#BlogBlitz! #Review – The Getaway Girls by Dee MacDonald (@DMacDonaldAuth) @Bookouture

Happy publication day to Dee MacDonald and ‘The Getaway Girls’! It isn’t often that I break a few day blog break to do a blog tour, but when Kim Nash from Bookouture asked me to be involved, I just couldn’t say no, especially after reading her debut, ‘The Runaway Wife’. Huge thank you to Bookouture for both the blitz invite, and the ARC of the book. Here is my review:

One morning, Connie McColl wakes up and decides to swap her ordinary life, for an extraordinary adventure…

Connie McColl is finally free to make her own decisions for the first time in decades. And when she meets glamorous Gill and downtrodden Maggie, at a rather dull flower arranging class, it seems that she’s not the only one dreaming of adventure. The three very different women all agree it’s about time they had a holiday to remember.

So they make a pact for this summer to be their best yet – and drive off into the sunset together…

As they meander their way along the beautiful beaches of France and onto the glorious delights of Italy in their luxury campervan, the new friends have plenty of fun and frolics in the sunshine. But the vacation isn’t quite what they expected…

Gill will do anything to have one last holiday romance, Connie has a surprise inheritance awaiting her in Italy, and Maggie has a secret that is going to catch up with them all…

In the end, all three women discover that the journey they thought would be their last really is just the beginning…

What does TWG think?

Having read, loved, and absolutely adored the first meeting with Connie in ‘The Runaway Wife’, I was SO excited to get my hands on ‘The Getaway Girls’. Once again, Connie is getting itchy feet from staying in one place ‘too long’ and, now that she has the confidence to live her life to the fullest, the urge to embark on new adventures it’s too strong to ignore. Connie is at the stage in her life where she is expected to ‘act’ like someone in their late sixties, however someone of a certain age is meant to act that is, but she is more than willing to stick her two fingers up to anyone who chooses to stand in her way.

This time round, however, Connie has decided to drive to Italy, stopping off at some rather delightful sights on the way – but this is an adventure with a difference! She isn’t on her own! Connie and two other colourful characters, Gill and Maggie, have decided to accompany Connie on her travels. I’m just glad that they didn’t talk about expectations about their holiday before they set off, as I think that they would be rather shocked by the reality!

I loved how down to earth, relatable, and care free ‘The Getaway Girls’ was! Whilst I thought the overall vibe of the storyline was a little bit more serious and slightly less funny than the previous book, I still rather enjoyed catching up with Connie again and following her as she finally lives her life the way that she chooses. Of course, her summer came with a few hurdles, but it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you are in life, you’ll always be tested by life itself, making those moments of peace very well deserved.

I thought Gill was absolutely brilliant, and I am so glad that Maggie chose to come out of her shell by the end of the book. My opinion of both characters to begin with, were very uncertain as they kept their guards up for reasons which only become clear further into the storyline. I felt quite emotional towards the end of ‘The Getaway Girls’ – all three ladies had been on quite a journey, seeing different sights for the first time, finding themselves, as well as opening their hearts whilst they still could, the friendships that they had forged as the reached the end of their journey was very touching and extremely poignant. I would consider myself incredibly lucky if I were to reach my sixties and find myself surrounded with ladies as loyal as Gill, Maggie and Connie.

A thought-provoking, energetic, promising, and huggable read which fills your heart quicker than a box full of puppies. Another delightful treat from Dee MacDonald!

Buy now from Amazon
Buy now from iBooks

About the author 

The Runaway Wife is Dee’s first (published) novel but in fact she wrote her very first book – at around seven years of age! This was a love story which she duly illustrated before sewing all the pages together up one side. Writing was what she ‘was good at’ in school and she won several essay competitions, but then life got in the way and she didn’t pick up a pen again until after retirement.

Dee left Scotland and headed for London at the beginning of the swinging sixties. After typing her way round the West End she became an air stewardess on long haul routes with BA (then BOAC) for eight years. After that she did market research at Heathrow for both the government statistics and for BA, she became a sales rep., and was the receptionist at the Thames Television Studios in Teddington when they had the franchise.

She then ran a small B&B for ten years in Cornwall, where she lives with her husband. Dee has one son and two grandsons who live locally.

