Crimsom Lake by Candice Fox

Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over months (was on my phone)

Pages - 348

Publisher - Forge

Source - bought (ebook Amazon)

Blurb from Goodreads

Crimson Lake, by Sydney-based, Ned Kelly Award-winning author Candice Fox, is a thrilling contemporary crime novel set in Queensland, Australia, perfect for readers of authors like James Patterson, Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, and Tana French.

How do you move on when the world won’t let you?

12:46: Claire Bingley stands alone at a bus stop
12:47: Ted Conkaffey parks his car beside her
12:52: The girl is missing . . .


Six minutes in the wrong place at the wrong time—that’s all it took to ruin Sydney detective Ted Conkaffey’s life. Accused but not convicted of a brutal abduction,Ted is now a free man—and public enemy number one. Maintaining his innocence, he flees north to keep a low profile amidst the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake.

There, Ted’s lawyer introduces him to eccentric private investigator Amanda Pharrell, herself a convicted murderer. Not entirely convinced Amanda is a cold-blooded killer, Ted agrees to help with her investigation, a case full of deception and obsession, while secretly digging into her troubled past. The residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair's every move... and the town offers no place to hide



My Review

So I accidentally read book two first whoops then we watched the series, Troppo, based on this book. Ted has moved to a small town to escape his horrific recent past. A cop, disgraced, accused of a heinous crime against a minor. The local cops are bullies and determined not to let Ted get comfortable in their small town. Enter Amanda, she is from said small town but very much an outcast for a crime against one of their own she also misses or ignores some social queues. Ted and Amanda end up an unlikely duo as Ted helps, reluctantly, Amanda with her private detective business. Investigating a missing person but small towns don't like people poking their noses into stuff and certainly not two ex cons like Ted and Amanda.

Oooft the book is quite brutal in parts, we flip back to Ted's past and how he got to where he is whilst he struggles with his new reality in a new town/place unable to escape his past. We also meet Amanda, my goodness Amanda is absolutely chaos! The book is quite different in points and it was good to fill in some gaps between the series and what I had read in book two.

The book covers some really shocking themes, child abuse, murder, bullying, violence, abuse of power, corruption and adorable geese. The relationship with Ted and Amanda is very different to a lot of duo team mates/partners in books etc and a really engaging take on two damaged, flawed and seemingly dangerous individuals. I love the medical examiners character, she doesn't play a huge part in either the book or show but what she does, I really like. I am sure there are 3 books so I need to check that and get it, hoping for season 2 on the show too, 4/5 for me. I have read this author before, combo with James Patterson so I do like her writing.

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October comp is now live

Apologies first that our competition page is down, it is under review (apparently an issue marked spam? and under review but very little information, our page has been the same since we started and just update the comps every month). We have requested review multiple times and there is noone to contact directly so we just have to wait.

October giveaway is x1 horror themed bookmark, winner can choose x1 bookmark from those in the pictures. There are also two pins, one diamonte spider and one love heart with a cat on top, the winner can choose one of those too. Items are exactly as pictured and open worldwide. As usual please use the Rafflecopter to enter.

Sorry it isn't all in one photo, I really need a new phone & with multiple pictures hopefully it means you can see the bookmarks better to decide which one you want if you are the winner.

So above are the bookmarks, of all the ones in the picture they are mostly double sided. The dog one, one side says lives and the other is it passed, one side orange one blue. The Shining lady in the bath, one side she looks like she does when Jack first sees her then the real her, her chest is exposed so I have covered with my finger. The next are the brooches or pins, not sure what we call them nowaday lol.

This is the first, spider and I know not everyone likes spiders (I think it is so so cute) so the other option is a black cat on top of a heart.

The competition is open worldwide, I do try and do as many as possible but sometimes if it is ebook or Amazon V I just can't as Amazon sends directly so only allows your own country. When it is actual treebooks or things like this I send directly so can open it worldwide. Very aware everyone is feeling the pinch just now so November is in the process of being sorted and will be worldwide too. With bills rising things like books etc will be considered more luxury item and everyone should have the opportunity to read or have a wee something to look forward to. Enter via the Rafflecopter, beloe, as usual.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a few months

Pages - 659

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote...and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.



