Lover Eternal by J R Ward

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 441

Publisher - Signet Novel

Source - Bought years ago

Blurb from Goodreads

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the time when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage's protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles years ago. But when Rhage's intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves...


My Review

Rhage is one of the Brother hood, a vampire who is strong, aggressive, burns through human female lovers like a hungry person on an all you can eat buffet. He has to keep the monster at bay, cursed to literally have a huge beast burst from him if he gets too he up (kind like hulk but less green) and the women/sex help that. He forms no attachments and that is how he likes it, until he meets Mary. Mary is a human, been through more hardship than most and is such a caring a lovely soul. When Mary gets drawn into the vampires world she is in grave danger from their mortal enemies, The Lessening Society, trying to protect herself from her feelings and Rhage trying to keep her safe from harm the odds are against them.

So this is book two, you could pick this up and read as a standalone, I did (this is a reread) but I would suggest reading book one first so you get a better scope of the background. I really like Mary's character, she is so caring, selfless and brave, she has survived cancer, cared for her mother until death, volunteers for the most vulnerable in society and sees herself as a plain Jane. When Rhage can't leave her alone she is confused, standoffish but cannot deny her feelings but she won't admit them. Amongst the relationship stuff we have The Lessers trying to bump off the vampires, Rhage's inner monster, a dragon, that when unleashed puts anyone in the vicinity in danger of loosing their lives.

Action packed, some graphic sex scenes, romance, courting however some of the behaviours of the males is questionable, aggressive, rude, imposing, forceful however when they get up close the females swoon. That did irk me a wee bit but if we remember the old Christopher Lee vampire movies of that time just a look was enough to render a female swoony. We see a softer/vulnerable side of Rhage as him and Mary circle around their new "relationship". We flip between that, the violent clashes/fights with the Brotherhood and the Lessers although I found some of the pages on the Lessers slowed the pace down a wee bit of the story. I do want to learn more about the how and why of them and I think each book may focus on one particular warrior, book one was Wrath, two Rhage, three Zsadist so I am sure the rest of the books may follow suit. I have a fair few of them on my TBRM so will be reading the rest, also this book left me on a bit of a cliffhanger so I really need to know what happens next. 3.5/5 for me this time, each of the warriors are so different and with each book I have gleamed a bit more info on the origins and or Lessers so I look forward to getting my questions answered!

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides is OUT TODAY, happy publication day Alex.



Published in Hardback by Orion on 7th February 2019, price £12.99 CLICK HERE

Alicia lives a life most dream of. She lives in a house in one of the most desirable areas of London. She is a famous painter, and her husband, Gabriel, is an in-demand fashion photographer. Her life is perfect.

That is, until one evening when Gabriel returns late from a fashion shoot and Alicia shoots him five times and then never speaks another word.

Theo Faber, a forensic psychotherapist, has been consumed with the case for five years, and is the only person able to unravel the mystery of why.

The Silent Patient is a heart-stopping debut thriller about a woman's brutal and random act of violence against her husband - and the man obsessed with discovering why.

Praise for The Silent Patient:

‘The Silent Patient sneaks up on you like a slash of intimidating shadow on a badly lit street. Michaelides has crafted a totally original, spellbinding psychological mystery so quirky, so unique that it should have its own genre. I read it in two nights and savoured every luscious word, every grim encounter, every startling twist. The pages will burn with the friction from your hands turning them’ – DAVID BALDACCI

‘There are books with twists and then there is THIS BOOK. Wow. Brilliant pacing, the definition of a page turner, its tone and readability reminded me of The Girl On The Train in parts. But that twist comes as hard and fast as a slap across the face. Loved it.’- JOHN MARRS

‘That rarest of beasts: the perfect thriller. This extraordinary novel set my blood fizzing - I quite literally couldn't put it down. I told myself I'd just dip in; eleven hours later - it's now 5.47 AM - I've finished it, absolutely dazzled’ – A. J. FINN, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

‘Smart, sophisticated suspense’ - LEE CHILD

‘Alex Michaelides has written one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. The Silent Patient is a swarming, paranoid nightmare of a novel with an ending that is destined to go down as one of the most shocking, mind-blowing twists in recent memory’ – BLAKE CROUCH, author of the New York Times bestseller Dark Matter

