What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2.5 days

Pages - 416

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Netgalley and bought a copy

Blurb from Goodreads

One Day meets a contemporary Bridgerton in this high-drama, escapist wonder of a love story, Paige Toon’s best yet.

Three days to fall in love. Six years to try to forget.

Ellie didn’t expect to fall in love while interrailing through Europe. But she also didn’t expect to meet a man like Ash. Three blistering days in Lisbon is all it takes to form an unforgettable connection—a bond deep enough for them to scrap their itineraries and plan to meet again in Spain. But Ellie arrives late, and Ash is nowhere to be found.

Six years later, Ellie has landed her dream job working as a gardener for a viscount and viscountess on their sprawling five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales. She finds peace amongst the towering topiary hedges and colorful gardens, but her idyll is shattered when Ash crashes back into her life. And when it becomes clear why he didn’t show in Madrid, her heart breaks anew—for what the truth means for her, and for his fate.

But they have never been able to resist each another, and when the sparks of their attraction fly, Ellie’s life will catch flame. She will have to make a choice.


My Review

Ellie is interrailing (I think of it as backpacking but not sure if there is an actual difference), trying to deal with stuff and personal growth. When she meets Ash she has no intention of dating, she is dealing with a whole host of stuff but then Ash, beautiful Ash and her just click. For three days in Lisbon love blossoms and they make plans to meet and travel together. Typical something happens and they don't meet, she is late and he isn't there when she arrives. Six years of struggling with the loss of what could have been, her family expectations and everything her and Ash had she does something for herself and gets her dream job. Just as everything is going perfectly Ash crashes back into her life, everything is turned upside down, there is a lot of hurt, questions and barriers you could not begin to imagine but what they felt all those years ago still burns, in them both. What do you do when you are pulled together like moths to a flame but everything is stacked against you?

Aw guys, so I have read a Paige Toon ages ago (I checked Goodreads, 2012!) so when we got the chance to read this one, clickity click! I am a sucker for a romance and who hasn't had either a holiday romance or the old one who got away. Coupled with that you have so many family issues, on both the main characters, Ash and Ellie, parental expectations, keeping up with the Joneses . With this one we have a wee bit of classism, societal divides for example the gardeners at Ellies new job, they all work at this beautiful prestigious 500 year old estate but there is a tone between other hired staff and the gardeners.

When Elli and Ash finally find each other again, especially after six long years there is so much to unwrap! I loved the will they won't they, the barriers flung between them, the shady attitude especially exhibited by Ash's dad and one of the help at the house. People can be absolute bangers, snobbery and how folk treat each other, even Ellie's parent's, despite not being in the book much their impact they have on Ellie is huge and far reaching.

A tale of love, near misses, societal barriers, travel, family, relationships, friendships and following your heart and dreams. At one point I had goosebumps, a few moments of NOOOOOO what are you doing! As I said I have only read one of Toon's books before this and will be getting more, 4.5/5 from us.

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Wish You were Here by Jodi Picoult

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 319

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Amazon

Contains an exclusive short story from Jodi Picoult featuring the main character, Diana, available in the first print run only. Pre-order now to guarantee your copy!

Diana O'Toole's life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she's up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and she's about to fly to the Galápagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.

But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees.

Once she's in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live.

But not everything is as it seems . . .


My Review

Covid has well and truly hit, Diana O'Toole and her doctor boyfriend and meant to be going on holiday. The hospitals are struggling and Finn encourages Diana to go the non refundable trip of a lifetime alone. Paradise has no signal, Diana ends up stranded in a place she doesn't speak the language with only a troubled teen, her angry dad and helpful gran to get through the days. We hear from Finn back home in broken correspondence from the bits of emails/messages that manages to make it across the seas.

So I know this book won't be for everyone because a lot of people don't want to read about covid. Whilst covid does feature in the book in isn't the whole focus or even the main meat of it. Diana goes on a bit of a person journey, self discovery and growth being stranded, very limited communication from back home. I loved the island she goes to, Picoult paints such a vivid picture you could see the places, smells, animals, just serene!