My Review

This is a re read, I haven't read it since I was a kid. I love the movie (Kubrick version only recently seen the other one) and as I was back home I wanted to read it again. There is so much I forgot about the book like actually don't even remember reading but it has been a long time.

You get a bit of history on the Overlook, I really wish we would get a more indepth backstory though as the darkness is so fascinating especially the hold it can have over people. So for anyone not familiar with it Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy and little boy head to the Overlook hotel for Jack's new job, caretaker over the winter, isolated just the three of them. Jack is a recovering alcoholic, when in the grip of booze he lost a lot and has been making it up to Wendy and Danny since. The Overlook is more than just a hotel it is home to a darkness that can influence the people who spend time there and when the people are special, like little Danny the hotel and its spirits want him.

The book features dark themes, King's books always do, not just the supernatural but the evil and darkness within humans. We also have the good too, lengths some people will go to to protect others. We learn about the Shining and how extraordinary little Danny is and the more time he and his family are in the hotel the more creepy things happen.

The thing with King is he creates creepy, atmospheric books that creeps you out, baddies that are terrifying because they aren't always of our world but some are and equally as scary. The Shining is a classic, I loved it when I was younger and I think it still holds up all these years later, 5/5 for me. If you really want to creep yourself out, read it when staying in a hotel, every time I visit one, the corridors, no matter how it is decorated I always envision The Overlook.

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Women Like Us by Amanda Prowse Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Women Like Us, A Memoir, by Amanda Prowse, this is a LOVEBOOKSTOUR blog tour, you can find Kelly on Twitter.

I even took the book to the ice hockey with me to read inbetween intervals.

The book is available to buy from Amazon, click HERE.


You can find Amanda on Twitter and Instagram.

Women Like Us: A Memoir by Amanda Prowse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 10 days

Pages - 396

Publisher - Little A

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

I guess the first question to ask is, what kind of woman am I? Well, you know those women who saunter into a room, immaculately coiffed and primped from head to toe?

If you look behind her, you’ll see me.

From her childhood, where there was no blueprint for success, to building a career as a bestselling novelist against all odds, Amanda Prowse explores what it means to be a woman in a world where popularity, slimness, beauty and youth are currency—and how she overcame all of that to forge her own path to happiness.

Sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious and always entirely relatable, Prowse details her early struggles with self-esteem and how she coped with the frustrating expectations others had of how she should live. Most poignantly, she delves into her toxic relationship with food, the hardest addiction she has ever known, and how she journeyed out the other side.

One of the most candid memoirs you’re ever likely to read, Women Like Us provides welcome insight into how it is possible—against the odds—to overcome insecurity, body consciousness and the ubiquitous imposter syndrome to find happiness and success, from a woman who’s done it all, and then some


My Review

I have heard/read and even used warts and all used many times and I absolutely am using it for this book however it is probably the first time I am using it with actual pure felt meaning! So if you don't know who Amanda Prowse is she is an author who has written A LOT of books, I have read 3 with a few more on my tbrm and many more to buy! So about the book, Prowse takes us through her life, from a wee barra, teen, adult and authorhood.

This book took me through Amanda's life and back to quite a few stages of my own. Some of the things/experiences were so relatable I could have written them myself. Then there was some shockaroonies like the sanitary belt, I absolutely had to go and look that up. I can't imagine how you get into it let alone wear it!

The book is very open and honest and whilst I feel like you get that reading a lot of autobiographies Amanda Prowse felt it went deeper. If you have never had a battle with addiction, your weight or both then you may not appreciate just how much I imagine it cost to not only deal with that but to then commit it to paper and share it with the world. I wanted to reach out and hug her because it is a battle like no other and despite some addictions being treated more with compassion and understanding food/weight gain is still very judged/stigmatized.

The book is really interesting, emotive and takes us on many roads of the authors life and experiences, I have been struggling to read like I used to but for snippets of time I managed to loose myself. I cannot wait to read her other books and will absolutely be buying up others as I go along. If you only read one memoir this year make it this one, 5/5 for me.

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Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 10 days

Pages - 310

Publisher - Arrow

Source - bought or gift

Blurb from Goodreads

As a child, she was told to forget about the missing girl. But some memories don’t die….

