BLOG TOUR: Manhattan Down - Michael Cordy

A propulsive rollercoaster high concept international thriller which dares to take the world to the edge of oblivion.

THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS JUST SAID GOODNIGHT.

On the anniversary eve of the 9/11 terror attack, New York swelters under a heat dome of record temperatures. Even the global leaders assembled at the UN HQ are forced to admit that the climate crisis has reached boiling point and the world’s time is running out.

That same day, at precisely 5:25 p.m., everyone on Manhattan Island – every man, woman and child, including all the world leaders at the UN – falls unconscious. Everyone that is, except for Samantha Rossi, a single mother reeling from devastating personal news and Nick Lockwood, a wounded NYPD detective who wakes from a coma just as the City That Never Sleeps falls into one.

Rossi’s first concern is her daughter. Lockwood’s is his city. As night draws in, they must work together to unravel the mystery of what has happened and why. Each must decide how far they will go and what lines they will cross to save what matters most to them.

Manhattan Down is a pulse-pounding contemporary thriller which dares to imagine the unimaginable, a leaderless world being held to ransom by forces unknown for reasons unknown. The questions it asks are terrifying – and so are some of the answers.

 

What did I think?

That chilling strapline really made me sit up and take notice of Michael Cordy's new thriller, Manhattan Down, and it delivered chills and thrills on every page.  It's an incredibly original and highly imaginative thriller that takes the reader to the real, and scarily empty, streets of Manhattan in a breathtaking race against time.

When Manhattan falls asleep on 10th September, only a handful of people are left walking the streets: a group of eco-terrorists, a wounded detective and a single mother.  Nick Lockwood has sworn to protect and serve so he only has one thing on his mind: save the city.  Samantha Rossi is like a lion with its cub as she trawls the streets of Manhattan to find her daughter.  It's only a matter of time before the pair cross paths with both each other and the people responsible for bringing Manhattan to its knees.

I have got goosebumps just thinking about the book and my thoughts have been well and truly provoked.  It's like a cross between Die Hard and 24 and it would be an absolute travesty if this amazing book is not picked up for the big screen.  There are so many interesting subjects running alongside the razor-sharp plot to provoke debate, which makes this book a great choice for book groups.

Chilling, gripping, blisteringly fast-paced and scarily realistic, Manhattan Down is a breathtaking cli-fi thriller that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend this completely unmissable and unforgettable book.  An easy five stars!

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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Mixing It Up - Tracie Banister

Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, Manhattan upper-cruster Cecily Sinclair now uses that pricey utensil to dish up fancy French fare on her cooking show, Serving Romance. When there’s an executive shake-up at the network, she’s not worried. Not much anyway. Her show’s a hit after all. Why would the new CEO want to mess with success? 

The driving force behind several buzzed-about networks, Devlin Hayes is considered to be a wunderkind in the television industry. Although his plans to rebrand CuisineTV and make Serving Romance more Millennial-friendly don’t thrill Cecily, her charming, blue-eyed boss is a hard man to say “no” to and she really wants to keep her job—even if that means sharing screen time with a loathsome blast from her past. Mercurial Italian chef Dante Marchetti a.k.a. “Il Duce” was once Cecily’s boss, and she has the PTSD to prove it. 

Now the owner of one of the hottest restaurants in town, Dante’s egomania knows no bounds and his constant attempts to provoke and upstage Cecily make her want to conk him on the head with a sauté pan. She thinks they’re toxic together, but viewers love their chemistry and clamor for more. 

As Cecily battles to maintain the integrity of her show, she finds herself scheming and manipulating right along with Dante and Devlin. Is she fighting a lost cause? Does she really belong on TV, or would her culinary talent be better served elsewhere? And could one of the men who makes Cecily’s blood boil ignite a passion in her for something other than food?

What did I think?

It took me a little while to get into Mixing It Up as I didn't instantly warm to the main character of Cecily Sinclair, but there are so many other colourful characters that it wasn't long before I found that I was really enjoying it.

Cecily doesn't really need to work as her family are super-rich, but Cecily has a passion and flair for cooking; something her Grandmother looks down her nose at.  Cecily is the star of a TV cooking show, Serving Romance, but when a new CEO joins the station he brings new ideas with him.  It isn't long before Cecily is forced to share the stage with guest chefs and that's not a problem at all until one of the guests is her ex-boss, Dante Marchetti.  Dante was Cecily's boss when she was training and he'd leave her quivering in fear like a jelly if her dishes didn't come up to his satisfaction.  Now Cecily is the star, will Dante cope with taking orders from her?

There is so much friction between Cecily and Dante that they become an overnight sensation and the station decides to make Dante a more permanent feature so a new show is born: Mixing It Up.  With such a fine line between love and hate, tempers flare and passions soar between Cecily and Dante.  There are some great scenes between the pair of them, and Dante often had me in kinks of laughter with his naughty Italian humour.

Putting the cooking show to one side for a moment, I have to say that I loved Cecily's crazy family particularly her quirky cousin, Dina. Dina is certainly a free spirit and isn't afraid to raise her grandmother's eyebrows - in fact with both Dina and Cecily refusing to conform to their privileged upbringing, granny Bernadine's eyebrows must be permanently raised.

