#TheTinNoseShop by Don J Snyder (@legend_Times_) #blogtour #review #wartimefiction #blogger

Many thanks to Legend Press for inviting me to take part in the blog tour for ‘The Tin Nose Shop’ by Don J Snyder, and for supplying me with an ARC of the book to review in a non-biased and honest manner.

INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE LAST GREAT UNTOLD STORIES OF WW1

1916. Young artist Sam Burke is spared death by firing squad on the battlefields of France and brought to a remote castle by the Irish Sea. At the ‘Tin Nose Shop’ he is tasked with creating intricate masks to hide the mutilated faces of his fellow soldiers from the Front. While he tries to come to terms with the death of his best friend and the promise he failed to keep, Sam and the disfigured soldiers struggle to return to their former lives and their loved ones.

A stirring and emotional tale based on the real-life story of the Tin Nose Shop.

TWG’s thoughts.

‘The Tin Nose Shop’ intrigued me at the very beginning. Despite having read multiple historical fiction set during the war, I hadn’t ever heard of masks being made for disfigured soldiers – it was nice to learn something new and to find out a bit more information about such a momentous time.

For me personally, the concept of the storyline was what grabbed my attention. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the idea. It was refreshing I must say.

That said, I do wish that that had a little more focus in the book. I felt like there was a lot of coverage surrounding Katie, Sam and Ned’s relationship, as well as Sam’s meeting with Lily, yet I wanted more about the main concept.

I thought the chapter headings were brilliantly thought out and cleverly done, and the authors attention to detail when it came to describing certain situations, feelings, and scenery, was spot on – everything seemed to come to life which I loved.

I also thought that the way the story was told, switching between narratives and locations was a little difficult to follow at times, and I couldn’t help but feel as though I had unintentionally missed out vital pieces of information as the characters seemed to transport themselves! I am glad that Sam got to tell his story though!

Overall, ‘The Tin Nose Shop’ was a unique read which highlighted something very important, allowing me to gain some new knowledge about a topic I really do enjoy. A very insightful, interesting concept with a poignant undertone.

Buy now from Amazon.

#BlogTour! #Extract from #TheMummyBloggers by Hollie Wainwright (@hollycwain) @legend_press

Today I have the pleasure of sharing an extract from ‘The Mummy Bloggers’ by Holly Wainwright. Many thanks to Legend Press for the blog tour invite. Before that though, here is a little bit more about the book and the all important purchase link:

Elle Campbell is a glossy, lycra-clad mum with washboard abs, a ten-year plan and a secret past.

Abi Black has quit sugar, moved to the country and is homeschooling her kids.

Leisel Adams slogs away at her office job each day before rushing home, steeped in guilt, to spend precious moments with her kids before bedtime.

All three share a label that they simultaneously relish and loathe: mummy blogger. And when they are nominated for an award with a hefty cash prize, the scene is set for a brutal and often hilarious battle for hearts, minds-and clicks. As the awards night gets closer, their lies get bigger, their stunts get crazier – and some mistakes from the past become harder and harder to hide.

Buy now!

Extract.

A #grateful day.

Ever had one of those days, Mummas, where you
realise that maybe, just maybe, you’re doing a good
job at this mothering thing after all? One of those
days where you can see all of the tiny sacrifices you
make for your family paying off?
I feel that way today. The sunlight is coming
in through my kitchen window. The washing up is
done, the laundry is folded away, the kitchen smells
of warm, comforting home cooking. It smells of love.
I have just finished baking some #healthytreats for
my family that I know will nourish them and make
them smile.
It’s one of those days when I’m so grateful that I
made the choice to stay at home and put my energy
into what matters. One of those days when I know
that making the effort to prepare healthy meals for
my boys was the right decision. It’s a day when I’m
so happy that I have been the one on the floor playing
trains with them.
It’s one of those days when I know that everything
I have been through, I have been through so I could
get to be right here today, in my beautiful home
with my three beautiful men. There’s nothing like
a #grateful day. I hope you’re having one, too. And
if today’s been tough, know that tomorrow can be
better #loveandlight