Her second book, The Getaway Girls, will be published in August.

You can find Dee on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dee.macdonald.18659
and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DMacDonaldAuth

#BlogTour! #Promo – Unshackled by Rachael Stewart (@rach_b52) @RaRaResources #Giveaway!

In case anyone wanted the temperature to rise even more, I have a slight hunch that ‘Unshackled’ by Rachael Stewart, may probably get you hot under the collar if you aren’t already! Seeing as I am too hot to trot, currently, I get to share all the important pieces of information about this book as part of my stop on the blog tour. Thank you to RaRaResources for the blog tour invite!

Unshackled is a thrilling ride of sexual awakening, love, money and corruption…

Trying to escape the evil hold of her stepfather, Abigail becomes a player in a wildly debauched
world that has her body hitting a plethora of sexual highs, while her heart clings to her new-found
love and the desire to be free. But can she break away and keep it all—the money, her freedom and
the girl?

Or will she lose everything?

Buy now from Amazon UK
Buy now from Amazon US
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

About the author.

Rachael Stewart adores conjuring up stories for the readers of Harlequin Mills & Boon and Deep
Desires Press, with tales varying from the heart-warmingly romantic to the wildly erotic.

Despite a degree in Business Studies and spending many years in the corporate world, the desire to
become an author never waned and it’s now her full-time pleasure, a dream come true.

A Welsh lass at heart, she now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and three children, and if she’s not
glued to her laptop, she’s wrapped up in them or enjoying the great outdoors seeking out inspiration.

Social Media Links

Website // Twitter // Facebook

Giveaway!

Prize – Win an e-copy of Unshackled by Rachael Stewart (Open Internationally)
*Terms and Conditions – Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the
Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all
valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received
within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all
entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is
used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of
the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for
fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for
despatch or delivery of the prize.

Enter the giveaway now!

#BlogTour! #Extract – The Lost Sister by Tracy Buchanan (@TracyBuchanan) @AvonBooksUK

It’s TWG’s turn on the blog tour for ‘The Lost Sister’ by Tracy Buchanan. Big thank you to Avon for the blog tour invite. Today I will be sharing an extract from the book, enjoy!

For the first time in your life, she is going to tell you the truth…

Then: A trip to the beach tore Becky’s world apart. It was the day her mother Selma met the mysterious man she went on to fall in love with, and leave her husband and child for.

Now: It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but Selma has just weeks to live. And she has something important to tell Becky – a secret she been hiding for many years. She had another daughter.

With the loss of her mother, Becky aches to find her sister. She knows she cannot move forward in her life without answers, but who can she really trust?

Extract.

Mike caught my eye. He was desperate for another. But I couldn’t think of anything worse, shuddering as I remembered that sticky, confusing, sick-infested time of Becky’s newborn months. The emotions. The tears. I adored Becky, my perfect one. It would be like going back to square one if I had another. Plus, there was the slight problem of Mike and I barely touching any more. Maybe that should have worried me, but the truth was, I didn’t want to touch or be touched. On the rare occasions when we did make love, I flinched then felt nothing, going through the motions as I turned my face away. I used to be so passionate, to love to hold and be held. But not any more.

I sighed, turning back to Julie. ‘We’ve been told we can’t,’ I whispered so Mike couldn’t overhear. The lie sent a thrill through me. ‘We don’t like to talk about it, especially Mike,’ I added with a grimace. Another touch of the arm. ‘You’re one of the only people I’ve told.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Julie whispered back. I could see it mixed in with the empathy in her eyes, how pleased she was to be one of the privileged few to know.

‘But let’s not talk about that,’ I said, fanning my hand about. ‘Tell me about you.’

As Julie launched into the details of her problems with sore nipples, I slid my sunglasses back up to hide the fact I wasn’t really listening, my mind drifting off to the plot of my latest novel.

E-book is available to buy now from Amazon

#BlogBlitz! #Guestpost from author of Chasing Black Gold, Robert Stone (@rstonecbg) @RaRaResources

It is a pleasure to welcome to TWG, author of ‘Chasing Black Gold’, Robert Stone! As part of the one day blog blitz, I have a guest post to share with you all today. But first, here is a little bit more information about Robert’s book, as well as the chance to win a signed copy of Robert’s book!

