#BlogTour! #Review – #AWeekToBeWild by JC Harroway (@JCHarroway) @MillsandBoon #MillsandBoonDare

I am rather excited (no, not like THAT) to share my review of ‘A Week to be Wild’ by Jc Harroway today, as part of the blog tour to coincide with the authors’ book release, AND to help celebrate the publishers revamp. Just look at the cover! Big thanks to the team at Mills and Boon and HarperCollins for the blog tour invite as well as the ARC. Here is my review:

A daring game of temptation

She’ll play his game—but only by her rules!

Alex Lancaster is an adrenaline junkie. He’s also a sexy British billionaire who should come with his own warning signs. When Libby insists she is done with men who live on the edge, Alex coaxes her out of her comfort zone—professionally and very, very personally. Libby’s taking a high-stakes gamble, but the pay-off could win her everything…

What does TWG think?

*Caution* – may require a cold shower upon completion!

My goodness me, haven’t Mills and Boon changed over the years!! Growing up I was always told that Mills and Boon books were for ‘lonely women’. Now, seeing as I was a young girl, I was hardly going to walk into Woolworths (going back a bit now!) and grab myself one (would I have even been able to I wonder?!). Thankfully though, I am now a woman with a mind of my own who gets to pick and choose every single book she reads – of course I was going to pick a Mills and Boon! I was far too curious not to, so when the lovely team at Mills and Boon got in contact about reading a book from their new series #DareToShare I jumped at the chance, turning off my phone in the process. If I was going to read my first Mills and Boon book, I was going to do it properly without any interruptions!

I dare anyone to try to read ‘A Week To Be Wild’ in more than one sitting. Even if I had wanted to split it into two sittings, I couldn’t. I was absolutely hooked on Libby and Alex’s story – were they going to step out of their comfort zone, or were they going to continue walking down the same route as before? It goes without saying that this book contains scenes of a sexual nature (I sound like one of those warnings on a TV program!). If you’re a prude or turn your nose up at any sexual descriptions in your novels, clearly this book isn’t for you. However, if you like things a little bit steamy with the addition of romance, professional main characters who come across more work minded than fussed by sex – there is every chance you will lap up this book and then some.

Believe it or not, I get really embarrassed speaking about sexual endeavours in my personal life as it is exactly that, personal, but I did not get embarrassed in the slightest whilst reading this book! I loved how we got to know the characters a bit better before the sexual tension escalated, as it meant I was able to see them as characters in their own right instead of characters who will be getting jiggy with it at any moment.

Libby comes across as a woman who a lot of female readers may relate to in terms of her personality and out look on relationships. That said, I found her a little bit annoying at times and couldn’t work out why Alex was determined to go after her like a little lap dog. Alex has the personality of an egotistical man and, whilst that would turn me off almost straight away, for Alex and Libby’s situation it seemed to work. Their relationship seemed one of dominance, power and determination. To pull that off you need to have characters who have a personality with some of those traits included – exactly like JC Harroway did. The characters needed to be a bit unlikable in order for the consensual, sexual scenes to work as well as they did.

I have to say, I wish there was an alternative for the word ‘panties’ as I find it makes me cringe in the middle of an extremely steamy chapter in the book.

All in all, ‘A Week To Be Wild’ warmed up every inch of my body and left me wanting more. I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the story itself without focussing on the steamy parts. A big thumbs up from me to the author for her magnetic story telling.

Mills and Boon have now got another fan – I cannot wait to get all of the other books in the #Dare series!

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review – The Daughter by Lucy Dawson (@LucyDawsonBooks) @Bookouture

Super excited to be hosting Lucy Dawson alongside my lovely blogger friend, Chocolate ‘N’Waffles! ‘The Daughter’ is such a nail-biting read, and I thrilled to be sharing my review with you all today as part of the blog tour. As always, huge thanks to Bookouture for the ARC and the tour invite. Here is my review:

You lost your daughter. You will never forgive yourself. Now someone’s determined to make you pay…

Seventeen years ago, something happened to Jess’s daughter Beth. The memory of it still makes her blood run cold. Jess has tried everything to make peace with that day, and the part she played in what happened. It was only a brief moment of desire… but she’ll pay for it with a lifetime of guilt.