The discovery of a skeleton in Acadia, Canada, reawakens a traumatic episode for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan: Could the young girl’s remains be those of Évangéline Landry, Tempe’s friend who disappeared when Tempe was twelve? Exotic, free-spirited, and slightly older, Évangéline enlivened Tempe’s summer beach visits…then vanished amid whispers that she was “dangerous.” Now, faced with bones scarred with inexplicable lesions, Tempe is consumed with solving a decades-old mystery — while her lover, detective Andrew Ryan, urgently needs her attention on a wave of teenage abductions and murders. With both Ryan and her ex-husband making surprising future plans, Tempe may soon find that her world has painfully and irrevocably changed once again.


My review

When Tempe was younger her childhood friend and sister went missing & no matter how much Tempe asked questions she got no answers. Fast forward present day, bones of a young girl has been found, older bones with strange lesions, could this be Tempe's old friend, just coincidence? It certainly drags up memories and questions from Tempe's past.

This is book 10, I have gaps I think in the series as I would pick them up and read as I found them (sorry I know this makes people twitchy) but I find you can follow it fine. Tempe's relationship features in this one well her lover or ex lover, officer Andrew Ryan (he is a detective) well I suppose you can say it is complicated. So the two themes go along side, the bones investigation/Tempe's past and the ongoing issues with Andrew. They work together on a case so it is complicated, is it over, things are getting in the way, attraction - I suppose it I had read them more recently or in order I may be a bit more invested,

I always find these books interesting because of the anthropological aspect, I love when you learn things from books or spark interest to look into things more yourself. It isn't my fave of the series but still interesting read, 3.5/5 this time.

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The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott

The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon books

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

No one expected them to go there. The question is: will any of them leave?

Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea.

On the first evening, someone goes missing. The group search all through the night to no avail. But when the five remaining friends return to the lighthouse early the next morning, they are shocked to find James inside. He’s looks terrified – but won’t say a word about where he’s been.

The party vow to put the strange night behind them and enjoy the rest of their stay, but when more unexplained things begin to occur, tensions escalate. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

A chilling, gripping and powerfully atmospheric suspense novel with a gothic edge.



My Review

A bunch of long time pals head for a few days away, remote island, stunning lighthouse, beautiful views and the island is theirs alone. They have a history with each other, five of them plus one of the crowds new girlfriends. Small things start happening, item(s) go missing and then one of the group goes missing and more strange things start happening, are the group truly alone or is one of them unhinged?

What a great creepy set up, you have two couples, two singletons, in house jokes and history between the five with the new girlfriend trying not to stand out too much. Two ladies first time away from their child, one of the group is an ex of the other, it has been a while since they were all together. Fun time, joy, jokes, snipping and when things start to go to pot anger, sniping, tears, secrets, accusations - it all kicks off.

Along with all the group drama there is another theme, haunting, ghostly, darkness - suspense and creepiness is weaved throughout. We hear from the characters pov and it changes with the chapters but is well done and flows. The way Dorricott writes you are submerged in the setting which is perfect for the creepy tale and everything that follows, perfect read for a dark night or secluded setting, 4/5.

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Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 385

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.


My Review

Merit is a bit of an odd ball, she acquires trophies that she has never won, they make her feel better and mean something to her. Acquiring her newest she falls under the watchful eye of an attractive young man and has the most wonderful encounter. Things never go quite right for Merit, she comes from a very different family, she has many layers and in Without Merit we get to meet and see them all.

Oooft guys! Talk about dysfunctional family, cringe, laugh, mortified, shock, emotive there is a whole host of topics, themes, situations and some very questionable and shady behaviours. Thus us my first time reading Hoover, I kept seeing her books all over Tiktok, had never heard of her before despite all my years of reading.

Merit is the main character, a teen skipping school and just having a bit of an identity type issue, I can't say she is a lovable character immediately but as the story goes on and we see just what Merit's family life is like you appreciate a bit more how she is.

There is also unexpected bits of humour dottered throughout, I laughed, smirked and had a Oh God NAW moment or two, I absolutely cringed a bit too and laughed out loud. There are some seriously hard hitting and dark themes that are hard to signpost without giving massive spoilers so just a loosey goosey heads up. I have a few more Hoover books to read and very much looking forward to them 4/5 for this first time dance with this author.

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