Elle snapped another selfie to go with her post. I am
grateful that my new lip filler has settled, she thought, but
didn’t type. I am grateful that Cate is getting paid to play trains with the boys. I’m grateful for Organic Annie’s home- delivery brownies. I’m grateful it’s not the day when Adrian’s girls come over to sulk at me. I’m grateful I am not Feral Abi.
‘Come on, boys, it’s bathtime!’ Elle called through the
kitchen door.

 

#TWGDiscusses – Please STOP saying that e-books aren’t REAL books – it’s offensive! #authors #publishers #ebooks #paperbacks #lovebooks

I feel like I’m stuck on repeat where this topic is concerned, yet STILL people continue to offend hundreds of authors, and readers, out there with comments such as ‘e-books aren’t real books’. How aren’t they real? An author spends the same amount if time writing a book whether it’s published in e-book, paperback, hardback or on a slate -eye roll-, so why do people continue to say that other formats of books aren’t real?

Let me ask you this….

You know those ‘friends’ you’ve made online yet haven’t currently met offline, would you say that they weren’t ‘real friends’ because they were made online? Probably not, so why is it okay to say that a book, published in a digital format, isn’t as real as those friends you have made using technology?

Think about it.

Authors can spend anything from a few months to a few years, perfecting their manuscript ready for publication, going through various steps such as multiple edits, restructures and so forth – it’s not like they wake up one morning, sit at their computer for an hour and produce a book. It takes time and a lot of patience. Once that manuscript is given to their publisher, it’s then digitalised and printed. Yes, contrary to popular belief, the same manuscript is used for a digital book AND a print book. Who would have thought it?! Obviously with a paperback/hardback you are physically turning the pages and holding the book with two hands, yet with a kindle you’re holding it differently and using one finger to change a page. BUT, have you thought about the different types of readers that are out there in the world? No?

Well you should.

Some readers can’t hold paperbacks/hardbacks due to illnesses.
Some readers can’t read books full stop because they’re blind and rely on audio.
Some readers are chronically ill and they require various different options, depending on their pain on that particular day.
Some readers have various different reasons as to why they would choose one format over another.

All of the above have one thing in common – they all want to read!!

I’ll be honest with you here. Several years ago I would have given you a filthy look if you had said about reading an e-book, but after realising that I was missing out on such fabulous books, I decided to give it a go. Not only that, several years ago I became a lot more ill and holding things for a long period of time was becoming impossible. E-books helped me to feel ‘normal’ and read books just like everyone else, on days where I felt like I couldn’t do anything like everyone else.

I appreciate that not everyone likes e-books and that they prefer paperbacks/hardbacks – that is totally fine! But what isn’t okay is when people say that they prefer ‘real’ books which is insinuating that a digital version of an authors book, is in fact fake. Can’t you see how offensive that is to the author? Just because a book is digitalised instead of being printed on paper, it doesn’t make it any less of a book!

Those ‘real book’ comments are not only offensive to the author who has written them, it’s also offensive to a reader reading them as if the 100 kindle books read last year shouldn’t be included in their Goodreads challenge because they’re ‘not real’. And yes, someone has said that before. If you don’t like e-books, fine! If you don’t like paperbacks, that’s also fine!

But please, please, please STOP saying that e-books aren’t real when they’re as real as the money you paid for them.

Oh, and as those comments are being made on a DIGITAL website, I can’t help but think ‘well isn’t that ironic’. Put your nose where it belongs, remove your snobbery and let people read the books they choose, in the format that they choose without offending a truck load of people in the process.

ALL books are real.
Instead of bashing people with the stupid ‘they aren’t real books’ comments, be happy that people are actually reading and supporting authors in any way they can. Surely that is more important than your snobbery?