ROBERT STONE was a serial entrepreneur – an enterprising individual, mostly on the wrong
side of the law, who spent twenty-five years operating all over the world, before being
arrested in Switzerland as a result of an international manhunt led by an Organised Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force. Over the course of his career, Stone earned and lost several
lifetimes’ worth of fortunes, went to prison on three continents, used dozens of aliases, saw
men die, and masterminded one of the biggest marijuana smuggling operations in criminal
history. Fuel smuggling in Africa, trading fuel with generals, rebels and businessman, was
both his career high and, ultimately, what brought him down.

Purchase from:

The History Press
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Barnes and Noble
Amazon US

Giveaway!

Prize – Win 10 x signed copies of Chasing Black Gold (Open Internationally)
*Terms and Conditions – Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the
Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all
valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all
entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is
used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of
the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for
fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for
despatch or delivery of the prize.

Enter the giveaway!

Guest post from author, Robert Stone.

I’m currently working on Chasing Deep Gold. It is a nonfiction tale of my career in the Commercial Oil
Field Diving Industry and a prequel to Chasing Black Gold

When I was working The North Sea I ended up being mainly involved in Hyperbaric Welding. There
were only a few of us in the world certified to do it. Taylor Diving and Comex were the leaders in this
field.

Hyperbaric Welding is welding (mainly pipelines) in a dry atmosphere on the ocean floor. The dry
atmosphere was created by lowering a SPAR or Submersible Pipe Alignment Rig with a welding
habitat in the centre. The SPAR was maybe 60 foot long and 20 foot wide weighing in around 80 –
100 tons.

You were either replacing flanged connections, joining newly laid pipelines together or repairing
damaged sections of an existing pipeline.
Because pipe welding was extremely difficult and took years of experience to get it right the bosses
at Taylor decided they would train pipe welders from the lay barges how to dive. The logic was any
monkey could learn how to dive but it took a skilled man to weld pipe.
The first winter they taught the welders how to dive in a 30 foot deep tank in Belle Chase Louisiana.
Clear water- breathe in breathe out – wearing a helmet- easy peasy- what was all the fuss about?
They then were put in saturation at a special hyperbaric facility where the depth and the welding
could be simulated. This was slightly more difficult for them to get used to as living in a 7 foot
diameter 20 foot long chamber with 5 other guys for a couple of weeks takes some getting used to but
they did. Welding arcs behaved differently under pressure as well but they were experienced hands
and adapted to it.

Everything went well, the welding procedures were certified and we mobilized in The North Sea
early Spring to go do some tie-ins in The Ekofisk Field in Norway.
The Offshore Industry and the diving business in general is much different today than it was in the
1970’s. Today personnel work shift of 2 weeks on 2 weeks off or 2 weeks on 3 weeks off. Divers have
to have double time off so two weeks in saturation means four weeks off. Back then our contracts
were for a minimum of 4 months. Ask to leave before that you would lose your 10% bonus.
You went into sat and basically didn’t come out until the year was done. You could opt out if
weather was on or they were doing a crew change if you wanted but I never did. This particular year
I spent 210 days offshore straight with 207 of them in saturation. It was 72 days in (my longest sat) 1
day out, 69 days in, 2 days out and the next 66 in before de-mobilising in Rotterdam.
(In my diving career I spent a total of 2265 days in saturation. That is over 6 years in a small tank
with 8 other guys. No wonder the time I later spent in prison was such a doddle.)
The regular diving crew went into sat and prepared the job for the welder divers. We lined up the
pipes, broke the concrete weight coating off using sledge hammers. Busting concrete for 4 hours on
the ocean floor is hard work. They estimated we burned up 7-8000 calories per dive. We set the
SPAR and lowered the habitat over the pipes and sealed it off then blew it down with a breathable
atmosphere. In this case a mixture of O2 and Helium.

Now it was time for the welders to come in and go to work. 3 divers went into the decompression
lock and the 6 welder divers came in. I was in the first bell run. The outside bell lights had fused and
were not working so when we got to the bottom and equalised all these divers saw in the mist was a
cold black hole and told me no F’n way and refused to go out. We ended up going up and changing
out the team. Next guys said the same thing. What we had was a barge costing $500,000 USD / day
doing nothing.

