Saturday, 26 February 2022

The Invite - Sheryl Browne

Kaitlin has been looking forward to her engagement party for weeks. She’s finally introducing her fiancĂ© Greg to her best friend Zoe, but as the champagne corks pop, her dream party soon becomes her worst nightmare…


Staring at the stunning diamond solitaire on her finger, 
Kaitlin knows her relationship has been a whirlwind… but Greg looks after her, and he loves playing dad to her young daughter. How could she refuse when he’s already planned their romantic elopement?

As the guests arrive, Kaitlin wonders why Greg is suddenly acting so shifty. Is that a flicker of recognition on Zoe’s face? And why does she look terrified every time her phone rings?

Kaitlin watches as Zoe knocks back her white wine and makes a beeline for Greg. Then, after a heated conversation, her best friend stumbles outside without looking back.

Days later, the police knock at Kaitlin’s door – 
Zoe is missing.

When the police question Greg about the night of the party, Kaitlin knows he’s telling lies. But why would he? Can she really trust the man she’s marrying? And could her precious daughter’s life now be in danger too?

The Invite is an absolutely unmissable psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Girl on the TrainGone Girl and The Wife. You’ll be hooked from the first page!

Author Bio:

Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller THE INVITE comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.

 

To find out more about Sheryl. go to www.sherylbrowne.com


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Audio:

Listen to a sample here:

My Review

The Invite is a gripping thriller that weaves together a number of different stories and threads. Zoe has returned home from Portugal after being betrayed by the man she thought loved her. Then she goes missing. Her friend Kaitlin is worried about what has happened, but as things unfold, it's clear that it's not only the people in Zoe's life who have been lying and perhaps Kaitlin is in as much danger as her friend.

I enjoyed this read and although I guessed a few things that happened, I wasn't really sure where it was all going to go. Both Zoe and Kaitlin seem to have had terrible luck with the men that they have been involved with and their life in general. I did feel that at points the plot does seem to jump a little and it took me a second to catch up, but that didn't really detract and the pace of this book worked really well. Overall it was a great read and one that I would recommend.



Wednesday, 16 February 2022

The Paris Network - Siobhan Curham

 Paris, 1940: He pressed the tattered book into her hands. ‘You must go to the cafĂ© and ask at the counter for Pierre Duras. Tell him that I sent you. Tell him you’re there to save the people of France.’


Sliding the coded message in between the crisp pages of the hardback novel, bookstore owner Laurence slips out into the cold night to meet her resistance contact, pulling her woollen beret down further over her face. The silence of the night is suddenly shattered by an Allied plane rushing overhead, its tail aflame, heading down towards the forest. Her every nerve stands on end. She must try to rescue the pilot.

But straying from her mission isn’t part of the plan, and if she is discovered it won’t only be her life at risk…

America, years later: when Jeanne uncovers a dusty old box in her father’s garage, her world as she knows it is turned upside down. She has inherited a bookstore in a tiny French village just outside of Paris from a mysterious woman named Laurence.

Travelling to France to search for answers about the woman her father has kept a secret for years, Jeanne
finds the store tucked away in a corner of the cobbled main square. Boarded up, it is in complete disrepair. Inside, she finds a tiny silver pendant hidden beneath the blackened, scorched floorboards.


As Jeanne pieces together Laurence’s incredible story, she discovers a woman whose bravery knew no bounds. But will the truth about who Laurence really is shatter Jeanne’s heart, or change her future?

Inspired by true events, an epic and emotional novel about one woman’s strength to survive in the most difficult circumstances and the power of love in the face of darkness. Fans of The Alice NetworkThe Nightingale and The Lost Girls of Paris will be completely gripped from the very first page.

Author Bio:

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

https://www.facebook.com/Siobhan-Curham-Author-398343120181969

https://www.instagram.com/SiobhanCurham/

https://twitter.com/SiobhanCurham


Buy Link:

Audio:

Listen to a sample here:

My Review

I've read a few books over the years about the French resistance. It's one of those inspiring time that just manages to hold us completely gripped as we try and contemplate both the horror of the war that surrounded them in occupied France and the strength and character of those who had the bravery to stand up and resist the Germans. The Paris Network tells such a story, set both during the war with the story of Laurence and in the '90s when Jeanne discovers who her mother was and what happened to her.

I particularly liked the idea of a book shop owner being part of the resistance, using the books to help encourage her friends and neighbors, to pass messages, and to also undertake an act of defiance. Setting out to read those books that were banned by the nazis. 

This was a great read and one that I really enjoyed. I don't think I've read anything by Siobhan Curham before, but I'll certainly be checking out her other titles in the future. 