Then we have the aspects of covid, poor Finn, caught in the midst of it, unable to properly talk to Diana, offload, decompress - the things we do with partners during extreme stress. I think if you aren't in healthcare or haven't been affected by covid this is a fantastic book to let you see the devastation, emotional impact that covid can have, on healthcare, on a person, on relationships, there isn't really anything it doesn't impact upon.

Sometimes Picoult can knock the stuffing out of you in some of what she writes or how she constructs parts of her story. I actually uttered the words out loud "No Waaaaaay" during one part and that my friends is a teaser not a spoiler! I really liked this book, I think she wrote a really hard subject and humanised it by creating the characters the way she did. 4/5 for me this time, I do enjoy Picoult's books and have at least one or two more to catch up on so I have read them all. I need to bump them up the tbrm, this reminded me how much I like her writing!

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One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan

One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Grace has planned the surprise of a lifetime for her husband—a romantic getaway to Paris. But she never expected he’d have a surprise of his own: he wants a divorce. Reeling from the shock but refusing to be broken, a devastated Grace makes the bold decision to go to Paris alone.

Audrey, a young woman from London, has left behind a heartache of her own when she arrives in Paris. A job in a bookshop is her ticket to freedom, but with no money and no knowledge of the French language, suddenly a summer spent wandering the cobbled streets alone seems much more likely…until she meets Grace, and everything changes.

Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. Living in neighboring apartments above the bookshop, this unlikely pair offer each other just what they’ve both been missing. They came to Paris to find themselves, but finding this unbreakable friendship might be the best thing that’s ever happened to them…



My Review

Meet Grace - organizer extraordinaire, super wife and mum, getting ready to celebrate her 25th anniversary with her husband. He has his own surprise, he wants a divorce and like that Grace's world falls apart. Her anniversary trip for them to Paris will not go unused, Grace is going on the holiday of a lifetime to pick up the pieces of her life and face her past and present.

Meet Audrey, a young lady with a harder home life than first appearances, she is good at hiding things. When the opportunity to go to Paris turns up she jumps at it, despite not being able to speak French, she is determined to give it a go.

A chance encounter brings Grace and Audrey into each others paths and a friendship blossoms. Audrey has much she can teach Grace and Grace has much she can offer Audrey. They are both so so very different, age, personality, life styles, attitudes and both exactly what the other needs.

Oh man I was rage at some points, some characters are so oblivious and selfish, infidelity obviously features and this isn't a spoiler - tells you in the blurb. Lots of mixed emotions and its a bit of an emotive rollercoaster, I think depending on what has happened in your own life dear reader will depend on how you are impacted by the book.

Friendship, personal growth, joy, sadness, loss, family oh there are so many themes within the book. I have read Morgan before and I will read her again - I think the book will have mixed reactions from people, again depending on your life experiences but I think pretty much everyone would enjoy it, 4/5 for me!

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Savage by Richard Laymon

Savage by Richard Laymon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - over 4 days

Pages - 437

Publisher - Headline Feature

Source - Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

Whitechapel, November 1888: Jack the Ripper is committing his last known murder and beneath the bed on which he's butchering his victim cowers a fifteen-year-old boy. So begin the adventures of Trevor Bentley: a boy who embarked on an errand of mercy and ended up on a quest for vengeance, a boy who will bring the horrors of the Ripper to the New World.


My Review

Imagine Jack the Ripper had an eye witness to his last slaughter, that witness is fifteen year old Trevor. Trevor gets a first hand account of what Jack is capable of and being the fine young lad he is he can't let Jack carry on, by intervening he changes his own life and those he encounters forever. The first part of the story is Trevor, encountering Jack and how they come to part. Then Jack ends up on a bit of an adventure, a bit of a western, outlaws, coming of age, fighting, shooting, murder and then back to Jack. It was almost two different stories, the part with Jack the Ripper then a few hundred pages of different adventures, growing up, shaves with death and then back to Jack.

For a fifteen year old Trevor has a very good streak of nobleness, righteous and justice - maybe kids where like that back then who knows. It has a bit of a Tom Sawyer I think I want to say, remember Treasure Island type adventures and pirates, jostles with bad guys and growing up? A bit of all that and then one of our worst killers in history.