To distance herself from the mistakes of the past, Jess has moved away and started over with her family. But when terrifying things begin happening in her new home, Jess knows that her past has finally caught up with her. Somebody feels Jess hasn’t paid enough, and is determined to make her suffer for the secrets she’s kept all these years.

What does TWG think?

Oooooohhhhh my goodness me. Let me just get this bit out of the way first – I found a portion of ‘The Daughter’ exceptionally difficult to read as my own daughter is a similar age to one of the characters in the book. I’m not going to lie, it even brought tears to my eyes. How daft is that?

Right, now I have admitted that let’s get to the good bits!

Once I overcame my little wobble at the beginning, it didn’t take me long to fall under Lucy Dawson’s spell. Jess has had an incredibly tough time where her daughter, Beth, is concerned, but whoever said time is a healer was a liar. Poor Jess will pay for that for the rest of her life and, just when she thought she was able to move on with her life, her past comes back to haunt her. It seems as though other people haven’t quite forgotten that one memorable day, either!

I felt so, so sorry for Jess and everything she had to go through. Of course there were times where I thought she was bringing a little bit of it on herself, especially as she just couldn’t seem to let go of a certain person and its situation. I had to stop myself from shouting at the book ‘walk away you dozy mare!!’, but I don’t think my daughter would have appreciated being woken up by my shouts.

Did I have an inkling about where the storyline was heading?

Did I hell!! Even though I had a bit of scepticism towards one character in particular, I still couldn’t decide who was the culprit and why. There was so much pointing in one direction, with still so much pointing in another direction – I couldn’t have called it even if I wanted to! Everything was just so close the entire way through. I loved how Lucy Dawson was able to keep me guessing until the very end, teasing me with little things to try to change the direction of my thoughts. Very, very cleverly done.

In all honesty, I am quite surprised to find that I am still breathing, as there were moments where I was holding my breath, unsure of what lay ahead when I turned the page.

‘The Daughter’ is an incredibly gripping and intense read, full of hard to swallow scenarios, and cleverly woven situations. I really did enjoy this one!

Buy now from Amazon UK
Buy now from Amazon US

About the author

Bestselling author Lucy Dawson has had six books published, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. Lucy read Psychology at Warwick University before working as a magazine editor. She now writes full time and lives in Devon with her husband and children.

http://www.lucydawsonbooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lucydawsonbooks/

https://twitter.com/lucydawsonbooks

https://www.instagram.com/lucydawsonbooks/

#BlogTour! #Review – It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell (@MCampbellBooks) @HQStories

It’s Always the Husband…unless it’s the best friend.

Kate, Aubrey and Jenny are inseparable at college – friends who promised they’d always be there for each other.

But twenty years later, their friendship is about to take a deadly turn.

Kate married the gorgeous party boy, Aubrey married up, and Jenny married the boy next door, but when one of the friends dies in shocking circumstances, will everyone assume that it’s always the husband? Or could it be the best friend?

What does TWG think?

With a title and a tagline such as ‘It’s Always the Husband…unless it’s the best friend’, how on Earth are you just meant to walk past the book without picking it up? Yes, I hold my hands up and say that that is exactly the reason why I chose to read this book – because of the title. It intrigued me so much, I just had to find out whether it was in actual fact, always the husband. Or whether it was actually the best friend.

You’ll just have to read it to find out then, won’t you?

My opinion of the storyline kept changing the more of the book I read, ending up with me getting splinters in my backside from sitting on the fence. Personally, despite finding ‘It’s Always the Husband’ full of promise, I did find it to be a little slow. You know when you’re walking behind slow people in a supermarket and you’re silently willing them to move, whilst waving your arms about in frustration? I found the first part of the book to be a little bit like that. I was frustrated because the book had everything else it needed to be a gripping read, but the pace was all wrong.

That said, the pace did in fact pick up later on in the book and, whilst I appreciated that a lot, I still wished that it had picked up a lot sooner.

If I disregarded the pace of the book for one moment, and gave my opinion of the book without that, I would say that ‘It’s Always the Husband’ is incredibly addictive and highlights the lengths in which scorned women go to. I loved the strong presence of friendship especially. I did enjoy this book – trying to get to the bottom of the lies was such fun! I really did appreciate what the author was trying to do with her storyline and her characters, and whilst I do feel like she has achieved in getting her message across, it was the speed in which the dots were connected which I found hard to gauge.