Sunday, 13 February 2022

The Child I Never Had - Kate Hewitt

 If you had to make an impossible choice to save your long-lost daughter, you would… wouldn’t
you?


It’s a warm early summer’s evening when Mia’s doorbell rings. She opens the door to see a teenage girl standing in the shadow beyond the porch light—and in an instant she knows who it is. Daisy, the daughter she gave up as a baby. Daisy steps forward, as she says tearfully “I’m sorry I didn’t call first. But something happened. And I really needed… you.”

Seventeen years before, knowing she couldn’t possibly give her beautiful little girl Daisy the future she deserved, Mia made the hardest decision of her life—to give her up. And Suzanne seemed the perfect adoptive mother: calm, stable, and full of love for the daughter she’d always dreamed of having.

The two mothers promised to keep communication open, so Daisy could have Mia’s love and support along with Suzanne’s. But as the years passed, Mia moved away, and their visits happened less. Now Daisy is almost a stranger to Mia—angry, closed and broken—nothing like the tiny girl she once couldn’t bear to say goodbye to.

But now Daisy has arrived on Mia’s doorstep, and she says she has a terrible secret. One she can never tell Suzanne. And she believes the only person who can help her is Mia. Her birth mother.

Mia, however, has secrets of her own. Ones she is afraid to let Daisy or anyone else know. And while Suzanne desperately seeks a way to bring her child home, can Mia overcome her past to help the girl they both call their daughter in her darkest hour before it’s too late?

Totally gripping emotional women’s fiction from the author guaranteed to make readers cry. Kate Hewitt’s story will grab you by the heartstrings and never let you go. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Jojo Moyes.

Author Bio:

Kate Hewitt is the author of many romance and women’s fiction novels. A former New Yorker and now an American ex-pat, she lives in a small town on the Welsh border with her husband, five children, and their overly affectionate Golden Retriever. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling stories that tackle real issues and touch people’s lives. 


Buy Links:

Audio Links:

Listen to a sample here:

My Review

It's really easy to think that once a child is adopted into a loving family, then everyone lives happily ever after and all is right with the world. The Child I Never Had is a story about the way that adoption affects everyone who is involved in it.

The story is told from the point of view of Mia, the young woman who gave up her baby and Suzanne the woman who adopted her. There is also a little bit from Daisy, the girl who was adopted. Each of them is struggling with their role in life and each other's life when they come to terms with the reality of the adoption. While some chapters here do focus on various stages from Daisy's life, most of the action takes place when Daisy is almost 18, on the cusp of becoming an adult herself. The fact that the trauma of the adoption exists for all of the three women, then it really helps to show what an impact it has.

This was an interesting and gripping read. I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to play out or in what way the various characters might come to terms with their experience and place in life. I really enjoyed this read and I think if you want a story that really explores human emotions, then you'll really enjoy this. 





Friday, 4 February 2022

Audrey -Sean-Paul Thomas

Audrey
Sean-Paul Thomas
Publication date: May 21st 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

From the author of My Sister and I and The Old Man and The Princess (recently optioned to be a motion picture) – comes a new, suspenseful romantic tale that will knock you off your feet. A story that has a reminiscence of ‘500 days of Summer’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ with a fair dollop of ‘The Graduate’ thrown in. And of course Audrey, a delightful, older female protagonist who takes the young and wayward ex-con Joe under her wing.

Just out of prison Joe, a young builder from Edinburgh who writes movie scripts in his spare time, randomly meets Audrey, a washed-up, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, middle-aged French film actress at his local film festival. After hitting it off and spending one crazy, magical night together, Audrey sees some potential in Joe and his writing and tries to help him win back his estranged daughter by getting his first screenplay made into a movie in Paris. And so, the adventure of a lifetime begins…

Goodreads / Amazon


Author Bio:

Scottish Author/Screenwriter.

Sean is an author from Edinburgh in Scotland. He is the best selling Kindle Author of 'The Old Man and The Princess' which was recently optioned to be a major motion picture.

Sean spent most of his childhood and teenage years on the move with his Scottish and Irish army Parents growing up in the likes of Cyprus, Germany, Wales, and England, as an army brat.

With a keen interest in both reading and writing, he was diagnosed with travel and writing bugs very early in life. Now, writing, travelling, reading, cinema, and Scottish football (Supporting the mighty Edinburgh City for his sins) are his main passions in life.

His main inspiration for writing today comes from living in such a beautiful, charming and hauntingly, Gothic city, such as Edinburgh. An awe-inspiring wee city that has given him so much amazing inspiration to write the more time he spends there.