Certainly different and an interesting take on the old Jack the Ripper but whilst some parts worked well some could have been stronger if left to that vein or split into two separate stories. I have read a few Laymon books and I do like his writing. He carves great characters and sets scenes so vivid you can easily lose yourself in the world he has created, even just a few pages in. 3.5/5 for me this time, I will be buying more of his work!

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America for Beginners by Leah Franqui

America for Beginners by Leah Franqui
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken to read - 4 days

Pages - 320

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Pival Sengupta has done something she never expected: she has booked a trip with the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company. But unlike other upper-class Indians on a foreign holiday, the recently widowed Pival is not interested in sightseeing. She is traveling thousands of miles from Kolkota to New York on a cross-country journey to California, where she hopes to uncover the truth about her beloved son, Rahi. A year ago Rahi devastated his very traditional parents when he told them he was gay. Then, Pival’s husband, Ram, told her that their son had died suddenly—heartbreaking news she still refuses to accept. Now, with Ram gone, she is going to America to find Rahi, alive and whole or dead and gone, and come to terms with her own life.

Arriving in New York, the tour proves to be more complicated than anticipated. Planned by the company’s indefatigable owner, Ronnie Munshi—a hard-working immigrant and entrepreneur hungry for his own taste of the American dream—it is a work of haphazard improvisation. Pival’s guide is the company’s new hire, the guileless and wonderfully resourceful Satya, who has been in America for one year—and has never actually left the five boroughs. For modesty’s sake Pival and Satya will be accompanied by Rebecca Elliot, an aspiring young actress. Eager for a paying gig, she’s along for the ride, because how hard can a two-week "working" vacation traveling across America be?

Slowly making her way from coast to coast with her unlikely companions, Pival finds that her understanding of her son—and her hopes of a reunion with him—are challenged by her growing knowledge of his adoptive country. As the bonds between this odd trio deepens, Pival, Satya, and Rebecca learn to see America—and themselves—in different and profound new ways.



My Review

Meet Pival, stuck in Kolkota, in a home of ritches and so so alone. Her husband has died and left her with servants who don't respect her and unable to make herself a cup of tea if she wished, it must all be through the servants. All Pival wants is to know if it is true, is her son alive or dead in New York? Pival books a trip against everyones advice, she will be accompanied by Satya the tour guide and a paid companion Rebecca. The unlikely trio make the journey together, for them Pival just wants to see America, for Pival it is all about her son.

Before the actual journey and trio meet we get to know the three and who they are, what is going on in their lives and just how very different they are and their lives. Pival is such a lovely lady but has been stifled in her husband's shadow and ruling, now he is gone she needs to rediscover herself and the truth about her son. The chapters flick between the characters and we visit a young homosexual couple who have their own struggles, both individually and as they try to be together and explore their love. Satya comes from nothing, we follow his friendship and background and what brings him to the job he gets which puts him in the path to meet Pival. And lastly young Rebecca, an aspiring actress, she has her own demons and wee follow how fate gets her the opportunity to meet Pival and how the three come together for the second half of the book.

The story is one I am glad I was sent as I may passed this one in the store and that would have been a big miss. There is so much of this tale, for all of the characters go on journey where they are exposed to people they wouldn't normally be. It shapes who they are, their thought process and they all go on a journey of personal growth as well as an actual travelling trip.

I also liked the parts where we follow Pival's journey from her India to America, she has never left there and whilst it doesn't cover a huge part of the book (later part of the story before she actually gets out of India) I liked it. The story delves into so many issues, humanity, culture, personal issues, coping with being gay, a woman trying to find her place once she gets out of the controlling life she has led are just some of the topics. I think Franqui chewed off a lot in tackling this and for me I got to learn a bit about life for Pival, dealing with sexuality, struggling with trying to be an actress, poverty, survival and travel when you have never left your very sheltered life. It is an interesting story and emotive in parts, whilst it did take me a while to settle into it and get used to the characters I did enjoy it. 3.5/5 for me, first dance with this author and I will look out for anything else she brings out.