All in all ‘It’s Always the Husband’ was a fun, exciting book to read. My only wish was that the pace and the delivery had a bit more guts to it.

I am looking forward to reading more from Michele Campbell, that’s for sure!

Thanks HQStories.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review – Liars by Frances Vick (@FranVicksays) @Bookouture

Are we all ‘Liars’? Seeing as this is a blog tour and I am about to share my honest opinion of Frances Vick’s new release, ‘Liars’, I can safely say that I am no liar. But who is? 😉

Huge thanks to Bookouture for the blog tour invite and the ARC of the book. Here is my review:

He loves you. He’d do anything for you. But you don’t even know his name.

Jenny hasn’t had an easy life – no job and no money, with a sick mother and an abusive ex-stepfather. Not that anybody cares, she’s from the wrong side of town.

David has taken care of Jenny ever since they were at school together. He knows how special she is, how much she needs his support. David has a lot of love to give.

Jenny and David aren’t in a relationship. They aren’t even friends.

Jenny thinks she’s free to do what she wants, see who she likes. What does David think? Well, you’ll have to find out.

What does TWG think?

Good golly Miss Molly! This book completely funked over my brain! There I was, minding my own business, when all of a sudden everything I thought about the storyline was no longer…..true. Hell, I’m surprised the characters names were correct! Yes, yes, there were moments after the book played with my head something chronic, that I was just waiting for the characters names to end up being a lie.

Isn’t it crazy what one storyline can do to your mind?

I am being extremely careful with my review as I really don’t want to give anything anyway, especially as every little detail plays a huge part in the overall vibe of the book.

I am genuinely surprised that I managed to put my jaw back in its correct place! It seem to spend a lot of the duration of the novel, hanging down in shock! Every time I turned the page, there was yet another thing waiting to shock me or funk my head up in even more. I really didn’t know who to believe. The character who I ended up showing more empathy towards, ended up being extremely colourful and weirdly so, I felt a bit betrayed. How daft does that sound?

‘Liars’ kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I did find the first part a little on the slow side, but after finishing the book, I can see why the author has written it that way as it’s a bit like ‘the calm before the storm’. Plus, setting the scene where this book is concerned, is extremely important because as readers, we need to create a picture in our own minds about what might happen. Without Frances Vick spoon-feeding parts of the storyline to begin with, I really don’t think that the book would have gripped me as much as it did.

Incredibly clever, highly gripping and incredibly intense, ‘Liars’ will leave you thinking that every single person is a liar….including yourself. Fabulous.

Buy now from Amazon

Author Bio:

The only child of parents who worked at a top security psychiatric hospital, Frances Vick grew up receiving disquieting notes and presents from the patients. Expelled from school, she spent the next few years on the dole, augmenting her income by providing security and crewing for gigs, and being a medical experiment guinea pig. Later jobs included working in a theatre in Manhattan, teaching English in Japanese Junior High Schools, and being a life model in Italy, before coming back to London and working with young offenders and refugees. Her first novel ‘Chinaski’ was published in 2014, her second, bestselling novel ‘Bad Little Girl’ came out in February 2017. Liars is out now.

 Author Social Media Links:

TWITTER: @franvicksays

WEBSITE: www.francesvick.co.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/FrancesVickAuthor/

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9843604.Frances_Vick

 

#BlogTour! #GuestPost from author of ‘In Love and War’ @LizTrenow @Panmacmillan

Closing Liz Trenow’s blog tour today is me, TWG! Big thank you PanMacmillan for the blog tour invite! It’s a pleasure to be alongside some truly wonderful bloggers, for a smashing author.

I am delighted to bring you a written piece from the lady herself, Liz Trenow. Enjoy!
(oh, and if you wanted to buy her new book, all the details will be after the guest post. Shhhh)

My writing day
by
Liz Trenow

 I write in the mornings when my mind is freshest – usually starting around 8.30ish and continuing till my stomach rumbles for lunch. In the afternoon my imagination seems to close down so then I do research, admin, replying to emails, blogging and, when I’ve got to that stage, proof reading.

I always write in my study, a small room at the front of the house where there are not too many distractions! Out of the window are trees and birds which sometimes distract me, as well as the comings and goings in the front drive. I also keep the door open so I can hear what is going on in the rest of the house. 

