BLOG TOUR: While We're Young - K.L. Walther

A whirlwind romance inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off about four friends whose hearts are broken and mended over the course of an epic senior skip day—from the bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules!

Grace, Isa, and Everett used to be an inseparable trio before their love lives became a tangled mess. For starters, Grace is secretly in love with Everett, who used to go out with Isa before breaking her heart in the infamous Freshman Year Fracture. And, oh yeah, no one knows that Isa has been hanging out with James, Grace’s brother—and if Grace finds out, it could ruin their friendship.

With graduation fast approaching, Grace decides an unsanctioned senior skip day in Philadelphia might be just what they need to fix things. All she has to do is convince Isa to help her kidnap Everett and outmaneuver James, who’s certain his sister is up to something.

In an epic day that includes racing up the famous Rocky steps, taste-testing Philly's finest cheesesteaks, and even crashing a wedding, their secrets are bound to collide. But can their hearts withstand the wreckage?

 

What did I think?

As soon as I saw that While We're Young was inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off I just had to read it and I was not disappointed; it was everything I expected it to be and more.  It may be a YA book but adults will love it too.

Anyone who has seen the film will notice some similar scenes and the scattering of references that pay homage to the John Hughes classic.  I absolutely loved these little nods to one of my favourite films but there is so much more to this wonderful book.

The characters are so well developed they almost pop out from the page and they all have their own little hangups and characteristics that really endeared them to me.  Grace is the main character but I also loved her brother James and her two best friends Isa and Everett who haven't been speaking to each other since they dated and broke up.  Grace sees an opportunity to bring her little friendship group back together again but it will involve them all bunking off school.

Incredibly entertaining, sweet and heartwarming, While We're Young is so much fun to read and it left me with a great big smile on my face.  I definitely plan to read it again to relive the fun, high jinks and emotion that delighted me from start to finish.  

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

My rating:

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Amazon

About the author:

K.L. Walther was born and raised in the rolling hills of Bucks County, Pennsylvania surrounded by family, dogs, and books. Her childhood was spent traveling the northeastern seaboard to play ice hockey. She attended a boarding school in New Jersey and went on to earn a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia. She is happiest on the beach with a book, cheering for the New York Rangers, or enjoying a rom-com while digging into a big bowl of popcorn and M&Ms. And listening to Taylor Swift on repeat, of course. 

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When the World Tips Over - Jandy Nelson

Welcome to Paradise Springs, Northern California – a hot, dusty, half-magical, wine-country town where there are so many grapes fermenting at one time, you get drunk from breathing the air; where devil winds blow so hard they whip your sense away. A town where every fairy tale you've ever read could be set...and "home" to the family Falls.

When a strange, enigmatic, rainbow-haired girl shows up in their fantastical hometown, it sends the lives of Fall brothers Wynton and Miles and their sister Dizzy into tumult. With road trips, rivalries, family curses, love stories within love stories within love stories, and sorrows and joys passed from generation to generation, this is the intricate, luminous tale of a family’s complicated past and present. And only in telling their stories can they hope to rewrite their futures.

 

What did I think?

This is my first Jandy Nelson novel but it won't be my last as I absolutely loved it.  I feel like my heart had been put through the wringer as I was constantly expecting the worst but when the world tipped over, there was only joy left in my heart.

This is the story of the Fall family and it is told from various narrators and in such a way that it feels like a fairy tale.  As with all fairy tales there are both good and bad characters and challenges to overcome.  With the various narrators, there are different styles of writing but I loved the different voices that shone through Jandy Nelson's writing.

As with most books like this, each reader will have a favourite strand of the story and, whilst you might wonder why we are exploring the other strands, it all comes together beautifully at the end.  I think this is a book I will read again, now that I know the conclusion, to really appreciate the cleverness of the prose.

Mesmerising, heartwarming and always having the possibility of something magical happening, When the World Tips Over is a highly unusual and completely unique book that has the feel of an instant classic about it.  I can see this being a book that is studied in schools in the future and it deserves every single one of the five stars I have awarded it.

I received a gifted paperback for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Paris Apartment - Lucy Foley

In a beautiful old apartment block, deep in the backstreets of Paris, secrets are stirring behind every resident’s door.

The lonely wife

The party animal

The curtain-twitcher

The secret lover

The watchful caretaker

The unwanted guest

One resident is missing. Only the killer holds the key to the mystery… 

What did I think?