We ended up going down, running a line over to the habitat and taking the guys one by one by hand
over to the habitat. Wouldn’t be allowed today as we had to leave the bell unattended. They
managed to get the welds done but that winter the company taught a few of us divers how to weld
pipe!

#BlogTour! #Review – The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen (@wordsofhelen) @penguinukbooks

Today is my turn on the blog tour for ‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ by Helen Cullen. Huge thanks to Katie Ashworth for the blog tour invite and the ARC of the book. Here is my review:

Lost letters have only one hope for survival . . .

Inside the Dead Letters Depot in East London, William Woolf is one of thirty letter detectives who spend their days solving mysteries. Missing postcodes, illegible handwriting, rain-smudged ink, lost address labels, torn packages, forgotten street names – they are all the culprits of missed birthdays, broken hearts, unheard confessions, pointless accusations, unpaid bills and unanswered prayers.

When William discovers letters addressed simply to ‘My Great Love’ his work takes on new meaning.

Written by a woman to a soulmate she hasn’t met yet, the missives stir William in ways he didn’t know were possible. Soon he begins to wonder: Could William be her great love?

William must follow the clues in Winter’s letters to solve his most important mystery yet: the human heart.

What does TWG think?

Can I just say how amazing the cover of this book is?! Look at it! I choose books to read based on the cover/title/author, and I have to say that this is one of the best covers I have had the pleasure of holding in my hands so far this year!

‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ had me feeling intrigued from the very beginning as I had no idea where the storyline was going to lead, and what with such colourful and diverse main characters, I couldn’t help but feel that I was going to be in for a bumpy ride.

I don’t know what I expected to happen in ‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’, but what actually happened couldn’t have been further from my mind. The overall premise was enchanting and delightful, and I really did appreciate what the author was trying to convey with her words that were clearly written from the heart, however I didn’t quite get…..IT. It’s probably just me, but I seemed to miss the hook in the book as I couldn’t quite work out what William and Clare were trying to achieve. Well, I understood that they were trying to patch up their relationship, but as both of them seemed to make decisions which made that patching up incredibly slow, I had to have more of an open mind to try to understand why William took the route that he did.

Maybe it’s because a lot of the storyline was written from the characters sub conscience as opposed to mainly communication between them both, I don’t know, but even though my mind took a  while to work out the storyline, there was still a part of me that ended up being swept up in the moment of ‘what ifs’, ‘could be’s’ and true love.

Helen Cullen is an exceptionally talented author who, even though I struggled to understand the novel, still allowed me to grasp the emotions of the characters with her enchanting and delightful way of writing. Yes, ‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ is a completely different style of book that I would usually read, I am so pleased that I was able to get to know William, Clare, and the writers of such tender letters. Unique, emotive, and highly enchanting, understand it or not, ‘The Lost Letters of William Woolf’ will get under your skin.

Buy now from Amazon

#BlogTour! #Review – #TheMiddleAgedVirgin by Olivia Spring (@ospringauthor)

Thank you so much to Olivia Spring for personally asking me to review her debut novel, ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’, and for asking me to take part in the blog tour as well! I am delighted to be today’s stop on the tour, and to celebrate I have a review for you all. Enjoy!

If you’d just come out of a long-term relationship and hadn’t been intimate for ages, how well would you cope with dating and having sex again?

Sophia Huntingdon seems to have it all: a high-flying job running London’s coolest beauty PR agency, a lovely boyfriend and a dressing room filled with Louboutins.

But when tragedy strikes, Sophia realises that rather than living the dream, she’s actually an unhappy workaholic in a monotonous relationship, with zero personal life. Her lack of activity in the bedroom is so apparent that her best friend declares her a MARGIN, or Middle-Aged Virgin—a term used for adults who have experienced a drought so long that they can’t remember the last time they had sex.

Determined to transform her life whilst she’s still young enough to enjoy it, Sophia hatches a plan to work less, live more and embark on exciting adventures, including rediscovering the electrifying passion she’s been craving.

But after ending her fifteen-year relationship, how will Sophia, a self-confessed control freak handle navigating the unpredictable world of online dating?