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Our road trip

So if you follow on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram you will know we took miss paws on her first ever road trip and ticked a few things off her bucket list. Trixie is seventeen, has a lot of health problems and we had to come home on an emergency flight in March as we thought we were going to loose her as she took unwell. I tell you, the trip up north, the country air fair agreed with her. She was up on counters (I haven't seen her do that in years!), actually sprinted three times in one morning and played chasing a light reflection.





She gets really car sick, she was only sick once on the way up and not at all on the drive home. I think the travel cage really seems to help. Look at her wee harness!








I took a fair few books, mostly hardback and my kindle and now catching up with the reviews and prepping blog tours I have agreed to before focusing on work stuff. My foot is getting better and whilst going through intense physio hoping to get back to work soon!





Because I now have the boot off and focusing on the exercises we managed to go a decent walk whilst we were up there. An abandoned building is normally all shut off. This time they have opened a wee path you can walk in to go in so I was delighted to get a wee nosey through it. No miss paws this time and we got caught in the rain but it was so worth it, I love abandoned buildings and whilst we couldn't go inside properly and I certainly couldn't climb anyway I was delighted to get so close.


The sky pictures, if you follow my instagram you will know how much I love them, managed to get a fair few snaps.











We always go up to the tourist shops at John O'Groats and I buy a bookmark, sweets or a book. I saw this and couldn't resist. I used to collect coins as a kid, now it is books/bookmarks and look, a wee wren (I think) on the farthing so I HAD to buy it.





Miss paws is exhausted but I think she had a great trip, I certainly needed a few days away, just some down time, recharge and it is lovely seeing family. I think we will keep up trying to get kitty to see a bit more of the outdoors (she is an indoor cat) as she coped so well out and about. Climbing furniture like a kitten, on the beach and up on her first wall looking like a boss!





So, that has been our adventures, 370 piccys by the way just from the phone - she is the most photographed kitty in the world. Happy 1st of August, I am looking forward to the new shark movie Meg (may even get a chance to re read the book before we see it), it is my birthday this month, I am looking forward to seeing some of my fav humans. Being stuck indoors so much and seeing so little people has been horrific for a gab a minute social butterfly like me. So I am just going to draw the winner for July's comp and I will get August's giveaway prepped and ready to go. Have an amazing August you guys, a fresh new month.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Still Me by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 496

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Borrowed

Blurb from Goodreads

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She is thrown into the world of the superrich Gopniks: Leonard and his much younger second wife, Agnes, and a never-ending array of household staff and hangers-on. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her job and New York life within this privileged world.

Before she knows what's happening, Lou is mixing in New York high society, where she meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. In Still Me, as Lou tries to keep the two sides of her world together, she finds herself carrying secrets--not all her own--that cause a catastrophic change in her circumstances. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you reconcile a heart that lives in two places?



My Review

Oh how I have missed Lou Clark. Guys if you don’t know, this is the third book in a trilogy, if you haven’t read the previous two please do so before reading this, you need it for the back story. Lou (Louisa) has taken the plunge and heading to a new job for a super rich family in New York, Nathan is there and promises there is no hidden secrets like before.

Oh you have to love Lou, she is so down to earth that pretty much everyone can relate to her. She gets in embarrassing situations, says the wrong things, has the same relationship issues with families, partners and puts her foot in it often. This is what makes her so lovable, she is so very human,you cringe for her, you laugh with her and you feel for her.

The new job sees her basically as a companion, go for, sounding board for her new madam who I had very mixed feelings for. Moyes has the ability to bring characters very much to life with their flaws, rudeness, humility and I bloody love the wee dog character, name and attitude!

As well as adjusting to being away from home, surrounded by ridiculous wealth, Lou is trying to juggle a long distance relationship when she meets someone who flings up many feelings from the past. Questioning her relationship, what she wants, dealing with the family dramas of her own and her new employers it is anything but dull for Lou or the readers. I woud have sank this in one sitting had life allowed for it, as it was I just grabbed it every free minute I could. I love the Clarks, I love Lou and I love that Moyes has managed to stay faithful to the heart of the story and the characters which can’t be easy with the third book. 5/5 for me this time, do I want more of Lou and the Clarks? Absolutely but if there is no more to come I am delighted to go back to the three book, Me Before You is one of my all time favourites but the whole trilogy is something special! You can get your hands on this beauty from tomorrow, 25/1/2018.