#BlogTour! #Review – The Woman Before Me by Rith Dugdall (@RuthDugdall) @Legend_Press

Thank you to Legend Press for the blog tour invite, as well as a copy of Ruth’s book. Here is my review:

They came for me, just like I knew they would. Luke had been dead for just three days.
Rose Wilks life is shattered when her newborn baby Joel is admitted to intensive care. Emma Hatcher has all that Rose lacks. Beauty. A loving husband. A healthy son. Until tragedy strikes and Rose is the only suspect.

Now, having spent nearly five years behind bars, Rose is just weeks away from freedom. Her probation officer Cate must decide whether Rose is remorseful for Luke s death, or whether she remains a threat to society. As Cate is drawn in, she begins to doubt her own judgement.

Where is the line between love and obsession, can justice be served and, if so… by what means?

What does TWG think?

I have to admit that, although whilst hearing of this author before now, I had never sat down with one of her books. Trust me to choose my first one with an extremely hard theme!!

Despite the fact that ‘The Woman Before Me’ contains themes which could distress some readers, I thought that the entire storyline was approached in such a realistic, relatable, and extremely powerful manner. Hats off to Ruth Dugdall for writing such an emotive storyline and keeping it real. Whilst I understand that readers who have dealt with loss like Rose, may feel that this storyline is too close to home, I appreciate how realistic the author has kept the subject, despite the fact that I found myself struggling to read certain parts. People seem to forget that storylines in books are often based on real life events and, if an author can’t project a little piece of reality into her characters, there really is no point in continuing, is there?

For me, the pace of this book was absolutely spot on. There were no pregnant pauses, or chapters where I felt like I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the storyline to pick up again. Every page just seemed to flow in such a flawless manner and, as weird as this sounds, it made it such a joy to read as I found myself becoming incredibly invested in Rose’s situation and her life. If there book was a slow burner, I really don’t think I would have lost myself in the storyline.

Overall, I found ‘The Woman Before Me’ to be such an addictive, intense and highly compelling read which not only kept me guessing, it also allowed to me ignore everything around me. Yes, the storyline has multiple dark themes, and yes, they do make for an uncomfortable read. That said, I cannot fault the way in which the author has executed the storyline at all.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Extract from ‘Hotel on Shadow Lake’ by Daniela Tully @legend_press

TWG is delighted to share an extract from ‘Hotel on Shadow Lake’ by Daniela Tully as part of the blog tour organised by Legend Press.

When Maya was a girl, her grandmother
was everything to her: teller of magical fairy
tales, surrogate mother, best friend. Then her
grandmother disappeared without a trace, leaving
Maya with only questions to fill the void.
Twenty-seven years later, her grandmother’s body is
found in a place she had no connection to. Desperate
for answers, Maya begins to unravel secrets that go back
decades, from 1910s New York to 1930s Germany and
beyond.

But when she begins to find herself spinning her own lies
in order to uncover what happened, she must decide
whether her life, and a chance at love, are worth risking
for the truth.

Buy now from Amazon UK

Extract.

Martha
1990

Martha Wiesberg was a woman of strict routine: Sunday,
church; Monday, lunch with her neighbor; Tuesday, book
club; Wednesday, laundry press; Thursday, aerobics—all at
exactly the same time each week. Even a slight deviation was
destructive to people like Martha. She needed routine like air
to breathe. Only those who knew her very well—and they
were far and few—knew why: it was her way of numbing her
mind, of silencing the past and calming the voices that would
remind her that life could have been so different, if only…
It was four thirty in the afternoon. The sunlight was fading
slowly, the way it does when the cold of early autumn starts to
creep in. Martha had just fixed herself her daily afternoon cup
of coffee (decaf), sat down with her daily crossword puzzle,
and put on the television to watch her daily show. But her show
wasn’t on. Instead, a special program in honor of Germany’s
recently created Tag der Deutschen Einheit, “German Unity
Day,” was airing. Martha immediately switched off the TV.
The silence in the room engulfed her like a dark blanket,
allowing the voices in her head to become louder. This time
it wasn’t simply the interruption of routine that got to her;
it was the most recent milestone in Germany’s history: the
reunification. Most of the population seemed happy about
it, chatting about it in interviews on the TV, about what had
caused the separation in the first place: the war, a dark chapter.