Mixing It Up is difficult to read without your tummy rumbling and your mouth watering as each dish is described in delicious detail.  I really wish it had been a scratch and sniff book to see if the delectable cooking aromas I was imagining matched up to real life.  Anyone who loves The Great British Bake Off and other popular TV cookery shows, will love this book - it almost made me want to reach for my apron and whip something up in the kitchen...almost! 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Beauty - Louise Mensch

Blend it. Sculpt it. Shape it. Use it...

There isn't a woman on earth who doesn't have her beauty secrets. But for Dina Kane, beauty is more than just business. It's power. And it is the secret. She's dragged herself up from poverty to Park Avenue. She's rolled with the punches. And she's learned how to win.

Now someone is out to destroy her, and all she's built. They've underestimated Dina Kane. She's staying at the top - and she's happy to wait for the perfect moment to exact her revenge..

What did I think?

My god-sister posted a photo of this on Twitter and I was like one of the ladies in the store where Dina worked, rushing to get my hands on a jar of Meadow cream - I just had to read it, so I raced to the library to pick up a copy.

I absolutely raced through this book, it was so fast paced and full of life that I didn't want to put it down.  From the beginning when Dina is born and is unwanted and unloved by her parents I was hooked.  She has a very good relationship with her brother, Johnny, despite him getting all the love and opportunities from her parents.  So Dina grows up, leaves home and makes her own opportunities!

Dina has a difficult time in Manhattan as she has no college education and because of her natural beauty, people try to take advantage of her.  She works her way up from being a waitress to a coffee shop manager and it is here that she meets Edward.  Edward is with a group of friends who are taunting Dina and Edward apologises for their actions, so Dina agrees to go out on a date with him. Unfortunately for Dina, Edward is not all that he seems but even more unfortunate for Edward, Dina is not afraid to take her revenge.

This incident only makes Dina grow stronger, as she makes money by flipping property and using her knowledge of beauty products to expand quiet dingy stores into heaving places to be.  Simmering away in the background is Edward, in the style of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl, seething at Dina's success and plotting his own revenge, with devastatingly tragic consequences.

What a brilliant book, I can't believe I haven't read any Louise Bagshawe/Louise Mensch books before but if they are all of this standard then Beauty won't be my last!  If you loved Gossip Girl, you'll love this book, although be warned that Edward is way nastier than Chuck! I was transported to Manhattan, browsed in the Green Apothecary, and queued in Times Square enjoying every moment with the fabulous Dina Kane!

My rating:

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Killing Monica - Candace Bushnell

Synopsis:

This is the book fans of Candace Bushnell have been waiting for. From the author of "Sex and the City," "Lipstick Jungle," and "The Carrie Diaries" comes an addictive story about fame, love, and foolishness that will keep readers enthralled to the very last enticing scene. 

Pandy "PJ" Wallis is a renowned writer whose novels about a young woman making her way in Manhattan have spawned a series of blockbuster films. After the success of the Monica books and movies, Pandy wants to attempt something different: a historical novel based on her ancestor Lady Wallis. But Pandy's publishers and audience only want her to keep cranking out more Monica-as does her greedy husband, Jonny, who's gone deeply in debt to finance his new restaurant in Las Vegas. When her marriage crumbles and the boathouse of her family home in Connecticut goes up in flames, Pandy suddenly realizes she has an opportunity to reinvent herself. But to do so, she will have to reconcile with her ex-best friend and former partner in crime, SondraBeth Schnowzer, who plays Monica on the big screen-and who may have her own reasons to derail Pandy's startling change of plan.

In KILLING MONICA, Candace Bushnell spoofs and skewers her way through pop culture, celebrity worship, fame, and the meaning of identity. With her trademark humour and style, this is Bushnell's sharpest, funniest book to date.

What did I think?

Pandy Wallis has created a character that she writes about called Monica.  Pandy invented Monica to teach her sister, Hellenor, the wonderful ways of being a good girl.  The Monica books prove so popular that they are made into films and casting for Monica proves difficult, as Pandy modelled Monica on herself.  Then Pandy spots a photograph of a model who will be perfect to play Monica, so she arranges to meet SondraBeth Schnowzer.  The pair quickly hit it off, SondraBeth lands the part of Monica, and they become inseparable and known around town as PandaBeth.

They typically fall out over a man, Pandy gets married and divorced, and her husband Jonny is out to take every penny she has.  Pandy’s agent, Henry, advised her to get Jonny to sign a prenup but she didn’t do it as she was so in love!

Pandy goes back to spend some time at her ancestral home after her historical novel about her ancestor, Lady Wallis, failed to get accepted by her publisher.  Then Pandy, through a case of mistaken identity, accidentally gets reported as being killed in a fire. SondraBeth pays a visit to who she thinks is Pandy’s sister, Hellenor, but it is actually Pandy.  “Hellenor” is now the owner of the Monica franchise, and when “Hellenor” reveals to SondraBeth that she is in fact Pandy, the pair cook up a plan to get revenge on Jonny.

It sounds a bit silly, but it wasn't too bad really.  It is my first Candace Bushnell novel so I don't have the Carrie Bradshaw yardstick with which to measure it against.  I didn’t really pay much attention to the snippets about the real Hellenor, who apparently lived in Amsterdam, but part way through we find out that Pandy has a secret that involves Hellenor.  Then when the real Hellenor makes an appearance we realise that she was under our noses all along!

I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

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