‘An excellent, slow-burning psychological thriller; sharp, clever and with a whammy that genuinely took me by surprise (it takes a lot to do this). Kudos to the author. More, please’ – JOANNE HARRIS, bestselling author of Chocolat

'Just one more chapter. Just one more. Then I'll stop.' Once you pick up The Silent Patient, this will be what you'll say to yourself, until you give in and keep reading until the blindsiding and brilliantly clever conclusion - no matter how good a sleuth you are, you aren't going to see it coming’

– EMILY KOCH, author of If I Die Before I Wake

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Alex Michaelides was born in Cyprus in 1977. He wrote the film The Devil You Know starring Rosamund Pike and co-wrote The Brits are Coming, starring Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Stephen Fry, Parker Posey and Sofia Vergara. The Silent Patient is first novel. He was inspired to write it while doing a post graduate course in psychotherapy and working part-time at a secure psychiatric unit for two years. Brad Pitt's Plan B are developing the film of The Silent Patient: they have won Best Film Oscars for The Departed and 12 Years a Slave.

Kimberley Chambers and Anna Smith book event at Waterstones

Last night we headed to Waterstones to see crime authors Kimberley Chambers and Anna Smith. The event was chaired by book blogger legend Sharon from Chapter in my Life, if you haven't checked her blog out, do so she is a cracker!



Chambers new book is The Sting and has stunning purple print page ridges (limited edition), I LOVE purple and you all know how much I love Chambers books so I cannot wait to get mine (on route, ordered December)! The Hit was Anna's Book on display but her newest book (due out this year) is Fight Back book 2 in the Kerry Casey series.



This is the second time I have seen these ladies together and they are great onstage together, both very different but it works and flows so well. With Sharon chairing the event it was just a natural flow, good chat, bantz, laughter and stories.



Chambers talked about the new book and the prequel to The Butler series which we are all gagging for and how this book is a bit different from her others but still with the heart of what she does best.



We got onto the subject of books making it to tv/movies and Anna admitted this is a dream for her. Chambers would rather be actively involved, have her say on how it is done, who would play the characters as only she knows exactly what they would look like. Smith wasn't as bothered about the control aspects of direction and choices but would love hers to be transformed onto the screen. Both discussed how long the actual process can be and had much praise for Martina Cole's adaptations, character choices and direction she had. I do love Cole but haven't seen any of her stuff on the screen, I aim to change this asap and apparently Tom Hardy is in one of them!



Both ladies signed books after the event finished, the hour went by in a flash, I could have listened all night and everyone echo'd those sentiments, the ladies are naturals!



Some of us nipped round to the pub nearby, had a wee drink and gab before we all headed off home. I cannot go on enough about how nice it is to meet very successful people who are just lovely and down to earth. Chambers is going to Harrogate this year. I have yet to go here, many of my fellow bloggers LOVE it and always have amazing stories, maybe this could be the year I make it. After going to Edinburgh book fest last year for the first time I find the idea less terrifying (now I know what a festival entails) and always good to know authors you enjoy reading will be attending. Smith's new book comes out this year too so once I have details for that I will tweet and hopefully get to go, shifts permitting.

You can follow the ladies (in a non stalker/creepy way lol) on Twitter:

Chambers
Smith
Anna Smith's Facebook author page
Kimberley Chambers Facebook author page

The Shy Nurse's Christmas Wish by Abigail Gordon

The Shy Nurse's Christmas Wish by Abigail Gordon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 256

Publisher - Mills and Boon

Source - Book from subscription box

Blurb from Goodreads

From shy nurse…

To Christmas bride!

Darcey Howard has come to the beautiful seaside town of Seahaven for a fresh start. Working over Christmas in the children’s ward at Oceans House will help her forget her traumatic past. But her quiet, safe existence is shattered by gorgeous surgeon Daniel Osbourne. Enigmatic Daniel is the last man she should fall for, but he’s just too tempting to resist!


My Review

This is a Mills and Boon Medical fiction and the first I have read anything in this category. I was expecting something so very different to be honest. The medical stuff is very briefly brushed over and some of the inaccuracies irritated me, that is a small personal thing though.