For her part, Martha had moved on, or so she liked to think. But
of course, there were the memories. Her mind was just about
to dive deeper into that muddy lake of painful remembrances
when the doorbell rang and jolted her from her thoughts.
Martha opened the door and stared into the face of her
postman, who had been delivering the mail to her for over ten
years. The setting sun was breaking through the heavy clouds
one last time, providing a backlight that gave him an almost
ethereal appearance.
“Grüß Gott, Frau Wiesberg,” he said with a nervous smile.
Martha had never liked that salutation. Greet God? Okay!
She sang to herself, I will when I see him! She had always felt
a bit out of place in Munich. She was a Zugereiste, after all,
an “outsider” not born there.
“This is for you,” the postman said with outstretched arms.
Martha had never been too fond of him, partly because she
suspected that he was reading her mail, as letters would often
arrive torn open on the side. His curiosity, too, had become a
staple in her diet of routine.
Martha took the letter, wondering why the man had
bothered to ring the doorbell rather than simply leave the
letter in her mailbox. She was about to close the door when
he gently tugged her back.
“Yes?”
“Well, in the name of the German Federal Postal Services,
we would like to apologize very much for the delay.”
Confused, Martha studied the envelope, which had been—
or appeared to have been—ripped open by the transport, the
letter sticking out one side. Adolf’s face in the upper right
corner looked out at her sternly. She brought the envelope
closer to her eyes. The postmark read December 27, 1944.
“Are you joking?” she asked, and looked up at him.
“No, Frau Wiesberg, believe me, you are not the only one.
There are a couple of others who have also been affected.”
She gazed down again at the envelope, chills running up
her arms. “Affected by what?”

“The wall?” he said, surprised. “This letter was held up,
and,” he started to explain, “now that the wall has come
down, it finally found its way to you.”
Martha was still staring at the letter when it slowly began
to dawn on her.
“The German Post will of course not charge you any
delivery fee.” He giggled, and Martha glared at him.
“I mean the German Post stopped charging so little postage
a long time ago,” he went on.
“I understood that the first time. I just don’t find it at all
funny,” she told him.
The grin on his face died suddenly, and he shuffled his
feet nervously. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Martha asked impatiently.
“No, no. Have a great day.”
He was about to turn around when Martha heard him
mumble something else.
“What now?” she barked.
“Who is Wolfgang Wiesberg?” Martha slammed the door.
Leaning against the inside of the door, she shut her eyes.
She felt like a huge wave was breaking over her. Memories
were flowing back into her mind, making her dizzy.
She stared at the handwriting on the envelope. Wolfgang
Wiesberg. Her twin brother. How she had suffered when she
and Mother had been informed of his death, when the war
had ended. Yet she and Wolfgang hadn’t been close at the
end. In fact, she had probably wished his death at some point.
What was there to say, forty-six years later? Whatever was
in that letter couldn’t turn back time, couldn’t bring back the
love that life had held in store for her only to have cruelly
snatched it away.
I don’t want to remember, I don’t want to remember, I don’t
want to remember, she told herself over and over again, like
a mantra. Martha started to tremble uncontrollably. She had
always known that the secrets were only sleeping. Now they
had finally woken up and come back to haunt her.

 

#BlogTour! #Review – The Visitors by Catherine Burns (@C_Burnzi) @Legend_Press

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar.

Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden.

As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side.

What does TWG think?

With a tagline such as; ‘Can you escape the darkness within?’, I knew that unless I read the book, I would forever be wondering what that tagline meant. What darkness? Who needs to escape? Intrigued? You bet.