If she does meet someone new, will she even remember what to do? And as an independent career woman, how much is Sophia really prepared to sacrifice for love?

What does TWG think?

Snigger! Cobwebs….dry spell….so many things in this book that I would associate with myself, and not spiders or the weather. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ is absolutely bang on in terms of its references to modern-day society. I mean, the main character, Sophia, is worried that she is merely settling. She may have confidence where her work is concerned, but if you were to put her personal life in the spotlight, Sophia would melt like Olaf from Frozen! I must say that I am incredibly envious of Sophia’s shoe collection, especially the Louboutins – shoe goals right there!!

I can see why Sophia chose to end the relationship that she has had for most of her adult life, but I can also see why she chose to settle. Not that that makes it a nicer thing to do, because it doesn’t. Settling just because, is not fair on all the people involved, but because starting again comes with a lot of uncertainty and fear, settling becomes the safest option all round.

‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ will certainly have a lot of readers nodding their heads in agreement at some of the things Sophia’s best friends, Roxy and Bella, come out with. That said, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the storyline was a little bit padded with information that wasn’t overly relevant to the bigger picture. Don’t get me wrong, it was lovely to find out more about Sophia and what made her tick, but there were times where I did feel as though the storyline was missing the point.

I’m not saying this book wasn’t enjoyable, because oh it was! It’s also absolutely hilarious! I just think that some things could have been a bit more defined, but obviously that is my opinion.

It wasn’t until I finished reading Olivia Spring’s debut, that I realised that the author had incorporated an important message into it – don’t settle for second best, grab life by the youknowwhats, and refuse to life your life the way that someone else wants you to. Live life for you. Eat the last cookie. Spend all day in your pyjama’s. Remove toxic relationships from your life. Embark on new challenges, even if it is taking the stairs instead of the lift. But, most importantly, never give up on the things that make you happy, and never keep hold of the things which don’t make you happy, any longer than absolutely necessary.

So yeah, Olivia Spring is a very wise author, and yes I got all of the above from reading ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’! I am incredibly impressed by how the author incorporates such important topics into a laugh out loud, chilled and magnetic story, making her characters come to life in such a relatable and realistic manner. The main character may be forty, but I think that the scenarios written in this book would be great lessons for women and males of all ages.

A diverse, wise, poignant, and sniggerific novel which made me ensure that I kept my duster handy…you know, just in case!

Buy now from Amazon

#BlogTour! #Review – Last Witness by Chris Merritt (@DrCJMerritt) @Bookouture

I am delighted to be one of today’s stop on Chris Merritt’s blog tour for ‘Last Witness’ – what a book! Huge thanks to Bookouture for the blog tour invite and the ARC of the book. Here is my review:

What if you made one mistake and it came back to kill you? 

Detective Zac Boateng’s old friend, Troy McEwen, is found dead in his home. The official verdict is suicide. But Boateng believes it was murder. And he thinks he might be next on the killer’s list.

If Troy didn’t take his own life, then who did? As he investigates, Boateng discovers a link to an incident from decades earlier. Mistakes were made that day. Lives were lost and secrets kept. Until now…

As more people who were there on that fateful day are found dead, Boateng knows that the killer is closing in on him…

What does TWG think?

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic opening!!! I have to say that my timing for reading ‘Last Witness’ was unbelievably shocking as the way which Troy was found deceased, was very close to home on a personal level. It probably should have done, but it didn’t put me off continuing to read the book at all, in fact, it made me more intrigued about what was going to happen throughout the rest of the storyline.

‘Last Witness’ is such a heart in mouth, fast paced and chilling read which kept my jaw on the floor, and my bottom on the edge of my seat. I’m not even going to give my opinion on certain parts of the storyline, as I really do think that you should read this book with the least amount of information beforehand. Trust me, the shock factor is amplified big time.

Zac is such an extraordinarily complex character and to be honest, you can’t really blame him for that. If you have read the first book in the series, you would be able to understand more. However if you haven’t, don’t worry though as ‘Last Witness’ can be read very well as a standalone. Zac’s complexity is weirdly endearing, even though I don’t think that we would ever be able to fully understand his personality, even if the author wrote another ten books with him at the forefront of the storyline. That isn’t a bad thing by the way, at all!

