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Blog Tour: Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

Hi lovelies,

Today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan. I’ll be sharing my review for this beauty a little further down!

About the author:

Natasha Ngan

Natasha Ngan is a writer and yoga teacher. She grew up between Malaysia, where the Chinese side of her family is from, and the UK. This multicultural upbringing continues to influence her writing, and she is passionate about bringing diverse stories to teens. Natasha studied Geography at the University of Cambridge before working as a social media consultant and fashion blogger.

She recently moved to Paris, where she likes to imagine she drifts stylishly from brasserie to brasserie, notepad in one hand, wineglass in the other. In reality, she spends most of her time getting lost on the metro and confusing locals with her French.

She is represented by Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary. Her YA novels THE ELITES and THE MEMORY KEEPERS are out now from Hot Key Books, and GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE was published in November 2018 by Little Brown, with GIRLS OF STORM AND SHADOW RELEASING THIS NOVEMBER.

Follow Natasha at: http://natashangan.com or on Twitter: @girlinthelens

About the book:

The Girls of Paper and Fire did the impossible.
They escaped.
But out in the unforgiving wild, hunted like prey, Lei and Wren learn that the most terrifying prisons have no walls.

‘Beautiful and heart-breaking and meaningful . . . Ngan’s writing is stunning’ Young Adult Reads

Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn’t the end of the plan – it’s just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei’s head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.

Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?

Click the link below to order your copy:

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

My review:

I loved the first book in this series, so I was delighted to be able to read Girls of Storm and Shadow for the blog tour.

Girls of Storm and Shadow is unrelenting in its plot. It deals perfectly with the aftermath of the events in Girls of Paper and Fire, without shying away from the horrific things Lei and Wren have seen and experienced.

The action in this book seems more heart-wrenching than Girls of Paper and Fire if that makes sense? Probably because you, as a reader, become so invested in these characters and have followed their stories so much that you’re willing them on to better things.

Girls of Storm and Shadow is richly imagined and beautifully written. Captivating, raw, dark and intricate, it is such a compelling series. My only issue is that the author has finished this one with the dreaded cliffhanger. And now I have to wait for ages to find out what happens next!

Brutal, engaging, visceral yet tender, Girls of Storm and Shadow is a must read.

Highly recommended!

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Blog Tour: Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver Ellen’s Review

Hey everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver, and I’ll be sharing her review with you all a litte further down.

About the author:

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

About the book:

Nothing Important Happened Today by [Carver, Will]

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of the People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe; it becomes a movement. A social media page that has lain dormant for four years suddenly has thousands of followers. The police are under pressure to find a link between the cult members, to locate a leader that does not seem to exist.

How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

Click the link below to get your copy:

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver

Ellen’s Review:

After reading Good Samaritans I announced that Will Carver was a dark genius, on finishing Nothing Important Happened Today this thought was increased tenfold along with WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK HAVE I JUST READ AND HOW DO I REVIEW IT!!??

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge all carrying matching backpacks with specific matching ropes inside. They’ve never met but they run and leap to their deaths. Every one of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: nothing important happened today. That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of the People Of Choice: a mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty two train passengers witness this mass suicide and two of them will be the next to kill themselves. By the morning the People of Choice has become a movement and social media is awash with theories and wannabe’s. The police are under immense pressure to find a link between the cult members and to locate a leader that does not seem to exist. How on Earth do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?!

Now let’s get one thing clear – this is a dark, dark book, with the blackest of black centres. The story is told using different perspectives; the victims/nobodies (reduced to numbers so meaningless are they), the detective and an unknown person giving us the rundown on how to run a successful cult. The descriptions of the suicides are quite intense and not for the delicate but the genius when it all comes together…perfection!

Personally I loved it!!

Highly recommend!

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Blog Tour: Safe House by Jo Jakeman Ellen’s Review

Hi guys,

The first of two blog tours for Ellen today, and its her review for Safe House by Jo Jakeman up first!

About the author:

Jo Jakeman

Jo was the winner of the prestigious Friday Night Live competition at York Festival of Writing. Her debut Psychological Thriller was published in the UK as Sticks and Stones by Harvill Secker (Penguin Random House) and as The Exes’ Revenge in the USA and Canada. It was shortlisted for the Best Revenge thriller of the year at the Dead Good Reader Awards. Her second thriller SAFE HOUSE is due October 31, 2019 in the UK and Spring 2020 in America and Canada.