However, what I expected from the novel compared to what I actually read were two completely different things. I expected the storyline to be as punchy as the tagline on the front of the cover, but what I got was a carefully crafted, very well written novel, with a lot of creepy situations and complex characters added in for good measure.

Of course having a well thought out novel is a positive, especially if the writing is executed in a way which makes high-end literary readers sing from the rooftops. Because folks, ‘The Visitors’ IS beautifully written. So much so, I often found myself forgetting the genre I was reading. The authors words flew off the pages in their own little way – coming together in such a spellbinding manner, ready for the next part of the book.

I just couldn’t get a feel for the storyline itself as everything happened so slowly, I felt as though I was on a constant look-out for the nitty-gritty parts to show up. The authors words had promise. Hell, they even kept me reading the novel despite the slow burning storyline!

When the storyline DID get going, it felt a little bit too late. So much was squashed into, what I thought, was a short space of time and seemed to leave me with more questions than answers. Yet, thanks to the authors highly descriptive and majestic writing style, I ended up being creeped out on that alone.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the novel, because I did. I wouldn’t have kept reading it otherwise. Catherine Burns is, quite clearly, a fantastic writer. She managed to keep my attention with her writing style and use of language. In my eyes, the way the author executed the novel’s shell, was the star of the book. As for the overall storyline however, it certainly has promise.

Thanks Legend Press.

Buy now.

#BlogTour! #Review – The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister (@theladygreer) @legend_press

Huge thanks to Legend Press for asking me to kick off Greer Macallister’s blog tour for the paperback release of ‘The Magician’s Lie’. Here is my review:

The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her notorious trick of sawing a man in half on stage. But one night she swaps her trademark saw for an axe.

When Arden’s husband is found dead later that night, the answer seems clear, most of all to young policeman Virgil Holt.

Captured and taken into custody, all seems set for Arden’s swift confession. But she has a different story to tell. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless, and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding.

A magical and mysterious historical thriller, perfect for fans of The Night Circus and Water for Elephants.

What does TWG think?

I’ve got to be honest. If I was nosing through Amazon looking for a new book to read, there would be a slim chance ‘The Magician’s Lie’ would be the one I would usually pick. Why? Because magically inspired novels haven’t really made me go ‘ooooooh’ before. I’ve always thought that the storylines would be too far-fetched which meant that I have been bypassing these novels, purely based on assumption and lack of ‘ooooooh’ feeling. The question I asked myself upon finishing this novel was – ‘have I been missing out on some cracking reads?’. Answering that honestly, if all of the magically inspired murder mysteries out there are similar to Greer Macallister’s novel then yes, I have been missing out on some good reads.

If it wasn’t for Legend Press pointing ‘The Magician’s Lie’ in my direction, I would never have come across it on my accord, and for that I am quite thankful. Don’t get me wrong, some parts of the storyline were a little bit slow burning and made me lose interest a little bit. But, overall, I was genuinely surprised by how hooked on this book I was.

Straight away I was pulled into the storyline by the prologue and, laying all my cards on the table, I assumed the answer was clear. Once again my assumptions prove irrelevant but the shock factor was such a welcome surprise. However getting to the all important storyline conclusion was a definite slow burner. Whilst I wanted the author to get the point, I understood how vital some of the information Greer Macallister included, was. Did I think all of it was? No, I didn’t, yet the change of genre and overall storyline theme was incredibly refreshing. I surprised myself by enjoying the magical side to the novel, including the more in-depth parts of the tricks. Far fetched or not, it certainly is a talent.

I enjoyed the mysterious element of the storyline, especially the ‘whodunit?’ part as it meant the reader was able to get involved in the storyline by trying to piece everything together. Did I miss part of the storyline? Who was with ‘The Amazing Arden’ on the night? Why did she change from a saw to an axe? All these questions I tried to answer yet just like Virgil Holt, I had to be patient. ‘The Amazing Arden’ is such a complex character who, even when the storyline came to an end, I felt like there was so much more to the character than what we saw which piqued my interest even more. What happened to her once the conclusion was reached? Where did she go? What happened to her show?