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Happy birthday to me

Today is my birthday, I am just home after gallivanting around - I went to Amsterdam with the girls and then off for two nights with my o/h around Scotland.


The buildings in Amsterdam are beautiful, some squint and tipped forward, apparently this is because they use pulleys to get heavy goods up to the flats and by tilting the buildings they reduce the risk of damage to the building and furniture.





I found a few bookstores there but only one that sold books printed in English, I ended up buying three, I was restricted as I only had hand luggage with me. I bought The Fireman by Joe Hill, The Rivals of Dracula by Nick Rennison and Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry.





The view from the plane was stunning.








Then driving around Scotland for a wee road trip with the o/h. There was some stunning views, I took my wee TripFiction postcards with us. If you haven't heard of them please check out their website HERE. TripFiction matches up readers to books by locations, it is such a great idea and they have a FB/Twitter account and do giveaways.


This one was in Loch Long




This one was in Amsterdam




We stayed overnight in Oban and I found a Waterstones, they had some great book displays out, the new Rebus book by Ian Rankin with the crime scene tape, small things can be so eye catching. I tweeted the piccy to Rankin, I think authors must miss so much stuff and I love things like that and I am just a reader.





I also bought some wee bits and bobs from Waterstones, I had been given money for my birthday and saw some bookmarks, who can resist. I also found a Star Glider, you remember those Styrofoam aeroplanes from the 80s? If not see the picture, this is a mini one and I thought Princess Trixie (the kitty cat) may enjoy it. Wonderwoman magnetic bookmarks and a wee metal one with my initial. I think I did pretty well not to buy any books, o/h pointed out buying a book would have been cheaper, just no pleasing the non book geeks!





I spent the last night in a deep bubble bath with my book relaxing and then we traveled home today, stopping off at a castle where we found a birds nest with four babies in it, you can find loads of piccys from the trips on my Instagram, click HERE.








So after all that travelling tonight is chill, I am re reading IT by Stephen King and finally got a reason to break out the new bookmark to match it. My book is one of the older ones, 1987 I believe and published by BCA Hodder & Stoughton. I wanted to reacquaint with the book before the movie comes out, I have re watched the old one, love Tim Curry as Pennywise, totally freaks you out. Hope you guys are having a great night and chilled Sunday.

Around The World with #BookConnectors & Trip Fiction - Welcome Alison May

The Around The World Blog Tour is a partnership between TripFiction and #BookConnectors ~ bloggers and authors, travelling the world, through fiction.

TripFiction was created to make it easy to match a location with a book and help you select good literature that is most pertinent and relevant to your trip. A resource for armchair and actual travellers, it is a unique way of exploring a place through the eyes of an author. We blog, and chat books and travel across Social Media, and love to meet authors and bloggers as we take our literary journey.

http://www.tripfiction.com/

Book Connectors was created as a place on Facebook for Bloggers, Authors and small Publishers to share their news.
We encourage book promotions; information about competitions and giveaways; news of events, including launch events, signings, talks or courses. Talk about new signings, about film deals .... anything really.
Book Connectors is a friendly group, there are no rules or guidelines - just be polite and respectful to each other.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1466353170351020/


I never do blog tours, however as this is from #BookConnectors and the first leg in Scotland, I could not resist. I got paired up with Alison May.




About Alison Alison is a novelist and short story writer who grew up in North Yorkshire, and now lives in Worcester. She worked as a waitress, a shop assistant, a learning adviser, an advice centre manager, a freelance trainer, and now a maker-upper of stories. She won the RNA’s Elizabeth Goudge trophy in 2012, and her short stories have been published by Harlequin and Black Pear Press. Alison now writes romantic comedies for Choc Lit. Her first novel, Sweet Nothing, was published in 2013. You can find out more about Alison at www.alison-may.co.uk or by following her on Twitter @MsAlisonMay