Recently, Sean has been working on a couple of screenplay adaptations of his books. One of which 'The Old Man and The Princess' made the final of the Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition 2018 and has since been optioned by an award-winning Director /Producer team. Scheduled to go into production in Ireland in the summer of 2021 filming has been postponed until 2022 due to the recent covid pandemic.

Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Amazon

Excerpt

So, what kind of movie nonsense are we going to see at this here film festival lark tonight?” Colm enquired, thankfully changing the subject to Joe’s relief.

It’s a movie called Dominique. It’s meant to be really good. The next cult classic in European cinema, they say.” Joe answered, trying to muster up as much enthusiasm as he could without overdoing it and scaring Colm off.

Colm wasn’t a complete movie hater, just a hater of low-budget, artsy, fartsy, independent cinema with a well-written script that actually made him think outside the box. The less dialogue spoken on screen and the less complex of a plot, the better, as far Colm was concerned.

Dominique, huh?” Colm pondered out loud, thinking on it a little deeper than Joe could ever have guessed he might. “Sounds feckin’ French, if you ask me.”

Joe took a long sip from his pint before answering.

It is French.”

Colm’s eyes opened wide at that.

It is? Jesus. But they’ll be speaking in English though, right?”

No. It’s a French movie. They’ll be speaking French, but with English subtitles.”

Suddenly Colm slammed his pint glass down upon the wooden bar counter in a very loud and overly dramatic fashion.

For feck’s sake, Joe. You could’ve told me this shite earlier!”

Well, you wouldn’t have come along with me if I had, would you?”

Colm sighed hard and shook his head in disappointment. He covered his face with his hands like he’d just been told he had full-blown bowel cancer.

 “Jesus Christ. I don’t go to the cinema to read feckin’ novels or to actually have to think about what’s happening up on the screen there. I thought it was gonna be like some relaxing experience, this film festival lark. Like leaving me bleedin’ brain at the popcorn counter and picking it back up again on the way back to the feckin’ pub. My mind’s far too small and narrow to learn a new language at this stage of me life.”

Jesus, Colm could be such a bloody drama queen at times, Joe thought. But he was funny at ranting and raving in that over-the-top demeanour of his. In fact, it was his speciality. He loved the attention of a good public audience for sure, like all good extroverts, but still, he could be a right insensitive prick after a few pints.

Come on. It will be relaxing. It’s been getting some pretty decent reviews. Plus, it’s the premiere tonight, so most of the cast and crew will be there. And, there’s even going to be a really cool Q and A after.”

No way? A really cool Q and feckin’ A with the cast and crew.” Colm replied in his sarcastic way. “So, not only do I have to sit through a book reading for ninety feckin’ minutes...” he continued to rant.

Two and a half hours actually.” Joe interrupted, casually correcting him and feeling that it was just funnier to wind him up now than calm him down.

Two and a half feckin’ hours? I could fly to bleedin’ France and back in that time, and I still have to sit through another hour of pish talk shite, listening to some dodgy, whiny, sound technician waffle more pish and shite about the latest audio technology in French feckin’ cinema?”

It’s only going to be the director, writer, and actors speaking. For me, it’s the best part of the evening to mingle with the cast and crew afterwards.” Joe said, trying his best to put his case in for the defence.

No way. Fuck that shite, fella. No feckin’ way. I’ll meet you back here just as soon as the credits roll, and that’s if I even make it that far, not having jammed me fat bleedin’ fingers into the nearest plug sockets first.”

You do know that we’ve got another movie at the Odeon straight after this one, right? A German-made World War II movie.”

They didn’t, but Joe enjoyed making the whiny, over-dramatic wanker squirm when he went off on a rant like that. Colm rolled his eyes in absolute disgust.

Jesus Bleedin’ Christ. You do know I could’ve stayed at home tonight watching reruns of The Crown and Downtown Abbey.”

Right on cue, the old man singing horrendously up on the stage finished rather abruptly or simply just died standing up. It was hard to tell which in the sudden silence that followed. Although, Joe’s eardrums began to swiftly de-swell by a good couple of inches immediately after, which he was extremely grateful for.

Right. I’m singing me bleedin’ song then we’ll go to this feckin’ book reading of yours.”

Colm swiftly downed the rest of his pint before heading up onto the stage at the back end of the semi-busy bar to sing his second carefully chosen song of the evening – a cover of Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name, which he cheekily dedicated to Joe.

This song is dedicated to me best lad Joe over there at the far corner of the bar. Recently out of the slammer and now he can’t even get anyone to go to the cinema with him anymore apart from gullible old me, the poor bastard. Oh, it’s a cruel bleedin’ world out there, people. A cruel bleedin’ world.”



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