Of course the likelihood of me finding out those answers are extremely slim, but the fact the author has managed to keep my interest even after the story has ended, is absolutely brilliant. Especially since this genre wasn’t my cup of tea to begin with.

Honestly? ‘The Magician’s Lie’ didn’t blow me away yet I really enjoyed the majority of the novel. I definitely will be reading Greer Macallister’s next novel after this.

Huge thanks to Legend Press.

Buy now from Amazon UK
Buy now from Amazon US

#BlogTour! #Extract from Ideal Love – Alice Burnett @BurnettBooks @Legend_Press

Delighted to be kicking off Alice Burnett’s blog tour today with an extract from ‘Ideal Love’, which was published on 1st August in e-book by Legend Press. Happy paperback publication day to Alice Burnett, however, as ‘Ideal Love’ is available to buy in paperback from today! I will be reviewing the book at a later date also; cannot wait to get stuck in!

After an argument with her husband Gilles, Venus Rees is left devastated by his sudden death. But when she discovers that he
died of a treatable genetic condition she knew nothing about, she is haunted by
the thought that he didn’t love her enough to save himself. As time passes,
Venus looks set to be trapped between grief and distrust forever. Until she meets
the shy, good-looking and seemingly ideal Alex.

Intertwining Venus’s compelling attraction to Alex in the present with
Gilles’ enraptured pursuit of her in the past, Ideal Love is an intimate and
life-affirming novel about love, from its incandescent beginnings to its final
breath and back again.

Buy ‘Ideal Love’ now in e-book or paperback.

Extract of ‘Ideal Love’ by Alice Burnett.

1

‘Cheek To Cheek’ by Irving Berlin

It was 25 September 1997, I was twenty-six and I had no idea the evening ahead of me would change my life.

‘Gilles – ’ Tim Woodward was whispering at my office door.

‘Ah thank God, let’s go.’

We exchanged nods with my principal and I steered Wood out of the building.

He was slightly less miserable than when I’d first suggested tonight’s party. We had a laugh about a keen fellow trainee on our way to the tube and I got a glimpse of the Wood of old. But whatever else happened that night, one mission had been accomplished – Wood was neither at his desk nor at home listening to Mozart’s Requiem.

He’d been single for a year, I’d only had six days of it, but I was the one who couldn’t sit still. We went down the escalators and squeezed on to a carriage. He’d gone too far into the darkness. I hadn’t expected my girlfriend to call it off either, I’d been upset. But the two of us were like travellers who’d teamed up only to realise we’d arrived, nothing was keeping us together. She’d just bothered to understand that and take action. And with enough notice for me to hear about this party, get Tim invited and coax him into showing up.

We stepped out of Covent Garden tube and I told him to prepare himself. It was going to be a beautiful night.

‘So it’s all over with Anna then?’ he asked bleakly. ‘Yup,’ I said, walking on.
‘Sorry to hear that.’
‘No, she did us both a favour.’

‘She seemed genuine to me.’
‘Yeh, she was, the spark just went out.’
Tim sighed. ‘Gilles, I hate to break this to you, but at some point you’ve got to stop thinking with your dick and grow up.’

A group of girls paraded past, like an erotic pat on the back. I could sense them with my eyes closed.

‘Tim,’ I said as they walked away, ‘twenty quid says I leave with a woman and you don’t.’

Tim raised his eyes and went quiet. I didn’t speak.

‘All right, all right,’ he said as if I hadn’t stopped talking. ‘Done.’

We walked into the club entrance and down the stairs, pulled under by the waves of sound and body heat, until we reached a kind of massive volcanic cave which my friend’s sister’s twenty-first had filled beyond imagining. The DJ was charging it up with seventies funk – there must have been over a hundred women on the dance oor alone – not only that, the men were all at the bar, dutifully perpetuating that great English ritual of refusing to dance with the women. What was this if not the promised land?