About the book:

The morning after a terrible storm, a woman turns up in a remote Cornish village. She calls herself Charlie, but it’s a name she’s only had for a few days. She keeps herself to herself, reluctant to integrate with the locals. Because Charlie has a secret.

Charlie was in prison for providing a false alibi for a murderer. But Lee Fisher wasn’t a murderer to her; he was the man she loved. Convinced of his innocence, Charlie said she was with him the night a young woman was killed. This sacrifice cost her everything.

And now she has a chance to start again. But someone is watching her, waiting for her, wondering if she’s really paid the price for what she did.

Click the link below to get your copy of Safe House, which will be 99p for November:

Safe House by Jo Jakeman

Ellen’s Review:

This is the first book that I have read by Jo Jakeman and I will definitely be buying her debut Sticks and Stones after enjoying Safe House so much. The main character Charlie Miller moves into a small Cornish village Penderrion; it is obvious from the beginning that she has something to hide and is not prepared for the warm (and somewhat overbearing) welcome she receives from her neighbours. Charlie is very guarded and must be careful not to trip over the lies she has created around this new life she has created. Whatever she is running from must be bad as she has moved into a crumbling cottage which is barely suitable to live in.

The reasons behind the secrecy are soon revealed. Charlie has recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for providing a false alibi for her partner Lee. She was previously known as Steffi Finn and Lee was obviously a very controlling partner, so much so that she is gas-lighted into believing everything she is told. She changes her behaviour, drinking habits and is gradually cut off from her friends. Obviously as a reader my hackles were up; how could Steffi let this man control her so much!? Sadly this is something which does happen and Safe House gives an insight into how easily it can be to fall prey to such a partner.

It was also really interesting how Steffi was practically trialled and judged by the press before she was even sentenced. To be vilified in such a way must be heart breaking but at the end of the day she didn’t commit the murders and was the one to go to the police with further information which led to Lee’s conviction. You don’t blame her for wanting a fresh start but she soon realises that she may never have the anonymity she so desires as someone is out for revenge! How long can Charlie stay safe in this village when there are so many loose tongues and suspicious minds about…

Highly recommend!

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Blog Tour: Ghoster by Jason Arnopp Ellen’s Review

Hi everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Ghoster by Jason Arnopp, and I’ll be sharing her review with you all!

About the author:

Jason Arnopp

Jason Arnopp is the author of the new Orbit Books novel Ghoster, which Barnes & Noble’s SFF blog has said, “just might qualify as the first true horror novel of the 21st Century.” The Three author Sarah Lotz calls it, “a fiendishly smart exploration of obsession and social media addiction”, while Cross Her Heat author Sarah Pinborough reckons it’s, “twisty, creepy and utterly absorbing.”

Arnopp’s previous novel was The Last Days Of Jack Sparks (2016), which has been described as “a magnificent millennial nightmare” (Alan Moore), “scarier than watching The Exorcist in an abandoned asylum” (Sarah Lotz) and “The Omen for the social media age” (Christopher Brookmyre). Director Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code) optioned the film rights shortly after the book’s 2016 release.

Arnopp co-wrote the official behind-the-scenes book Inside Black Mirror with Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.

Check out his four shorter-form fiction titles:
— Beast In The Basement, a suspenseful, mind-blowing thriller novella
— A Sincere Warning About The Entity In Your Home, a chilling and groundbreaking short story set in YOUR home
— Auto Rewind, a dark, emotionally charged thriller novelette
— American Hoarder, a supernatural creep-fest available only when you join the author’s free mailing list at JasonArnopp.com

Arnopp previously wrote and executive-produced the Lionsgate feature film Stormhouse and script-edited the Peter Mullan feature The Man Inside. He has also written for the worlds of Doctor Who (BBC), The Sarah Jane Adventures (BBC) and Friday The 13th (New Line Cinema).

In his past life as a rock journalist, he interviewed the likes of Bon Jovi, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and Guns N’ Roses. He was once surrounded by angry guards holding semi-automatic weapons at The Vatican. His Slipknot biography, Slipknot: Inside The Sickness, Behind The Masks, was released in 2001 and is now available as a Kindle Edition. Arnopp has also written a guide to journalistic interviewing, entitled How To Interview Doctor Who, Ozzy Osbourne And Everyone Else, which is also out on Kindle.