Yowzers! Reviewing this book without giving anything away is going to be tricky so this may be a short review, but it’s no reflection on how completely brilliant the book is.

I love Lucy Foley books and The Paris Apartment is no exception.  I absolutely raced through it and couldn’t put it down, greedily devouring every single word until I had discovered all of the skeletons in its closet.  The residents of these luxury apartments have more skeletons in their closets than Halloween, that's for sure.

Jess is visiting her brother in Paris but when she gets there he has disappeared.  Jess seems to be the only one worried about Ben, despite his friend being one of his neighbours.  Told from various points of view, Jess begins her search for Ben whilst the reader peeks through the keyhole of each apartment.

The characters are drawn brilliantly; I was suspicious of all of them and I thought I had worked out what had happened to Ben (and where he was) but of course it's a Lucy Foley book so I was completely wrong.  I love being wrong like this though and there are so many jawdropping moments in the book that I'm surprised I didn't have jaw ache.

Brilliantly written, The Paris Apartment is a twisty, addictive and entertaining mystery.  It's reminiscent of Agatha Christie and I'd love to see this on the big screen.  C'est magnifique!

I received a gifted paperback for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Waterstones

The Silent Brother - Simon Van Der Velde

 

The Past Never Dies

When his beloved little brother is stolen away, five-year-old Tommy Farrier is left alone with his alcoholic mam, his violent step-dad and his guilt. Too young to understand what has really happened, Tommy is sure of only one thing. He is to blame.

Tommy tries to be good, to live-up to his brother’s increasingly hazy memory, but trapped in a world of shame and degradation he grows up with just two options; poverty or crime. And crime pays.

Or so he thinks.

A teenage drug-dealer for the vicious Burns gang, Tommy’s life is headed for disaster, until, in the place he least expects, Tommy sees a familiar face…

And then things get a whole lot worse.

What did I think?

Wow - what a book!  The Silent Brother left me speechless, breathless and completely stunned.  Simon Van Der Velde has written a gritty, poignant, dark and disturbing masterpiece.  Set in the east end of Newcastle, this is what it would have been like if The Sopranos and Shameless had been set here.

Tommy Farrier has had a tragic life and oh how I felt for him.  His mam cares more about booze than she does her own children, so it's no surprise when Tommy's younger brother is taken into care.  This harrowing event shapes Tommy's whole life and the shadow of it hangs over his every move.  To survive, Tommy joins the Burns gang and this sets him on a dark and dangerous path with seemingly no escape...

Simon Van Der Velde has captured the heart and soul of Newcastle in this breathtaking book and the unique voice of Tommy is portrayed beautifully.  It's heartbreaking to read at times, especially as you start to care for the characters, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.  Poverty and crime often go hand in hand, like two sides of the same coin, and the story is very true to life as so many children will have followed in Tommy's footsteps.

Beautifully written, The Silent Brother is a raw and gritty thriller that really has the wow factor.  Do not miss this one!  It's an absolute masterpiece and I don't have to think twice before awarding the full five stars - I'd give it more if I could.  I'll definitely be reading it again and I really can't recommend it highly enough.

I received a digital ARC from the author and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Better Brother - Simon Gravatt

 

Michael Merriweather's carefully planned life is blown off course when he receives a call to tell him that his father has cremated himself. Michael then learns from a small-town lawyer that he stands to inherit a small fortune he previously knew nothing about, but only if he sacrifices his accountancy career to take over the family funeral business with his brother, Jack, whom he despises.

Sucked back into the small provincial world and the family funeral firm he has rejected, Michael can no longer avoid his loathsome sibling. Jack Merriweather has no idea what he's done to deserve his brother's hostility, but he's about to suffer the consequences. Then, when his patience finally breaks, he will exact delicious revenge.

The Better Brother is a darkly comic tale of sibling rivalry laced with the power, passion, revenge and everyday friction of family business. It explores what happens when two warring brothers are forced to work together. Will Michael and Jack learn to love and respect each other? Or will their acrimony escalate? If so, who will come out on top? Who is the better brother?

What did I think?

That first line in the blurb about Michael's father cremating himself hooked me before I'd even picked up the book.  What an ingenious storyline!  It's sad but funny and sets off a chain of events that puts the Merriweather brothers in the same room when they haven't spoken to each other for years.  Expect sparks to fly!