It didn’t take long before I was mesmerised. I pointed out the blond woman with the incredible figure to Tim. Tim said she looked aloof, but that on the plus side, this would help her shake off lust-crazed French bastards like me. I brought his attention to a sweet-looking, dark-haired girl I thought he might like, but he wasn’t convinced. I finally got Tim to concede that the blond one was ‘superficially attractive yes, but nice, no’, and went over and bought her a drink.

Her face wasn’t quite so pretty close up, but then again I clearly hadn’t made her day. She wasn’t interested in conversation and when I asked her to dance she looked at me like I’d told her a bad joke. Did I still smell of rejection? Surely not, it had been nearly a week.

Then I got lucky. She liked lawyers, especially city lawyers. She made a remark about my hair, and I said it was straight before I saw her. She laughed, and looked at me and carried on laughing, beyond the time allotted.

I went from trainee solicitor to cash-laden hotshot in ve minutes. She became a stream of gazes, a sweetshop of breasts, waist and thighs, drinking with me, dancing with me, not objecting to the feel of my hands. At least an hour must have gone by. One of her friends interrupted to complain about a girl they both knew. I went to get drinks and came back into focus. I couldn’t see Tim anywhere and wondered if he’d left. He didn’t get it. You just had to throw yourself and see where you landed.

But waiting in the crush at the bar, I glanced over at the one I’d been with as she dished it out, her expression as cold and dismissive as when I’d rst asked her to dance.

Nice no, I thought.

Back together, we found a quiet spot on the other side of the dance oor, and she was all hospitality, the sweetshop door open, the jars within reach.

We left the club. Cooling off on the pavement, I found myself asking her to dinner the following Thursday. Did people do that? But within a minute, she’d accepted, I’d hailed her a cab, kissed her goodnight and lost myself twenty quid.

I went back in to look for Tim.

#BlogTour! #Review – Little Gold by Allie Rogers (@alliewhowrites) @legend_press #LittleGold

Day three of the blog tour today, and the tour bus has stopped at TWG HQ! I have had the privilege of reviewing ‘Little Gold’ by Allie Rogers, and I am honoured to be sharing that review with you today. Enjoy!

The heat is oppressive and storms are brewing in Brighton in the summer of 1982. Little Gold, a boyish girl on the brink of adolescence, is struggling with the reality of her broken family and a home descending into chaos. Her only refuge is the tree at the end of her garden.

Into her fractured life steps elderly neighbour, Peggy Baxter. The connection between the two is instant, but just when it seems that Little Gold has found solace, outsiders appear who seek to take advantage of her frail family in the worst way possible. In an era when so much is hard to speak aloud, can Little Gold share enough of her life to avert disaster? And can Peggy Baxter, a woman running out of time and with her own secrets to bear, recognise the danger before it’s too late?

What does TWG think?

For a 288 page novel, ‘Little Gold’ certainly packs a punch. Set in Brighton, 1982, the storyline centres around Little Gold and her family. Well, her broken family to be exact. Life for Little Gold isn’t as straightforward as a childhood should be and her only safety net is a tree at the bottom of the garden. Whenever LG climbs up that tree she feels as free as a bird but as soon as her feet touch the ground again, reality switches off the light and takes her back to the dark place once again.

I’m not going to lie, I really did struggle with this storyline whilst I was reading it. I could understand most of the concept, yet I struggled to connect it all together to form a complete storyline. I’m not sure whether that was because the plot contained really intense messages and dark circumstances, or whether it was because I couldn’t connect to pieces of the book emotionally.

It wasn’t until a day or so after I had completed the book, that I had a lightbulb moment where the storyline was concerned. All of the various circumstances within the book, as well as all of the different emotions, FINALLY pieced themselves together in my mind. I finally had worked out what the complete message of the novel was! Obviously I’m not going to give anything away, but, make sure that you keep an open mind whilst reading ‘Little Gold’, don’t expect things to make sense automatically as you need to read between the lines without overthinking.