Arnopp’s latest non-fiction book is From The Front Lines Of Rock. Available in the Kindle Store now, it gathers 30 of his favourite nterviews he wrote as a rock journalist, with the likes of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Korn, Kiss, Faith No More, Garbage, Nine Inch Nails and Green Day.

When you sign up for Arnopp’s free newsletter at JasonArnopp.com, you can also download his short story American Hoarder for free. You might also want to check out his YouTube channel by searching for his name there. What a wonderful world.

About the book:

Kate Collins has been ghosted.

She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty flat. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.

Except for his mobile phone.

Kate knows she shouldn’t hack into Scott’s phone. She shouldn’t look at his Tinder, his texts, his social media. But she can’t quite help herself.

That’s when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls from numbers she doesn’t recognise. Scratch marks on the door that she can’t explain.

And the growing feeling that she’s being watched . . .

Click the link below to grab your copy:

Ghoster by Jason Arnopp

Ellen’s Review:

The Last Days of Jack Sparks was one of my top reads of 2017 and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Ghoster! From the blurb alone it was obvious this was going to be a spooky read – perfect for October and dark nights when all you have for company is a good book and your mobile phone for the constant scrolling/refreshing/rotating around the same four apps. Yes! My evenings really are THAT exciting…

Ghoster is a thoroughly modern horror story; a smartphone being the centre of the intrigue and chills. Our main protagonist Kate Collins is a paramedic from Leeds who has a serious addiction to her phone and social media. Did you know that you can actually become addicted to your phone!? Apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram use the very same brain circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible…every text, like, swipe or notification gives your brain a little buzz of dopamine. Scary huh! This addiction caused a serious accident in Kate’s past so she now carries the most basic of phones (also known as a dumb phone) to resist the pull of the buzz. She actually meets her soulmate Scott Palmer on a digital detox weekend, how sweet when the stars align eh? And surely it’s just a coincidence that this is the guy she swiped right on a few months ago? Oh and look at that he’s a vegetarian too. I am obviously a MASSIVE cynic (and thank God dating apps weren’t a thing in my youth) because Kate falls for Scott and they are soon a serious item with her agreeing to move from her home in Leeds to his gorgeous flat in Brighton. The day before the move though Scott stops all contact, no response to Kate’s texts which leaves her understandably confused. Her place is all packed up and ready to go with new tenants lined up, she has transferred her job to Brighton what can she do!? Is Scott injured, his phone dead/lost or has he seriously ghosted her (when a person cuts off all contact with their friends or the person they’re dating, without warning or notice beforehand)?

Things get even more confusing when Kate arrives in Brighton, Scott’s flat is totally bare and a weird face has been drawn onto the patio glass. The only thing left behind is his smart phone, which appears to have been dropped in the middle of this moonlight flit. Do you think Kate can resist this glowing mine of information; if only she could access all his apps she might get an idea of what has happened but in fact all she ends up with is more questions, creepy phone calls and the feeling that she is being watched!

I absolutely loved this book, having read Jason’s previous books I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and enjoyed every creepy AF twist and reveal that he threw at me. Arnopp has cemented himself as one of my all time favourite authors and I look forward to whatever comes next. In summary (I know I’ve waffled on) if you’re looking for a thrilling, funny, head f**k of a book go buy Ghoster!!! Maybe avoid looking for it on your smartphone though…..

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Recent Reads Rapid Reviews

Three Dark Crowns

Three Dark Crowns

Three Dark Crowns had been on my TBR for so long and I was looking for a new fantasy read that would keep my attention. This book definitely fit the bill. I loved the premise and I found myself getting completely swept up in the drama. So much so that I keep thinking I really should read the next few books in the series, but I have’t gotten around to it yet (shocker!!!). Clever, intricate and fun, Three Dark Crowns is a brilliant start to the series and I’m really looking forward to continuing the series!

Click HERE to get your copy!

Morning Star

Morning Star: Red Rising Series 3

After the events of Golden Son, I knew I had to read Morning Star, but life and time got in the way, so I only got to read it a few months ago. To be honest, once I started, I was kicking myself for not picking it up sooner. I bloody loved it. It is a stellar series. The action is unrelenting, the characters are superb and the story just gets better and better with every book. Morning Star got me quite emotional because I became so utterly invested in the fates of the characters. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, I would highly recommend you get right on it!