Daniel Osbourne is a well sought after surgeon, brave, selfless, attractive and aloof. Darcy meets him on a train and then realises he is now going to be working with her. The attraction builds on both sides, everyone is rooting for Daniel to find someone, anyone and Darcy, sweet Darcy is perfect for him, things just need to stop getting in the way.

I really didn't love this at all and I so wanted to, my first romance for February, I always try and read some smoochy, romance books in Feb, the month of love. The problem was there wasn't really any if I am honest. They like each other but can't admit it, then then have a passionate smooch only for one of them to say something and pour cold water over the moment. They seem to sink quickly for each other but pull away with a wrong turn of phrase or misunderstanding. They don't have much communication of depth and the romance, for me, was almost non existent. You get a wee flash of something then it skips onto feelings of love but nothing really happened??? And I am normally not one to comment on sentence length, sure I can type and type as much as I talk without a full stop or comma. However some of the sentences went on for 5+ lines with a break for breath.

I have spoken to others who love these books as I have another four sitting in the wings and they said they aren't normally like this. You get depth, romance, relationships you can be vested in which I didn't get from this one sadly. It is a thin read and I think had the author made it a normal length novel we would have gotten so much more, courting, feelings, dialogue that went somewhere rather than tiny wee snippets. I just felt a scene would be starting to go somewhere then it would be over and something else happened with no reflection or depth on what happened. I will be checking out the other books as I have bought them and assured by other readers this isn't a representative of the others. I don't think it is a horrendous book by any means I just was left lacking by the scenes being so quickly cut off. The book has quick a few fans so please check it out, I may just be being a wee fussy nightmare and lets face it a book can be enjoyed or disliked depending on how the reader feels picking it up. Sadly 2/5 for me this time, I have read and enjoyed regular Mills and Boon before and hope my next step into the medical ones is better for me.

View all my reviews

Apple of my Eye by Claire Allan Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for "Apple of my Eye" by Claire Allan, please check out the other stops on the tour as we all offer something different.





I had a wee cozy day reading this, the perfect time to bring out my apple shaped candle and wee blogger mug.




Apple of My Eye by Claire Allan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon books

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Just how far is a mother willing to go?



When a mysterious note arrives for six months pregnant Dr Eliana Hughes, she begins to doubt every aspect of her life – from her mixed feelings about motherhood to her marriage to Martin, who has become distant in recent months.


As the person behind the note escalates their campaign to out Eli’s husband as a cheat, she finds herself unable to trust even her own instincts, and as pressure builds, she makes a mistake that jeopardises her entire future.


Elsewhere, someone is watching. Someone who desperately wants a baby to call their own and will go to any lengths to become a mother – and stay a mother…



My Review

Eliana Hughes is heavily pregnant and still working as a nurse at a hospice, the work is heavy (as is her belly), the emotions are high (coupled with pregnancy hormones) and her husband is aloof and working away A LOT! When someone starts leaving notes for Eliana, first at her work then to her home tensions run high, she is scared and wondering can she trust her husband. Terrorising from the get go, who is out to get a pregnant palliative nurse, or is her husband the target or is something much darker at play?

This is my first dance with this author, we have titled chapters so we know who is leading that part of the story and the chapters are short, I LOVE THIS! We hear from three main characters, Eliana, her mother Angela and someone called Louise. Louise is a bit of a scary character, you feel for her as she has had a horrific loss, the loss of a child, unimaginable but she is stalking women, looking for a new baby.... Eliana is your every day hard working person and thoughts/worries about her first born baby, many fears I am sure some pregnant women can identify with. Angela is Eliana's mother and her concern is her daughter and grand child, family is everything for Angela, her whole world.

The tension builds up really quickly, hairs standing on the back of your neck and concern for Eliana, seriously who would stress out a pregnant woman like that. The letter kicks off fear that have been brewing for Eliana and who do we turn to when we are in trouble, our mama. The fear is palpable for Eliana and Angela as the events transpire and the more we hear from Louise the more those hairs prickle. Unease, tension, page turning, gut wrenching, challenges nurses fear, obstacles, emotions and fear pregnancy harbours. Nail biting at parts and a wee gasp out loud once or twice for me, always an issue when reading in public, you get so wrapped up you can't help it.