Now I finally understand the beauty of ‘Little Gold’, I can appreciate what the author was trying to do with Little Gold and Peggy Baxter. Two complete different characters to look at, yet two very similar characters personality wise. I’ll admit, several things which LG and her family went through really caught me, as Rogers had described each situation with such intensity and realism, creating powerful and vivid imagery in my mind. It was moments like that which took my breath away.

I am so glad that the beauty of Little Gold revealed itself to me in it’s own way. I would have been so disappointed in myself if I hadn’t been able to work out what message the author was trying to convey within her words. Such beautiful, beautiful words which were full of promise, hope and strength; just like Little Gold.

Heart-warming, powerful and thought provoking; ‘Little Gold’ will have you wearing your heart on your sleeve; you just need to surrender to the intensity of Allie Rogers words. Trust me, they’re gold; Little Gold.

Thank you Legend Press.

Buy now from Amazon UK

#BlogTour! #Review of ‘Blame’ by Paul Read (@paulreadauthor) @legend_press #Blame

Not only do I get the honour of kicking off Paul Read’s blog tour (thanks Lucy!!), today is also Paul Read’s publication day woot!! ‘Blame’ is now available for you all to buy, congratulations Paul!
My stop today consists of a review, along with the all important ‘to buy’ link at the very end. Enjoy!

It is the summer of 1989 when Lucas witnesses an event that will tear his family apart. Over a decade later, his estranged father succumbs to a suspected heart attack.

Lucas shuns grief and escapes to New York with his colleague Mariana. However, a dark secret from his past threatens to re-emerge and destroy the burgeoning relationship before it has even begun.

When his father’s girlfriend fails to reappear after reporting his death, the true cause of his demise falls under scrutiny. And as the startling truth comes to light, Lucas must confront the fact that father and son may not have been so different after all.

What does TWG think?

I’ve got to be honest, I spent the first couple of chapters wondering what the hell was going on! There was a lot of half answered questions at first, so when the storyline introduced a new character or a new situation I had quite a collection of question marks camping out over my head. Yeah it did confuse me as I wanted to find out what happened and I wasn’t getting the answers quick enough! Oh by the way, I’m really not complaining at all! I was just getting very impatient due to my extreme curiosity!

This review could potentially be shorter than my other ones as most of the vital information is linked to pretty much everything! Basically, I can’t take the chance with spoilers!

‘Blame’ has such a complex and intense storyline which the main characters manage to add a completely different dimension to. We follow Lucas’ journey where we see him battle multiple demons (namely himself), as well as seeing the storyline return to another point in his life with even more questionable demons. There are a lot of colourful personalities who pop in and out of Lucas’ journey, some who make themselves more known than the others (and not in a good way).

Reading ‘Blame’ opened my eyes in more ways than one, to a whole new lifestyle I had never acknowledged before. Well, I have never had the need to acknowledge it before and from an outsiders point of view, I felt that it would be best to remove my own personal views from the equation and read the book with a very basic outlook.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book I must admit, even though some situations were quite difficult to read, Paul Read laid it all bare and wrote it very black and white. There was no fluffing, it was quite raw and…honest. One thing that did irk me about the overall storyline was how it kept building up, and building up, creating more suspense with every turn of the page and then….

I was hoping for a smidge more as I certainly thought that it was heading in that direction. Having said that, I still really enjoyed the novel nonetheless and nothing felt ruined for me, personally. There does seem to be scope for even more to the storyline so I have my fingers crossed for another book of a similar nature. Actually, I’d be happy with another book overall!

A very poignant, gritty and powerful read from start to finish, I highly recommend reading ‘Blame’ and I am really looking forward to seeing what Paul Read has up his sleeve for his next book!

Thanks Legend Press!

Buy ‘Blame’ by Paul Read, on Amazon UK