Click HERE to get your copy!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel

Once in a while, a book comes along that completely surprises me. Evelyn Hugo was that book for me this year. I bought it on a whim in one of the kindle monthly deals an I’m really glad I did. I was thoroughly swept up into this story. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and I looked forward to reading it every time I picked up my kindle. It was not what I expected at all, and I absolutely loved it. I still think about it and its been months since I read it. Another one I would highly recommend!

Click HERE to get your copy!

The Never Game

The Never Game: The gripping new thriller from the No.1 bestselling author

I read the prequel novella to The Never Game, Captivated, and I instantly knew I wanted to read more. In Captivated, we were briefly introduced to Colter Shaw, and he’s the main character in this one. I don’t know what I was expecting with The Never Game, and while it was good, I found it really hard to keep my attention on the story. Its no Lincoln Rhyme, but its still an easy crime read.

Click HERE to get your copy!

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Blog Tour: Effin’ Birds by Aaron Reynolds Ellen’s Review

Hi folks,

Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Effin’ Birds by Aaron Reynolds today, and I’ll be sharing her review with you all!

About the author:

AARON REYNOLDS is a humourist, professional speaker, and the man behind the @EffinBirds and @swear_trek Twitter accounts. When he’s not on Twitter, you can find him producing a series of podcasts and at ComicCons dressed as George Lucas. He has been a baseball writer, a fine art printer, and a mall Santa Claus photographer. Aaron was raised in Mississauga, Canada, a suburb where they cut down all the trees and named the streets after them. He currently splits his time between Toronto and Ottawa.

About the book:

Have you ever looked a bird dead in the eye and wondered what it was thinking?

With Effin Birds, the most eagerly anticipated new volume in the noble avocation of bird identification, you can venture into nature with confidence. This farcical field guide will help you identify over 200 birds, but more importantly, for the first time in history, it will also help you understand what these birds are thinking:

  • The vainglorious grebe is acutely aware of its own magnificence.
  • The hipster pelican thinks the world is a sh*tbarge.
  • The overbearing heron wishes you better luck next time, f*cknuts.
  • The counsellor swallow wants you to maybe try not being a d*ckhead.

Alongside beautiful, scientifically accurate illustrations and a whole lot of swearing is incisive commentary on modern life and the world we, as humans, must navigate. Or maybe it s just some pictures of effin birds, okay?

Click the link below to order your copy:

Effin’ Birds by Aaron Reynolds

Ellen’s Review:

I have loved Effin Birds material for quite a while having followed the Twitter account (@EffinBirds) so was delighted that there is now this field guide! As a child I loved illustrated nature guides and this is a delightfully funny (and very sweary) update perfect for the adult audience.

The drawings used are beautiful and the captions that accompany them hilarious, I could really identify with a lot of them and definitely spotted some work acquaintances!

This is a great book to dip into when you need a little chuckle and a cheer up. Obviously this type of humour isn’t for everyone but it really appealed to me and I’ve already eyed up the merchandise available to add to my Christmas list.

Effin fantastic!

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Blog Tour: Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir Ellen’s Review

Hi everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir and I’ll be sharing her review with you all.

About the author:

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in the Reykjavik Noir series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide. Trap was published in 2018, and a Book of the Year in Guardian. The film rights for the series have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Lilja lives in Reykjavík with her partner. Follow Lilja on Twitter @lilja1972 and on her website liljawriter.com

About the book:

The prison doors slam shut behind Agla, when her sentence ends, but her lover Sonja is not there to meet her.

As a group of foreign businessmen tries to draw Agla into an ingenious fraud that stretches from Iceland around the world, Agla and her former nemesis, María find the stakes being raised at a terrifying speed.
Ruthless drug baron Ingimar will stop at nothing to protect his empire, but he has no idea about the powder keg he is sitting on in his own home.
At the same time, a deadly threat to Sonya and her family brings her from London back to Iceland, where she needs to settle scores with longstanding adversaries if she wants to stay alive.

Click the link below to order your copy:

Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir

Ellen’s Review:

Cage is the explosive finale to the Reykjavik Noir trilogy by Lilja Sigurdottir (Snare and Trap being the first two) and what a finale it is! I would definitely recommend reading the previous novels as there is a lot of information that is relevant and all the loose threads are finally tied up. Also, it’s a cracking trilogy!!