I had suspicions and ideas of who it could be, why and couldn't wait to see if I was right or wrong again as per. By the time you get to the end you are just through the ringer, not quite as much as the poor characters but still. An emotive read for sure, pacey and whilst this was my first time reading Allan it won't be my last. I have another book of hers on my tbrm, I need to bump it up the list, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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Random by Craig Robertson

Random by Craig Robertson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 329

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought (bookstore I think)

Blurb from Goodreads

Glasgow is being terrorised by a serial killer the media have nicknamed The Cutter. The murders have left the police baffled. There seems to be neither rhyme nor reason behind the killings; no kind of pattern or motive; an entirely different method of murder each time, and nothing that connects the victims except for the fact that the little fingers of their right hands have been severed.
If DS Rachel Narey could only work out the key to the seemingly random murders, how and why the killer selects his victims, she would be well on her way to catching him. But as the police, the press and a threatening figure from Glasgow's underworld begin to close in on The Cutter, his carefully-laid plans threaten to unravel - with horrifying consequences.


My Review

Told in first person narrative we open with the killer, awaiting his next victim, people watching but instead of usual intrigue and being nosey he is lining up his next victim. We watch him zone out his date and hone in and assess/dismiss whether this could be the person to be murdered. We follow the killer follow his prey until the moment he strikes. We read about his killing via a newspaper which reports every so often throughout the story.

This book is the start of a series, the heart of the book is around the killer, his life, thoughts, routine and eventually we get a better understanding on who he is as a person. It will be interesting to see where the path of the other books go as the police input is flashes between the news clippings and small interactions.

Set in Glasgow which is always nice to read about a place you know and I don't think I have read many books set here. I think this is a good start to a series and I am looking forward to the rest of the series, I have book six I think it is so I need to go buy book two now.

I think this one stands out, for me, as a bit different from the copious amounts of other books I have read like this is the killer is pretty human. Yes yes I know all of them are but some are sadistic, void of humanity but this killer is different, I thought, as he IS pretty human. Yes he is brutal in his killings and at one scene I was like oh God no no don't do that but as we follow him in his mission and learn more about him dare I say you feel a bit sorry for him. He isn't like so many of the other serial killers created in books and once you read this I think you will get what I mean. 3.5/5 for me this time, a good start and I will be buying book two, my first dance with this author it won't be my last.

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The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for "The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl" this is a #LoveBooksGroupTours.




Look at the book cover!




And here is the blurb incase you haven't read it yet

THE BOY AT THE DOOR:

Everyone
has secrets. Even those who seem to be perfect...

On a rainy October evening, Cecilia Wilborg – loving wife, devoted mother, tennis club regular – is waiting for her kids to finish their swimming lesson. It's been a long day. She can almost taste the crisp, cold glass of Chablis she'll pour for herself once the girls are tucked up in bed.

But what Cecilia doesn't know, is that this is the last time life will feel normal. Tonight she'll be asked to drop a little boy home, a simple favour that will threaten to expose her deepest, darkest secret...


About the author




Alex Dahl was born in Oslo and is the critically acclaimed author of The Boy at the Door. She graduated with a B.A. in Russian and German linguistics with international studies and went on to complete an M.A. in creative writing at Bath Spa University, followed by an M.S. in business management at Bath University. Alex has published short stories in the U.K. and the U.S. and is a serious Francophile. You can read more and sign up for the newsletter HERE.

You can find Alex on Facebook and give her page a wee like, click HERE. And or you can find her on Twitter, click HERE. Other relevant Twitter bits (hashtags) Twitter Handles
@HoZ_Books
#BoyattheDoor
#LoveBooksGroup





You can buy the book from Amazon by clicking HERE.


And here is my excerpt, enjoy.


Here in Sandefjord we have everything. Or, rather, we don’t – and that is my point exactly. We don’t have any of the undesirable components that make life so unpalatable in many other places: pollution, poverty, property crises, excessive crime, immigration issues – I could go on and on. This is not the kind of place where little boys turn up out of the blue, with empty eyes, no parents and nothing but a plastic bag containing a pair of Batman swimming trunks and a frayed baby-blue towel. Sandefjord isn’t that kind of place. Wasn’t.

