It took me a wee bit to get into the character jumping but once I did I didn't want to leave either as I so wanted to know what happened next. Hooks you from early on, turning page after page to find out what happens next! A strong debut that has this reader excited to see what she will bring to the table next, one to watch for for sure, 4/5 for me this time!

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