 I usually spend twenty minutes or so checking social media and answering emails. This helps me, mentally, to ‘clear the decks’ and gives me permission, somehow, to open the novel. But I don’t start writing new material right away. At least a hour is spent editing and if necessary rewriting the passage I was working on the previous day, easing myself back into the heads of my characters and the trajectory of the plot. Unlike other writers who talk about keeping card indexes on each character I’m lazy about keeping records so frequently have to track back to make sure these are consistent.  

The hardest part is avoiding a soggy middle. At some point I usually experience what Ian Rankin describes as ‘the fear’ when I am some way into the novel. That is when you start to think you are writing complete rubbish that will never get published, and even if it did, that reviewers would slate and readers hate. You just have to work your way through it and hold faith that it will come right in time. 

The other difficult moment, for me, is when I reach the end of the first draft. By this time I’ve lost any perspective on the novel, about whether it is good or bad, which bits work and which don’t. So I try to leave it for a week or so, then print it out and read in another room, straight through, without making any pencil edits if possible. At that point I quite often find myself in despair once more at the amount of work that I think is needed to make it work. However, once I get going on the edits, I begin to enjoy it once more.

Writing a novel is a huge task. It requires months or even years of solitary confinement, and families must be very tolerant of your divided attention. But I love it, and wouldn’t want any other kind of job.

If you have ever wondered what Liz Trenow’s writing day looked like, well, now you know! I must apologise as the guest post stated that there was a photo, however it did not appear after the download.

Here is the all important information about Liz’s new book, ‘In Love and War’, which was published on the 25th January.

Three women, once enemies. Their secrets will unite them.

The First World War is over. The war-torn area of Flanders near Ypres is no longer home to troops, but groups of tourists. Controversial battlefield tourism now brings hundreds of people to the area, all desperate to witness first-hand where their loved ones fell.

At the Hotel de la Paix in the small village of Hoppestadt, three women arrive, searching for traces of the men they have loved and lost.

Ruby is just twenty-one, a shy Englishwoman looking for the grave of her husband. Alice is only a little older but brimming with confidence; she has travelled all the way from America, convinced her brother is in fact still alive. Then there’s Martha, and her son Otto, who are not all they seem to be . . .

The three women in Liz Trenow’s In Love and War may have very different backgrounds, but they are united in their search for reconciliation: to resolve themselves to what the war took from them, but also to what life might still promise for the future . . .

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review – Girl Targeted by Val Collins (@valcollinsbooks) @SamanthaJGale

I really should re-name this month as ‘Psychological thriller’ month instead of just ‘January’!. Another brand new author for me today as I review ‘Girl Targeted’ by Val Collins as part of the blog tour organised by Samantha Gale.

Office jobs can be stressful. Aoife’s may be lethal.

Aoife’s life is finally on track. She’s happily married, pregnant with her first child and has the world’s best mother-in-law. But when Aoife accepts a job as an office temp, her entire life begins to unravel.

Is one of Aoife’s colleagues a murderer? Is Aoife the next target? Why is her husband unconcerned?

What does TWG think?

Having not read anything else by Val Collins before, I really didn’t know what to expect from ‘Girl Targeted’. The author hadn’t appeared on my radar so I really was starting this book completely blind (so to speak). Reading books written by new authors is brilliant as I get to expand my ever-growing TBR pile at the same time. What’s not to like?

As for ‘Girl Targeted’, I did find the storyline to be a little bit of a slow burner. I felt like my level of intrigue at times was down to the fact I had never read a book by this author before, instead of it being due to the storyline itself.

However, they say patience is a virtue and that could not have been more apt in this instance. Page by page, suspense started to become more apparent and things started to look interesting. Aoife is such an interesting character who, later on in the storyline, becomes surrounded by so many what if’s, question marks, and situations which she would rather not be involved in.

I do feel that there is more to Aoife’s character than what we saw, but I was impressed with the overall storyline when it started to get going. Only then was I able to really see the authors true talents.

Personally, I did enjoy what I read, especially how the storyline came into its own the more of the book I read. I would have liked a bit more oomph, but I still appreciated the level of grit nonetheless.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review – Here Come the Trolls by Ron Butlin (@RonButlinMakar) @LoveBooksGroup

Delighted to be taking part in a ‘Trolltastic’ blog tour today! My review of ‘Here Come the Trolls’ and ‘Day of the Trolls’ will include my general thoughts alongside my four year old’s thoughts as well. Big thank you to the author and LoveBooksGroup for the copies of the books, and for inviting me to take part in the tour. Here is my review:

‘Day of the Trolls’ blurb.