The broken relationship between Michael and Jack is absolutely heartbreaking.  The hostility began when their mother died and their father was grieving so he didn't notice his sons growing further and further apart...which is something he plans to rectify from beyond the grave.  When the brothers inherit the Merriweather funeral business they either have to work together or lose their inheritance.  

Whilst Michael and Jack are brilliant main characters, my favourite character ended up being their father's long-standing employee, Royston.  Royston is hilarious, from his tattoos to his swearing he's such a colourful character that he virtually leapt out of the page.  I could read a whole book with him as the main character.

It is clear that Simon Gravatt has a background in business as the pressure of running a business is palpable throughout the book.  It was interesting to see how the brothers reacted to their inheritance; one changes for the better and one changes for the worse.  There are hard decisions to be made and back-stabbing aplenty as each brother vies to come out on top.

Very well-written, engaging and humorous, The Better Brother is a brilliant debut and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; all opinions are my own.

My rating:

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About the author:

Simon Gravatt is a first-time novelist who lives in South London. He's drawn from personal experience as a brother and business owner to write his tale of sibling rivalry and the combustibility of small business. Simon is married with two adult children.

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The Midnight Child - J.A. Baker

 

A long-ago trauma and a family mystery may shed light on her troubled sleep—or pull her into the darkness once and for all . . .

As a child, Grace Cooper suffered from bouts of sleepwalking. Now, after the unexpected death of her husband, she’s moved back to Woodburn cottage, her childhood home—and the sleepwalking returns. It’s all stirring up dark memories—memories that involve the disappearance of her brother Simon, who vanished one night when he was a child, and the death of her father, who fell from an upstairs window.

With her mother in a care home with dementia and her sister living in a nearby village, Grace tries to settle in—but with the passage of time, the sleepwalking only becomes more regular and the blurred memories of the past only become more disturbing. Spurred on by these hazy dreamlike recollections, Grace becomes determined to find out what happened to Simon that fateful night. But digging up the past isn’t always a good idea, because you never know what skeletons you might unearth . . .

What did I think?

I love J.A. Baker's writing; all her novels are outstanding but The Midnight Child is so magnificent that it completely blew me away.  It's a dark and disturbing storyline as sleepwalking and repressed memories are explored and you have to wonder how much you can really rely on your own memory.

The depth of character is stunning, with Grace Cooper being not only the main character but one of the few characters in the book.  Concentrating on one character in this way really allows the reader to get inside her head and follow her every move.  Grace was a sleepwalker as a child and her sleepwalking returns when she moves back into the family home, the home from which Grace's brother Simon mysteriously disappeared.  You can almost feel the secrets buried deep in the walls, just bursting to get out!  I certainly couldn't read fast enough to discover everything about Simon's disappearance.

I also have to mention Grace's mother who is suffering from dementia.  Although heartbreaking to read about this devastating condition, J. A. Baker writes so sensitively and honestly that I really must applaud her skill.  I can't even begin to imagine the effect that dementia has on the sufferer and their loved ones but I got a glimpse of it in this stunning book.

Ominous and tense, The Midnight Child is like a simmering pot, constantly threatening to boil over the minute you take your eyes off it.  I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page as I raced towards the absolutely breathtaking conclusion.  I can always rely on J.A. Baker to shock and surprise me and The Midnight Child did just that.  An outstanding and highly recommended novel.

I received a digital ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Leftovers - Cassandra Parkin

 

The Leftovers is a story about sexual power and consent, the myth of the perfect victim, and a dark exploration of the things we do for – and to – the ones we love.

Callie’s life is spent caring for others – for Frey, her client, and for Noah, her brother. When a tragic car accident shatters her family, she’s left alone with her mother Vanessa. Vanessa's favourite child was Noah; Callie's favourite parent was her dad. Now they're stuck with each other - the leftovers of their family - and they'll have to confront the ways they've been hurt, and the ways they've passed that hurt on to others.

What did I think?

I absolutely adore Cassandra Parkin's books so I didn't hesitate in picking up a copy of her new novel, The Leftovers.  The writing is just stunning as the reader is taken on a journey from Callie's grief to her family's past as their relationships are put under the microscope.

Callie is living two lives: caring for her client Frey and caring for her brother Noah.  Frey does not communicate but spends his time doing jigsaws and it was heartbreaking to see him trapped inside his body, unable to say when he was scared or unhappy.  Noah's issues are more volatile as he is unable to distinguish between reality and imagination so he needs constant care, which Callie shares with her dad.  Callie's mother left many years ago and it's been no loss to Callie as she has always known that her mother doesn't love her.