Cage is set six years after the events of Trap so as you can imagine a lot of things have changed in this time. Agla has served her sentence and is being released from prison but her former love Sonja is not there to meet her. I have to admit to warming more to Agla in this book as I’d previously found her to be very needy and manipulative; it was great to see this different side to her personality. She has had plenty of time to think while she was incarcerated and comes out more determined than ever to make a difference and do the right thing…in her own way of course!  After her release she is hired to look into what appears to be some dodgy dealings in in the aluminium sector. She brings in María for help, a former banking prosecutor and enemy, who is now an investigative journalist with The Squirrel (awesome name!).

Ingimar is another familiar character from the previous two books; still riding high on his success and wealth but his marriage is suffering and his son Anton is a hormonal ticking time bomb of emotions. All these storylines are brought together cleverly and there is a definite sense of an ending to the trilogy.

An intricate but fast paced and dramatic conclusion!

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Blog Tour: Cradle to Grave by Rachel Amphlett Ellen’s Review

Hey everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Cradle to Grave by Rachel Amphlett, and I’ll be sharing her review with you all just a little further down!

About the author:

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, and dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC. She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

The Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold have been sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series are published by Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

Her novels are available in eBook, print, large print and audiobook formats from libraries and worldwide retailers.

A keen traveller, Rachel holds both EU and Australian passports and can usually be found plotting her next trip two years in advance.

You can stay in touch with Rachel via her Reader’s Group, or drop her a line via the contact form.

About the book:

When a faceless body is found floating in the river on a summer’s morning, Detective Kay Hunter and her team are tasked with finding out the man’s identity – and where he came from.

The investigation takes a sinister turn when an abandoned boat is found, covered in blood stains and containing a child’s belongings.

Under mounting pressure from a distraught family and an unforgiving media, the police are in a race against time – but they have no leads, and no motive for the events that have taken place.

Will Kay be able to find a ruthless killer and a missing child before it’s too late?

Click the link below to order your copy:

The Family by Louise Jensen

Ellen’s Review:

Cradle to Grave is book eight in the Kay Hunter series by Rachel Amphlett and I can guarantee I will never tire of them! This series has become a comfort blanket of a read to me; I know as soon as I start I’ll be drawn in and lost in Kay Hunter’s world. This could be read as a standalone but I’ll always recommend people to start from book one (Scared to Death) and read the whole series.

The book opens with an innocent scene of a father taking his son on a fishing trip but soon descends into horror when a faceless body drifts towards them down the river! As Kay and her team locate the murder site the case takes a gut wrenching turn when children’s belongings are discovered and it becomes apparent that they are also investigating an abduction. This hits all the team hard whether they are parents or not and they are desperate to find the missing child who may still be in danger. Kay is especially touched by the case, she is still grieving over the loss of her own baby and is determined to reunite the family. Talking of family, it was lovely to see relationships between Kay and her mother finally defrosting and bridges being built.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but Kay’s partner Adam is one of my favourite secondary characters. Always there for her at the end of the day with a cold glass of wine, a lovely meal, comforting words and sometimes a cute home guest thanks to him being a vet! It’s great to see a glimpse of Kay at home and how strong her support network is. Adam is the perfect book boyfriend!

Another strong addition to the series – bring on book nine!

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Blog Tour: The Family by Louise Jensen Ellen’s Review

Hi everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for The Family by Louise Jensen, and I’ll be sharing her review with you all just a little further down!

About the author:

Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate and The Date. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Louise’s latest thriller, The Family, is published in autumn 2019 by Harper Collins.

The Sister was nominated for the Goodreads Debut of 2016 Award. The Date was nominated for The Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker’ Prize 2018. The Surrogate has been nominated for the best Polish thriller of 2018. The Gift has been optioned for a TV film. 

Louise began writing novels after an accident left her with a disability, as a way to escape her chronic pain and the ensuing depression. She also writes flash fiction, and features and articles for both magazines and online publications. Louise specialises in writing about mindfulness, chronic pain and mental health.

Louise loves to mentor writers of both fiction and non-fiction, and also teaches workshops.

About the book:

ONCE YOU’RE IN, THEY’LL NEVER LET YOU LEAVE.