‘Last Witness’ is definitely a read which will raise your heart rate, lower your oxygen levels, and make your skin crawl. Hell, I heard a noise outside and literally jumped off the bed!

Chris Merritt is an amazing author who creates such magnetic and well-rounded stories, paving the way for his readers to be able to lose themselves in and unknowingly become an extra in the book. I really enjoyed ‘Last Witness’ and I cannot wait to find out what happens in Zac’s life next time – what a corker of a book this is!

Buy now from Amazon

About the author.

Chris Merritt is a Clinical Psychologist and former diplomat based in London, who has been writing on psychology since 2010. In 2014 he decided to combine his Bring Her Back, his debut novel. He currently works on a mental health research project at King’s College London, and part-time as a psychologist in the NHS. When not working or writing, he loves climbing and basketball, and dreams of one day being able to work from home enough to own a whippet.

 Author Social Media Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrCJMerritt

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17558172.Chris_Merritt

#BlogTour! #Review – Oh Crumbs by Kathryn Freeman (@KathrynFreeman1) @ChocLitUK @RaRaResources

Squeal! Day two of the Kathryn Freeman’s blog tour and I couldn’t be more happier to welcome this FANTASTIC author back to TWG! For my stop today, I have the pleasure of reviewing Kathryn’s latest release, ‘Oh Crumbs’. Big thank you to RaraResources for the blog tour invite, and thank you to ChocLitUK for the ARC. Here is my review:

Sometimes life just takes the biscuit …

Abby Spencer knows she can come across as an airhead – she talks too much and is a bit of a klutz –
but there’s more to her than that. Though she sacrificed her career to help raise her sisters, a job
interview at biscuit company Crumbs could finally be her chance to shine. That’s until she hurries in
late wearing a shirt covered in rusk crumbs, courtesy of her baby nephew, and trips over her
handbag.

Managing director Douglas Faulkner isn’t sure what to make of Abby Spencer with her Bambi eyes,
tousled hair and ability to say more in the half-hour interview than he manages in a day. All he
knows is she’s a breath of fresh air and could bring a new lease of life to the stale corporate world of
Crumbs. To his life too, if he’d let her.

But Doug’s harbouring a secret. He’s not the man she thinks he is.

What does TWG think?

A book with biscuits in it, written by Kathryn Freeman? What more could anyone want? As a massive, massive fan of both Kathryn Freeman AND biscuits, I had a pretty good feeling about ‘Oh Crumbs’!

I have to quickly admit though, at first I did find myself a little bit unsure about the book as it didn’t make me go ‘oooohhhhh’ straight away like previous books by Kathryn Freeman have. However, after making a cuppa to go with the biscuits my sub-conscience was going to snaff pretty soon, ‘Oh Crumbs’ took me under its wing like a packet of chocolate chip digestives (aka, TWG’s favourite biscuit). This book is, in my opinion, a little bit of a slow starter, but trust me when I say that it more than makes up for it as the story progresses.

To look at, Abby Spencer is a woman some males may call……typical, yet surprisingly enough, Abby makes their jaw drop in shock when she shows them that she is more than blonde hair and curves. Of course not everyone Abby comes across in the book believes her, and she finds herself in a bit of a pickle due to assumptions and anger which has been wrongly dumped on her. As a woman in her mid-twenties, Abby has had to grow up pretty fast due to the life shattering cards which life itself chose to deal her, and she realises that she needs to do something for her before she finds herself resenting her situation, even though it wasn’t anyone’s fault.

I ADORED Abby. I found her to be such a genuine, warm-hearted and fiery character, the uncertainty of knowing what would come out of her mouth filled me with excitement as I knew it was either going to make me laugh, or make me think ‘you go girl!’. I’m not as fabulous as Abby, ahem, but I couldn’t help but see a little bit of myself in the way that she carried herself. She is absolutely brilliant. I reckon a lot of readers will be able to relate to her not only due to her personality, but because of the way she has dealt with the challenges in her life.