Fart-Fart and all the trolls are back! Join them in the shopping mall where they go wild, causing havoc as they overrun the place. But when they follow sign saying All Trolls – This Way, things turn out very differently to what Flycatcher, Bumscratcher, SnotFace and the rest of them expected…

‘Here Come the Trolls’ blurb

Through gaps in the roof we didn’t repair through cracks in the walls we pretended weren’t there . . . the trolls have come creeping while we were all sleeping. Trolls on your chair, trolls in your bed–is anything worse than a troll on your head? What happens when your house is invaded by trolls–mischievous creatures who do nothing but cause havoc and mayhem? Find out in this zany and charming book which tells you how to get rid of them for good and make your house a troll-free zone!

What does TWG and Baby Garnet think?

Baby Garnet: I like the books because they have lots of funny bits in them. I like the colours of the covers too. I like the girl trolls in the book because they remind me of me, and other children will like them too.

(Views said by four-year old, Eva, written by mumma (me). )

TWG: Oh these books made me laugh! I had to read them out to my daughter as she is currently learning how to read (if the book doesn’t just contain the words ‘to, stop, no, yes and okay’, then she’s pretty much stuffed). Even as an adult, I still found myself laughing at the troll ‘Fart-Fart’. Yes, I am childish but seriously, how is that not funny? I think the author has done a brilliant job in writing a book which will appeal to most children, due to the hilarious personalities of the trolls (and their names). Of course we all know that children find little things and everything funny – this is why I truly believe that children will be laughing out loud at what the trolls get up to. Well, that’s if their parents don’t beat them to the laughter first!

I am a sucker for children’s books which rhyme, because I find that I am able to get into the spirit of the story as I read it out loud to my little girl. Personally, I really do hope that Ron Butlin gives the trolls more things to do as I wouldn’t say no to going out and purchasing more of these books for my daughter (that’s if I don’t nab them to read first!).

‘Here Come the Trolls’ and ‘Day of the Trolls’ are fantastic reads for every little person out there. It doesn’t matter if the children aren’t reading yet as, with these books, you have the perfect opportunity to read to your child and re-light your own childish tendencies with Fart-Fart and SnotFace. I even think these books are suitable for adults as well!

I must highlight the fact that both books were illustrated by James Hutcheson – what a fabulous job he has done! The illustrations worked perfectly well with the story by bringing the trolls cheekiness to life in a fantastic way.

Absolutely brilliant.

Here Come the Trolls – Buy now from Amazon
Day of the Trolls – Buy now from Amazon

#BlogBlitz! #Review – No Ordinary Girl by Cheryl Elaine (@CherylElaine15) @Rararesources

It’s my turn on the third, and final day of the ‘No Ordinary Girl, blog blitz. Big thanks to RaRaResources for the invite, as well as an ARC of the book. Here is my review:

What started out as a night of celebration for Aimee soon turned into a nightmare. Snatched by cruel, sadistic monsters – the worst creatures mankind has ever produced – she’s thrown into a metal container, among other victims too frightened to make a single sound. The game-keepers force everyone to play. They deliver torment and pain in equal measure. Every hunter has their own agenda and reasons to maim and torture.

Detective Johnson is one step away from catching the killers. Wrestling with his instincts as a father to serve justice his own way, this is no ordinary case for him. Can he stop the vile sadists before they damage more young girls, as well as his own daughter?

Aimee’s ordeal within the compound brings her to the conclusion that she’s no ordinary girl. But can she hang onto her sanity long enough to escape? And will she find a different way to play?

This crime thriller will keep you riveted. It’s no ordinary story.

Warning – contains extremely graphic content which may be upsetting to some readers.

What does TWG think?

Oh my (*insert swear word here*) goodness!!!!! Before I go any further, please be aware that this book contains extremely graphic, violent and sadistic scenes. If you’re not a fan of highly graphic, non-consensual sexual violence, then this book is 100% not for you.

Right, now the warnings are out of the way, let’s talk about my thoughts of the book!