Sandefjord is the kind of place people want to live. Postcard-pretty, snug and sheltered at the top of its fjord, Sandefjord is the kind of place less attractive places bad-mouth. Can’t blame them, of course – it’s not everybody’s privilege to be able to live somewhere like this. Here, everybody has a nice home that they own, a new car in the garage, a well-paid job, numerous foreign holidays a year and a mountain cabin, too. Everyone I know, at least.

The call came at lunchtime. I’d only just begun to relax after the events of the last twenty-four hours and though I’d only been at the office for an hour, I decided to take an early lunch break so I could get my eyelash extensions done – Johan likes them. Walking from my office in Kilen, past the fish shop and the boats pulled up for winter, and the steel-gray water of the inner harbor, it occurred to me that the whole town resembled how I felt; cold and drained from all the rain. I checked my phone a couple of times as I walked along; I’m not sure why, really. And then, when I lay atop the table and the young girl was working painstakingly on my new, feathered lashes, I heard my phone vibrate from where it lay in my bag. Again and again. It couldn’t be work – nothing I do is urgent enough to merit repeated missed calls. The eyelash girl stopped for a moment and asked if I wanted to pick up. ‘Nope,’ I said, trying to fight off waves of annoyance. Did I, on some level, know then what I know now?

‘Cecilia Wilborg?’ said a smooth, female voice when I picked up on the sixth attempt, walking back out of the salon into the bleak day.

‘Yes?’

‘Hi. This is Vera Jensrud calling from Østerøyparken School. I’m glad I’ve got hold of you. Finding your number wasn’t exactly easy. Presumably you know why I’m calling?’

‘I’m afraid I don’t. I’m… uh, actually in the middle of something here,’ I lied, picking at my cuticles. ‘How can I help you?’

‘Is it correct that you dropped off a little boy here at the school this morning?’

‘Yes. Yes, it is.’

‘May I ask what your relationship to the child is, Mrs Wilborg?’

‘None. None whatsoever. Now, I’m afraid I’ll have to…’

Vera Jensrud interrupted me. ‘But Tobias lives with you and your family, is that correct?’

I burst out laughing, an exaggerated, outraged squawk. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Look. This boy does not attend this school.’

‘So which school does he attend?’

‘We don’t know. He refuses to say. You can only imagine how upsetting this is for everyone, most of all, of course, this little child. Now, we need to immediately establish who he is and where he belongs, and the only thing we have been able to get out of him is that he lives with you.’

I glanced briefly up at my office building, trying to stop myself from screaming. ‘He most certainly doesn’t live with me! I don’t know this child!’

‘But you dropped him off here this morning?’

‘Well, yes, but I met him for the first time last night.’ ‘Right.’ Vera Jensrud sounded uncertain, as though she didn’t quite know whether to believe the half-mute eight-year-old or me. ‘Wait. You say you met him last night? But he stayed at your house?’

I hesitated. Fear seeped into me, ugly and cool, like poison through the pores of my skin. The wind ripped at my jacket and I ran the short distance back to the office. ‘Yes. Look, it was a very strange situation. He told me he attends your school, so I figured it would just be best to drop him off there.’

‘Presumably you spoke with his parents last night before taking him back to your house? That’s why I’m calling, really, to see whether you’d be aware of some way of getting in touch with them.’

‘I… uh... The lady at the pool tried calling them several times and they didn’t pick up the phone.’

‘What about when you tried, later, from home?’

‘I… I didn’t. Tobias asked me explicitly not to.’

‘Mrs Wilborg, this is a boy no more than eight years old. Did it not occur to you to call the parents before taking in a small child overnight?’

‘I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go now…’ I stuttered, and hung up the phone. It began ringing again before the screen had even gone dark, and when I realized I was being watched by the guys in the office across from mine, I picked up. I pushed my chest out but turned my face away from them so they wouldn’t notice my intense annoyance.

‘What? I’ve said I can’t help you!’

‘Mrs Wilborg, this is Police Inspector Thor Ellefsen. I’m sitting here with Vera Jensrud, the social environment teacher at Østerøyparken School, as well as a representative from social services. We really need you to come down here as soon as you can so that we can discuss this situation.’