Goodness me, Doug is a bit of a marmite character is he not?! He obviously has the looks (thanks to Kathryn Freeman’s wonderfully descriptive writing, I was able to create a rather vivid image in my mind!), yet he also has the arrogance to boot. Harsh? Possibly. Like Abby, Doug hasn’t had it easy, but it doesn’t excuse him for speaking and acting without thinking, hurting people in the process. Maybe he does that because it is all he has ever known? All I know is, is that Doug has a lot of pent-up anger and I hope he finds the release he so desperately needs. Well, he certainly released something alright -fans self-.

Kathryn Freeman has done it once again and I am OVER THE MOON that she has! This author writes the types of books I could quite happily read time and time again, and now she has added ‘Oh Crumbs’ to that selection. I know me and the biscuit book were unsure of each other to begin with, but Freeman pulled it out of the bag, kept the biscuits intact, and gave me a story which left me grinning from ear to ear. I would LOVE to see Abby and Doug back again as I reckon they have a lot more story to tell. Yes, I am majorly hinting for a sequel! Oooooh, maybe even a book with Doug’s mother as the character of the moment, I’m sure that she has a few more stories to tell! Either way, more please!!!

‘Oh Crumbs’, like Peter Kay once said about a certain type of biscuit, isn’t an ‘f-ing one dip’, nor is it a book which doesn’t fit. Instead, ‘Oh Crumbs’ is the creme de la creme, a book which, thanks to Peter Kay again, would probably say ‘DIP ME. AGAIN’. There was nothing I didn’t like about this book as I loved every single crumb the author wrote. I laughed out loud, became hot under the collar, felt empathy towards certain characters, felt anger towards another bunch of characters, and had my face ache due to smiling like a BN biscuit. ‘Oh Crumbs’ is such a heart-felt, laugh out loud, free-spirited, and romantic novel which will make the most judgemental of people, remove the metal rod from their youknowwhat. Another cracking read from an author who just gets better and better, every single time. What a delight.

Buy now from Amazon UK // Buy now from Amazon US

About the author.

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is
a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero.

With two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card
(yes, he does), any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change
proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.

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Giveaway!

Prize – Win a paperback copy of Too Damn Nice by Kathryn Freeman (Open Internationally)

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#BlogBlitz! #Review – No Time To Die by Andrew Barrett (@AndrewBarrettUK) @BloodHoundBook

Today I have the pleasure of closing the blog blitz for Andrew Barrett and ‘No Time To Die’. Big thank you, as always, to BloodHoundBooks for allowing me to take part in the blog blitz. Here is my review:

When CSI Eddie Collins finds a dead woman in his house, he thinks life can’t get any worse, until a violent gang ties his hands together and puts a gun to his head. And this time there’s no way out.

Operation Domino is the investigation into gang boss, Slade Crosby, and his connection to an undercover officer’s death. But tampered evidence kills the investigation’s progress, and with Eddie gone, Slade is in the clear.

There’s only one way to get Slade in cuffs, but it won’t be easy…

What does TWG think?

‘No Time To Die’ is the second book in the ‘Eddie Collins’ series. I haven’t read the first book yet, but whilst this instalment read well as a standalone, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had known a bit more about Eddie’s history. I felt like I was missing out on something, which, to be honest, is totally my fault for not reading the books in order, and not the author’s. Basically, I do recommend starting with book one first.

If you love reading books with a lot of characters, you will certainly be in your element with ‘No Time To Die’. I shan’t lie, I was a little bit overwhelmed to begin with, but it didn’t take me too long to get into the swing of things where each of the characters were concerned. The overall theme of ‘No Time To Die’ was a little bit uncomfortable to read at times, yet I thought Andrew Barrett delivered it absolutely brilliant, keeping everything as relatable as possible without losing any of the sensitivity which the theme needed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity of the novel, especially how the author kept delivering on suspense the more the storyline progressed. Andrew Barrett has such a unique writing style, it wouldn’t surprise me if he could turn an innocent nursery rhyme into something a lot more sinister, having readers ‘reading’ out of the palm of his hands!

Overall I found ‘No Time To Die’ a brilliantly paced, gritty, and jam-packed novel which kept my interest piqued until the very last page.

Amazon UK // Amazon US

About the author.