The fact that I don’t read blurbs, really did come back to bite me on my behind when I started to read ‘No Ordinary Girl’. I had seen people talking about it on social media, saying how it was certainly a different type of thriller to what they have read before. I didn’t take their views on board as I naively thought to myself, ‘nahhhh, it can’t be that bad!’. Do I wish I had paid attention to what other people were saying about the book? No, because my thoughts were right – the book wasn’t THAT BAD at all. Not in that sense anyway!

The characters were worse than bad – they were evil (well, most of them!). Despite being severely unsure of the book the more of it I read, I couldn’t even put it down. There were times where I thought I was going to be physically sick due to the disgusting actions of multiple characters, yet in a weird sort of way, that spurred me on to get through the book to find out what happened. Part of head kept shouting ‘put the book down, this is sick!!’, yet the another part of my head went; ‘OMG what happens next? Is everyone safe?’. I was torn, yet there was just something so disgustingly gripping about ‘No Ordinary Girl’, I had to see it through to the end.

I cannot believe how much attention to detail the author included in this storyline. I have to admit, I did question the authors’ sanity (no offence haha) as everything seemed so vivid. What on Earth was going through the author’s mind to write such vile scenarios? How the heck did she know about these sorts of things?! I am actually meaning all of this in a good way, just to clarify! Cheryl Elaine quite clearly has an incredible talent for writing – she certainly knows how to pull her readers in and never let them go! Bit like several of her characters as well!

Whilst ‘No Ordinary Girl’ repulsed me on various levels, it also took me prisoner with its clever, enigmatic and severely chilling storyline. Yes this book is the most graphic book I think I have ever read, but good golly Miss Molly – Cheryl Elaine has managed to pull it off one hundred percent.

‘No Ordinary Girl’ is one of those books where you feel like you should hate it due to what the storyline contains, yet you can’t help being gripped by it, bringing the book into multiple conversations afterwards (yes, I have done that!).

I am extremely impressed by Cheryl Elaine’s skills! This book went so far over the line it disappeared but, I have to admit, it was very cleverly executed (pardon the pun) and highly chilling. Am I weird for saying I really enjoyed this one?

Buy now from Amazon

Author bio

Cheryl Elaine was born in Germany but moved to Northern Ireland as a young child. She then moved to Yorkshire where she spent most of her childhood and this is where she currently resides with her husband and 3 daughters. 

Cheryl Elaine is an avid reader and enjoys watching horror movies – the more gruesome the better! She enjoys travelling and socialising but also loves spending time at home with her family and her ever expanding menagerie which currently includes 2 dogs, a budgie, 2 fish and a rat called Rocky!

Website – http://www.cherylelaine.co.uk
Twitter – @CherylElaine15
Insta – cherylelaine15

Giveaway!

To be in with the chance of winning 1 of 3 signed copies of ‘No Ordinary Girl’ by Cheryl Elaine, all you need to do is enter the giveaway here. Good luck!

#BlogTour! #Extract – A Year at Meadowbrook Manor by @FaithBleasdale @AvonBooksUK

It’s TWG’s turn to host Faith Bleasdale and ‘A Year at Meadowbrook Manor’ today! Unfortunately I didn’t quite have time to read the book to review for my stop today (but do watch this space!)! However, I am delighted to share an extract from Faith Bleasdale’s book! Hope you enjoy!

One divided family, one life-changing year…

Harriet Singer hasn’t been home in ten years. When her beloved dad dies suddenly, she races to be there for her estranged siblings, despite the memories it brings back.

Then Harriet learns that all four Singer siblings must live together for one year, caring for their dad’s Animal Sanctuary, or forfeit their inheritance.

Living under the same roof could make or break the family, but it’s time Harriet stopped running and faced her past. Especially when her first love turns up…

