BOOKSTAGRAM TOUR: The Mini Breakers - Lucy Kennedy

Five women.

Twenty-two years of friendship.

One annual holiday that promises escape, connection and chaos in equal measure.

No matter how hectic their careers, relationships or family lives become, they keep their tradition alive: one week away together EVERY year. This time, the Mini Breakers are heading to Portugal.

But as the sun comes out, so do the secrets.

Between complicated love lives and the messy realities of middle age, this getaway might just be their most dramatic yet.

Scandals, revelations and questionable decisions are guaranteed when this group of gloriously imperfect, perimenopausal and fun-loving friends reunite.

THE MINI BREAKERS is a warm, sharp, wickedly funny story about the friendships that shape us.

 

What did I think?

I really enjoyed my virtual mini break to Portugal with The Mini Breakers and it was a pleasure to meet Kate, Georgie, Beth, Sam and Dee.  This is Lucy Kennedy's debut adult novel and it's an absolute cracker. 

This group of five women have been friends since their school days and, although they may now live miles apart, they all gather together for a holiday every year.  It's so lovely that they have remained firm friends, although it is sometimes challenging with Diva Dee in the mix.

They each have something going on in their lives and, whilst their problems may be quite heavy, Lucy Kennedy's natural Irish wit adds a lightness to the storyline.  Prepare for lots of laughs when you pick up The Mini Breakers as there are some hilarious scenes in store for the reader.

Filled with Irish charm, The Mini Breakers is a witty and entertaining novel that would be a fantastic holiday read, although you might get some funny looks from people around the pool when you laugh out loud.  A highly recommended read.

I received a gifted paperback for the Love Books Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: The Colours of Death - Patricia Marques

 

THE MURDER

In the Gare do Oriente, a body sits, slumped, in a stationary train. A high-profile man appears to have died by throwing himself repeatedly against the glass. But according to witnesses, he may not have done this of his own accord.

THE CITY

Lisbon 2021. A small percentage of the population are diagnosed as Gifted. Along with the power comes stigma and suspicion.

THE DETECTIVE

In a prejudiced city, Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis is hiding her own secrets while putting her life on the line to stop an ingenious killer.

A violent and mysterious crime. Suspected Gifted involvement. A city baying for blood. And a killer who has only just begun . . .

What did I think?

It's not often I remark on the cover of a book but the book jacket of The Colours of Death is completely mesmerising.  I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, with a foot in both the crime and fantasy genres it's very different from more traditional crime novels that I'm used to reading.  I have to say that I was drawn to it because of the 'Gifted' element as I love the (early) X-Men movies but The Colours of Death is much more believable than the future depicted in the movies.

The Gifted in Lisbon 2021 are either telepathic or telekinetic so it's no wonder that the regular population view them with suspicion and distrust.  I'm not sure what's worse, the thought of someone being inside my mind or someone being able to move me at will.  For the Gifted, like Inspector Isabel Reis, being able to hear people's thoughts must be worse as there must be constant chatter in your head and you'd hear hurtful things that people think about you.  It's no wonder that Isabel takes a drug to dampen down her abilities. 

Being Gifted certainly has its uses when interviewing witnesses following the strange death of a man on a train.  With their permission, Isabel is able to see people's memories and get a much more reliable account of what they saw.  So that she doesn't misuse her ability, Isabel is partnered with a Regular in the form of Aleks Voronov but she isn't able to fully trust Voronov due to his history.

As much as I enjoyed the crime and the fantasy elements, the evolution of Reis and Voronov's relationship had me completely enthralled.  I liked Isabel immediately and I suspected there was more to Aleks' story than first met the eye, but I can understand why Isabel was wary of him at first.  The creation of such amazing characters really drew me into the story and I do hope that this is the first of many Reis and Voronov novels.

Unusual, intriguing and highly original, The Colours of Death is a wonderful debut from Patricia Marques.  It's an incredibly well-written and intelligent cross-genre novel.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a beautiful hardback ARC to read and review for the blog tour; all opinions are my own.

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About the author:

Half-Angolan and half-Portuguese, Patricia was born in Portugal but moved to England when she was eight. As well as an MA in Creative Writing from City University, she holds a BA in Creative Writing from Roehampton. She lives in London and The Colours of Death is her first novel.

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300 Days of Sun - Deborah Lawrenson

Travelling to Faro, Portugal, journalist Joanna Millard hopes to escape an unsatisfying relationship and a stalled career. Faro is an enchanting town, and the seaside views are enhanced by the company of Nathan Emberlin, a charismatic younger man. But behind the crumbling facades of Moorish buildings, Joanna soon realizes, Faro has a seedy underbelly, its economy compromised by corruption and wartime spoils. And Nathan has an ulterior motive for seeking her company: he is determined to discover the truth involving a child’s kidnapping that may have taken place on this dramatic coastline over two decades ago.

Joanna’s subsequent search leads her to Ian Rylands, an English expat who cryptically insists she will find answers in The Alliance, a novel written by American Esta Hartford. The book recounts an American couple’s experience in Portugal during World War II, and their entanglements both personal and professional with their German enemies. Only Rylands insists the book isn’t fiction, and as Joanna reads deeper into it, she begins to suspect that Esta Hartford’s story and Nathan Emberlin’s may indeed converge in Faro—where the past not only casts a long shadow but still exerts a very present danger.

What did I think?

When I think of World War II, I have never considered what the war was like for Portugal or Spain.  Portugal was officially neutral during World War II so thinking of it now,  it seems obvious that people would have fled to Spain then on to it's neighbour Portugal from France.  300 Days of Sun is set in Portugal, which reputedly has 300 days of sun per year (as opposed to the 3 days of sun we get in the North East of England).  Such a beautiful location but with a dark and dangerous history.

Past and present flow beautifully in 300 Days of Sun as they are so cleverly linked.  In present day we read about Joanna who is fleeing a stagnating relationship and embracing Portuguese life.  Joanna meets Nathan in her language class and the pair form a friendship. Joanna, with her journalistic skills, helps Nathan to uncover his past whilst reading of Portugal's past through a book called 'The Alliance'.  'The Alliance' is set in World War II and describes the plight of an American couple, Alva and Michael Barton, as they wait in Lisbon's 'Waiting Room' for a passage home.

Through the 'past' chapters, which are excerpts from 'The Alliance', we learn about Portugal's war.  It was a bit like a John le Carré novel with spies and underhand dealings where you don't know who is on which side.  I loved how the past became the present through Joanna's reading of the book.  It really helped the novel to flow effortlessly.  There were equally some strange goings on in the present, with the mysterious Ian Rylands who gives Joanna a copy of the book.  He seems to have some link to Nathan and a missing child...could they be one and the same?

300 Days of Sun is so very atmospheric; I felt like I could hear the waves lapping the shore.  I can no longer say that I've never been to Portugal, as Deborah Lawrenson took me there!

I received this e-book from the publisher, Lawsome Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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