About Alison’s Books:
Alison is the author of the 21st Century Bard and Christmas Kisses series of emotionally-driven rom-coms.
21st Century Bard Books
Sweet Nothing (ebook November 2013, print August 2015) http://bookgoodies.com/a/1781892415
Midsummer Dreams (ebook June 2015) http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00XJOEJTM

Christmas Kisses Books
Holly’s Christmas Kiss (ebook December 2013) http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00H50WALK
Cora’s Christmas Kiss (ebook December 2014) http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00QCUYCLK

About Holly’s Christmas Kiss
Happy Holidays? Not for Michelle… Holly Michelle Jolly hates Christmas and she has a good reason to. Apart from her ridiculously festive name which made her the brunt of jokes at school, tragic and unfortunate events have a habit of happening to her around the holiday season. And this year is no different.
After the flight to her once-in-a-lifetime holiday destination is cancelled, Michelle faces the prospect of a cold and lonely Christmas. That is, until she meets Sean Munro. Sean loves Christmas, and he wants to share the magic with Michelle.
With Sean’s help, can Michelle experience her first happy Christmas, or will their meeting just result in another year of memories that she’d rather forget?
Learn to love Christmas all over again with this fun romance that’s guaranteed to get you cracking out the Baileys and Quality Street early!

What inspired you to write and why start with a Christmas tale? Holly’s Christmas Kiss was the second book I wrote, and came out just a few days after my first full-length novel. I chose to write a Christmas story basically because I LOVE Christmas. There are presents and food and tinsel and food and then more food. Christmas is awesome, and writing a book can be tricky, so you might as well write about things you really enjoy.

How did you choose your locations?
The locations in Holly’s Christmas Kiss go with the characters. I always knew that I wanted Sean, the hero, to be Scottish. In my head he’d be played by a young Ewan McGregor. So if your hero is Scottish and part of the action is set at his family home, then that really has to be in Scotland. Part of the novella is specifically set in Edinburgh. As soon as I knew the story would take the characters to Scotland, I knew I wanted part of it to be in Edinburgh. It’s one of my favourite places in the world – I’m actually typing this just a couple of days after getting home from a trip to the Fringe. And Edinburgh in the run-up to Christmas is particularly fantastic.

I have only read “Holly’s Christmas Kiss” for someone who has never read your books, where do you suggest they start and why?
Well I’ve published books in two series at the moment – the ‘21st Century Bard’ series which are full-length contemporary rom-coms inspired by Shakespeare comedies, and the ‘Christmas Kisses’ series which are festive novellas, starting with Holly’s Christmas Kiss. All of my books stand alone though even when they’re part of a series, so you can start wherever you like! My most recent book, which would make as good a place to start as any, is Midsummer Dreams which is a rom com about four people, with four messy lives and the one night that changes everything.

Do you write a particular genre? Would you ever go outside it and which genre would you pick?
I usually write romantic comedies, and I love writing about love and relationships, but I’m really interested in writing about some of the darker elements of love and relationships – what happens when happy ever after doesn’t quite last forever? My current work-in-progress actually isn’t a romance; it’s a story about a woman who claims she’s psychic and it deals with some very dark issues around parenthood and loss.

Who inspires you and who are your holiday reads?
I’m inspired by so many of the fabulous authors that I get to meet through the Romantic Novelists’ Association – Janet Gover, Julie Cohen, Jane Lovering, Kate Johnson, Katie Fforde – I could carry on that list forever! It’s just brilliant to get to spend time with other writers who are just out there writing and selling books and generally being awesome. My favourite holiday read author at the moment is Emily Barr. I adore Emily Barr but I ration her books so I try to only read a one or two each year so I don’t run out! I read The First Wife on holiday last week and it’s fantastic. Cuban Heels is another of hers that I completely adore.

What research do you do for your books? Does it vary depending on what your writing?
I hate research! I did a degree in History which involves lots of research so you’d think I’d enjoy the research elements of writing, but actually I do everything I can to avoid having to do in-depth research. Every now and then I have an idea for a historical novel, and I quickly abandon them because the research seems far too much like hard work.