Extract.
Extract 3 – Chapter 14, 162-163

Harriet studied her youngest brother. They were all aware, since moving back to Meadowbrook, how much Freddie was drinking but normally only in the evening. Yes, she had caught him passed out by the swimming pool that one time, but he was Freddie. The partying, fun one of the family. And although she thought, privately, that he drank too much, she had put it down to his business falling apart and losing Dad. After all she had been through, she wanted to drink herself into a stupor most nights, so she could hardly blame him. But he clearly was using drink as a crutch and something would need to be done about it if he continued this way.
‘Why? Why would you do that?’ Pippa asked, she still sounded annoyed, in the sweetest way. 
‘Things are getting a bit on top of me, to be totally honest. Moving here, losing Dad, feeling lost, and then Loretta . . . She wants me to settle down a bit and when she says that it freaks me out.’
‘But why?’
‘I don’t know, I can’t explain it, I just feel out of my depth. But, I promise I’ll drink less, and I’ll apologise to the fête committee. I’ll do everything properly but don’t try to make me make sense of it because I can’t.’ Freddie put his head in his hands and his body shuddered; he was crying. Harriet couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him upset, even at the funeral he’d been cracking jokes.
‘Oh, Fred, I’m sorry.’ She sat next to him and put her arms around him.
‘I miss Dad. He always knew what to do and I never listened to him, but if he was here now, I would.’
Tears filled Gwen’s eyes, they streamed down Pippa’s cheeks, Harriet felt emotions choking her. It was all such a mess still. And they were all grieving, sometimes she forgot they were in the grip of grief, but then there were the ugly reminders.
‘It’ll be OK,’ Harriet said, and she fervently hoped it would be.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review – The Abandoned by Sharon Thompson (@SharontWriter) @BloodHoundBook

Delighted to be kicking off Sharon Thompson’s blog tour today, alongside many other bloggers! Big thanks to Sarah Hardy for the blog tour invite, as well as the ARC of ‘The Abandoned’. Here is my review:

Peggy Bowden has not had an easy life. As a teenager her mother was committed to an asylum and then a local priest forced her into an abusive marriage. But when her husband dies in an accident Peggy sees an opportunity to start again and trains as a midwife.

 In 1950s Dublin it is not easy for a woman to make a living and Peggy sees a chance to start a business and soon a lucrative maternity home is up and running. But when Peggy realizes that the lack of birth control is an issue for women, she uses their plight as a way to make more money. Very soon Peggy is on the wrong side of the law.

 What makes a woman decide to walk down a dark path? Can Peggy ever get back on the straight and narrow? Or will she have to pay for her crimes?

 

Set against the backdrop of Ireland in the 1950’s The Abandoned tells the story of one woman’s fight for survival and her journey into the underbelly of a dangerous criminal world.

What does TWG think?

Oh my flipping goodness!!!!! They weren’t wrong when they called this book a ‘thriller’, were they?!

I have to admit – I struggled with ‘The Abandoned’ to begin with. I spent several chapters thinking ‘what the flip flop am I reading?’, yet I was far too intrigued to stop reading! I know, I know – I don’t understand myself either! When you read this book you might understand where I am coming from.

‘The Abandoned’ is rather dark and quite often disturbing. Well, I thought so anyway! The more of the storyline I read, the more in tune I became with the characters way of life, and the outcomes of the situations in which they found themselves in (even though most of it was their own doing but let’s not split hairs!!!).

I cannot believe I am about to say this, but several times throughout the book I actually found myself feeling sorry for Peggy. She had the vibe of a very lost soul who can no longer find her way in life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning the things she got up to at all – they were horrendous, I just felt sorry for her and the fact she was incredibly lonely.

However, my empathy for such a character only went so far! Just when I thought we were seeing a different side to Peggy, she stuck two fingers up at the law and carried on the only way she knew how – the wrong way.

I loved how fast paced and chilling every part of this novel was, as it certainly kept me on my toes from start to finish, keeping my level of intrigued peaked until the very last second.

Dark, disturbing, dangerous, and quite weirdly fabulous, the chances of you abandoning ‘The Abandoned’ are quote slim to nil – it really is THAT addictive!

‘The Abandoned’ is available to buy right NOW from Amazon.

About the author.

Sharon Thompson lives in Donegal, Ireland. She is a member of Imagine, Write, Inspire. This is a writing group, under the mentorship of HarperCollins author Carmel Harrington. Sharon’s short stories have been published in various literary magazines and websites. #WritersWise is her collaboration with writer, Dr Liam Farrell. This is a trending, fortnightly, promotional tweet-chat with corresponding Facebook page and website (www.writerswise1.wordpress.com). Its mission is to encourage and support writers to reach as wide an audience as possible. Although she mostly writes crime fiction, Sharon does have a fun-side and she writes the quirky Woman’s Words column for the Donegal Woman wesbite. Sharon Thompson. Writing Fun is her writing page on Facebook and she tweets @sharontwriter.

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