Laura is grieving after the sudden death of her husband. Struggling to cope emotionally and financially, Laura is grateful when a local community, Oak Leaf Organics, offer her and her 17-year-old daughter Tilly a home.
 
But as Laura and Tilly settle into life with their new ‘family’, sinister things begin to happen. When one of the community dies in suspicious circumstances Laura wants to leave but Tilly, enthralled by the charismatic leader, Alex, refuses to go.
 
Desperately searching for a way to save her daughter, Laura uncovers a horrifying secret but Alex and his family aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Just as Laura has been digging into their past, they’ve been digging into hers and she discovers the terrifying reason they invited her and Tilly in, and why they’ll never let them leave…

Click the link below to order your copy:

The Family by Louise Jensen

Ellen’s Review:

I can’t believe that this is the first book that I have read by Louise Jensen! I do have all her others on my Kindle so I’ll definitely be reading them as I enjoyed The Family so much; it was a one sitting read for me, I couldn’t put it down.

Laura and her 17 year old daughter Tilly are struggling to cope after the sudden death of her husband. Crippled both financially and emotionally Laura is faced with losing her florist business and home. There has been a rift in her family due to a dispute so she feels she has nowhere to turn. When a local community offer her and Tilly somewhere to stay in return for working on their farm until she is back on her feet it seems like all her problems have been solved.

You know that saying about when something seems too good to be true it probably is….it doesn’t take long for Laura to become uncomfortable in this new environment however enigmatic their “leader” Alex is. After a suspicious death on the farm it becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems at Oak Leaf Organics, a lot of the members have something to hide and Tilly has become quite enamored with her new way of life (and Alex).  Laura discovers it’s far easier to join the community than leave it!

I really loved how the story was told from Laura and Tilly’s point of view and seeing how different the same conversation was perceived by each other. As the mum of a 16 year old daughter it really made me think about how my chats are interpreted! I was desperate for them to find some common ground rather than appear to be at each other’s throats as this made them even more vulnerable to outside influences.

The Family is a fascinating insight as to how easy it can be for people in vulnerable situations to be taken in and gas-lighted by a concept/promise of happiness. I will be recommending this one to everyone I meet!

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Blog Tour: Lake Child by Isabel Ashdown Ellen’s Review

Hi everyone,

Today, Ellen is taking part in the blog tour for Lake Child by Isabel Ashdown and I’ll be sharing her review with you all a little further down!

About the author:

Isabel Ashdown

Isabel Ashdown was born in London and grew up on the south coast of England. The opening of her debut won the Mail on Sunday Novel Competition, going on to be published as Glasshopper and being named as one of the best books of the year. Today, she writes full-time, walks daily, and volunteers in a local school for the charity Pets as Therapy. Isabel lives in Sussex with her carpenter husband, their two children and dogs Charlie and Leonard. Follow Isabel on Twitter @IsabelAshdown

About the book:

You trust your family. They love you. Don’t they?

When 17-year-old Eva Olsen awakes after a horrific accident that has left her bedbound, her parents are right by her side. Devoted, they watch over her night and day in the attic room of their family home in the forests of Norway.

But the accident has left Eva without her most recent memories, and not everything is as it seems. As secrets from the night of the accident begin to surface, Eva realises – she has to escape her parents’ house and discover the truth. But what if someone doesn’t want her to find it?

Click the link below to order your copy:

Lake Child by Isabel Ashdown

Ellen’s Review:

This is the first book by Isabel Ashdown that I have read and I was so intrigued by the blurb and that gorgeous cover! Seventeen year old Eva Olsen is recovering at home after being in a coma as the result of a car accident which nearly claimed her life. She is still very confused, suffered traumatic injuries and has no recollection of the events leading up to the crash. Her parents are at her beck and call; always there with words of comfort and support…so why is Eva locked in an attic room, why does she feel like she isn’t being told the whole truth and is there really someone out there that wants to silence her for good?

I found this story to be a slow burner but this is done for a good reason as the tension builds and the truth is revealed bit by bit. Eva is obviously not a reliable narrator due to her memory loss and it was easy to side with her parents until more details about the events come back to Eva. Even then she is confused and unable to trust anyone around her which was slightly frustrating at times. I was totally gripped and every twist was a total surprise to me. Lake Child is such an atmospheric read and I was drawn into the story and the surroundings of Norway. 

Highly recommend.

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