Do you ever base characters on people you know? No! Definitely not. Absolutely not. *flicks nervously through all the books she’s written to make sure*

What next for you?
I’m just finishing my first non-romance novel, and after that I’ll be starting on my third 21st Century Bard story. I haven’t 100% decided what that’s going to be yet, but I’ve got a stack of Shakespeare comedies on DVD waiting for me to get time to sit down and watch a few to see what inspirations strike!



Holly's Christmas Kiss is out now to buy on Amazon prime for free or for £1.15, for the Kindle. Thanks for your time Alison, Thank you so much to Anne Cater, Anne Williams, Leah Moyse & TripFiction for making this tour possible. Apologies this is a bit later in the day, one slept through ones alarm whoops.

Welcome To Wherever You Are by John Marrs

Welcome To Wherever You Are by John Marrs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 401

Publisher - Self published

Blurb from Goodreads

How far would you run to escape your past?

For eight strangers in a Los Angeles backpacking hostel, even the other side of the world isn’t far enough.

The craving for a new identity and the chance to start again is something they have in common. But the search for a fresh start isn't as easy as they'd imagined.

And they soon discover that it doesn't matter where you are or who you are - if you can't lay the past to rest, coincidence, fate and deception have a way of catching up with you when you least expect it.



My Review

Eight people, all running from something in their past end up in a backpacking hostel in Los Angeles. Coming from different backgrounds, trying to find or lose something and get to grips with who they are or where they are going in life. However, you can never truly outrun your past and as these guys find out, you need to deal with your demons before you can look to your future.

The story opens with men trying to capture a young woman and take her into a van, she is more than able for them and then the story begins. We are introduced to quite a few characters, Tommy, Nicole, Eric, Peyk, Ron and Savannah to name some in our tale. All big personalities and offering something different to the story, whilst they all seem unconnected, friendships will form, secrets and lies cannot always be hidden or kept and sometimes some liaisons can be dangerous.

This is my first time reading this author although it is his second novel. I thought the tale was really well done, with so many characters and merging time lines from their past to the present isn't an easy feat but Marrs managed it very well. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes crime, thrillers, secrets, travel and just an adventure to be honest. Really good and engaging book, 4/5 for me and I would read this author again.

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The Lie by C L Taylor

The Lie by C.L. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Avon

Pages - 368

Blurb from Goodreads

This was no accident…

Haunting, compelling, this psychological thriller will have you hooked. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl and Daughter.

Best friends are there for each other through thick and thin. You trust them with your life. At least that’s what Emma, Daisy, Leanne and Al think. But all that changes when they embark on a trip of a lifetime together. When they return home, only two of them are left alive and the group has been torn apart by lies and deception.

Many years later, when the dust has settled and life has moved on, one girl receives a threatening letter. Someone knows the truth about what happened on that holiday and will stop at nothing to expose it …



My Review

The story splits between 2 time periods, present day with Jane Hughes and 5 years ago, when Jane was Emma Woolfe, preparing to go on holiday with her friends before their lives would change. Emma has changed her identity in order to escape the horror and scandal that happened back on what should have been the holiday of a life time. However, someone knows "Janes" secret and wants her to pay. The opening chapter sees her receiving a letter with one line "I know your name's not really Jane Hughes" at her work. This of course sends Jane into a spin and things start to happen that makes Jane fear for her safety. The story goes smoothly between the two time periods and the girls preparing for their holiday and then the events that transpire, leading up to present day.

This is a great story, it delves into how friendships can deteriorate and how things can go from a dream holiday with friends to terror, suspicion and murder. The author spins a tale that draws you in and leaves you unable to put the book down. When your reading present day you don't want it to jump back in time, when your reading the past you don't want to come back to the present.

The end came too quickly for me and I felt the past reveal which had a fantastic build up but seemed just a wee bit rushed for me, I wanted more which I suppose always shows how good an author is. Always leave a reader wanting more and Taylor did that for me this time, the present day finale was well done though. This author is for a watching, if you haven't read her debut you should grab a copy, completely unrelated to this tale but fabulous non the less. 4/5 for me this time, thanks so much to Avon for sending me an ARC of this, you can get your own copy out on the 23rd of April, 2015!

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