Andrew Barrett has enjoyed variety in his professional life, from engine-builder to farmer, from Oilfield Service Technician in Kuwait, to his current role of Senior CSI in Yorkshire.

He’s been a CSI since 1996, and has worked on all scene types from terrorism to murder, suicide to rape, drugs manufacture to bomb scenes. One way or another, Andrew’s life revolves around crime.

In 1997 he finished his first crime thriller, A Long Time Dead, and it’s still a readers’ favourite today, some 200,000 copies later, topping the Amazon charts several times. Two more books featuring SOCO Roger Conniston completed the trilogy.

Today, Andrew is still producing high-quality, authentic crime thrillers with a forensic flavour that attract attention from readers worldwide. He’s also attracted attention from the Yorkshire media, having been featured in the Yorkshire Post, and twice interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds.

He’s best known for his lead character, CSI Eddie Collins, and the acerbic way in which he roots out criminals and administers justice. Eddie’s series is four books and two short stories in length, and there’s still more to come.

Andrew is a proud Yorkshireman and sets all of his novels there, using his home city of Leeds as another major, and complementary, character in each of the stories.

Links:

Contact: andrew@andrewbarrett.co.uk

Website: http://www.andrewbarrett.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewBarrettUK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewBarrett.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewbarrettauthor/

#BlogBlitz! #Review – Murder in the Med by Peter Mayle @BloodHoundBook

Nothing like kicking off a blog blitz for a book about a ‘Murder in the Med’! Thank you to BloodHoundBooks for the blitz invite and the ARC of the book. Here is my review:

When a billionaire finds himself on the wrong side of a Russian tycoon, he’s fortunate to have friends, Sam and Elena, on hand to help him out. Now it’s up to Sam, who’s saved his friends neck before, to negotiate with an underworld hit men and Mafioso, in order to prevent his friend from winding up dead.

As usual, Sam and Elena still find time to enjoy the good life, but as Sam’s sleuthing draws him closer to the truth, he realizes his friend might not be the only one in trouble…

What does TWG think?

It isn’t often that I read a book where my opinion changes multiple times throughout, but ‘Murder in the Med’ was one of those reads! I was very intrigued by the characters and the lifestyles they lead. Who wouldn’t be?! The author has clearly paid close attention to the detail when writing about the setting, as it really jumped out at me and made me long for a holiday.

There were times where I was rather hooked by the events within the book, especially when the time came for the characters to play detective themselves, yet there were also times where I couldn’t help but feel a little deflated as I wanted more. That isn’t a bad thing by the way! It’s pretty clear that I don’t read many cozy mysteries as I am used to reading stories which are a little more fast paced than this one, but I certainly cannot fault Peter Mayle for the way he has brought his story to life.

In all honesty, ‘Murder in the Med’ was a nice change from my usual reads, one which was rather entertaining.

Peter Mayle – Amazon

About the author.

Peter Mayle was educated at Brighton College, England, and Harrison College, Barbados, where he developed a lifelong fondness for the sun. He left school at sixteen and returned to England, where he failed to distinguish himself as a waiter or a laundry van driver before joining Shell as a trainee. When he was 21, he moved to New York to work for David Ogilvy’s advertising agency, and subsequently spent the next fifteen years in the advertising business, before leaving honest employment to become a writer.

His first book, “WHERE DID I COME FROM?” (explaining the facts of life to children) was published in 1973 and is still in print today, more than three million copies later.

He moved to Provence in 1987 with the intention of writing a novel, but the distractions of his new life interfered and the result was A YEAR IN PROVENCE. Published in 1989, the book stayed on both the London Sunday Times and The New York Times bestseller lists for three years. The book has now sold more than seven million copies in 32 languages. The sequel, TOUJOURS PROVENCE, followed in 1991.

His subsequent books — EXPENSIVE HABITS, HOTEL PASTIS, A DOG’S LIFE, ANYTHING CONSIDERED, CHASING CEZANNE, ENCORE PROVENCE have appeared on bestseller lists in Britain, America, Germany, France and Japan. A GOOD YEAR was made into a film starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott.  His latest work, MY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN PROVENCE, REFLECTIONS ON THEN AND NOW, has just been published.

Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19316.Peter_Mayle

http://www.petermayle.com/