The relationship between Callie and her mother Vanessa is incredibly intriguing as we read flashbacks of the past.  You just know that there's something not right there as Vanessa showers all her love on Noah whilst Callie is treated with cool indifference.  Families are complicated and it all becomes clear as layer upon layer of the past is revealed.

The storyline is breathtaking and I have to say that I was almost screaming out loud 'no, no, no' at more than one point.  I was completely addicted to the book though, so as much as I wanted to look away I was completely powerless to resist.  Part of the novel is set during the Covid-19 pandemic and I could barely stop myself from crying when Frey and his sister finally saw each other again.  Lockdown must have been so confusing for people in care and it breaks my heart just thinking about it again now.  It's such wonderful writing from Cassandra Parkin to get this point across sensitively yet strongly.

Dark, disturbing and haunting, The Leftovers is so beautifully written that it will stay with me for a very long time.  A stunning read and highly recommended.

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

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

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BLOG TOUR: The Family Lie - P L Kane

 

A scream cut through the night as they watched flames engulf the woodland. Fire ripped through the trees, leaving only charred branches behind. And then they saw it… on the ashen forest floor… was a body.

Police officer, Mitchel Prescott answered the phone with a shaking hand. It was the one call he had been dreading. It was the hospital at Green Acres… his father Thomas, had died in the night.

Returning to the small town he had been avoiding since he was a child, Mitch must lay his father to rest.

When he arrives, the close-knit residents refuse to speak about Thomas’ death, other than to explain he was found burnt to death in the woods and his dementia was the likely cause.

But when Mitch discovers traces of accelerant on his father’s body, he’s certain it wasn’t an accident. Then his childhood home is broken into, his father’s study ransacked, and a rock thrown through the window warning him to leave.

Mitch is convinced Thomas had discovered something that had got him into trouble… something that would threaten his entire family.

But what secret is worth killing for?

What did I think?

I rather enjoyed that!  The Family Lie is pretty creepy with an underlying hint of menace and the town of Green Acres is definitely somewhere I would not want to visit!  Its oddness reminded me of the setting of Royston Vasey from The League of Gentlemen but the characters in The Family Lie are more threatening in a duplicitous kind of way.

Although it has quite a gruesome and intriguing beginning, it took me a little while to get into the story as it flicks back and forth between Mitch and his sister Bella.  When their father dies, Bella refuses to return to Green Acres so Mitch is the one who goes back home to arrange his father's funeral.  Mitch has just quit his job in the police force but he sniffs out something sinister about his father's death and begins to investigate, but someone seems intent to stop him.

I loved the character of Bella and her psychic ability which added a supernatural air of mystery to the whole proceedings.  There is so much more to Bella's story than meets the eye and I loved discovering everything about her.  It's odd but I didn't really take to Mitch as much as Bella, although I loved Mitch's interactions with the cat, but I think perhaps I just found Bella to be a more interesting character. 

Chilling and intriguing with a hint of the supernatural, anything could happen in The Family Lie which makes it impossible to predict and difficult to put down.  I enjoyed it; it's an entertaining, disturbing and imaginative crime thriller.

I chose to read a digital ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Matilda Windsor is Coming Home - Anne Goodwin

In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.

Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.

As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty’s burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.

Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.

A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?

In this, her third novel, Anne Goodwin has drawn on the language and landscapes of her native Cumbria and on the culture of long-stay psychiatric hospitals where she began her clinical psychology career.

Find out more on Matilda Windsor’s webpage

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, Anne Goodwin's new novel is completely heartbreaking.  I felt so incredibly upset and angry at events fifty years in the past that altered the course of Matty and Henry's lives.  It's so annoying to think of how differently their lives could have turned out if one selfish action hadn't tore them apart.

Henry barely remembers his sister Matilda who left when he was a small child; all he has to remember her by is a conker that she gave him when she left.  It's almost as if Henry's life has been put on hold waiting for Matilda to return home.  Meanwhile, Matilda has been hidden away in a psychiatric hospital for over fifty years; her mind creating butlers and maids out of the staff to help her cope with her new life and to keep her safe from the evil prince who destroyed her life.  With the hospital facing closure, Matty's life is set to be changed once more.

The whole story is actually written very cleverly and this really makes Matty so unbelievably endearing to readers.  I was sometimes a little confused and unable to differentiate between memories and actual events, which is exactly how Matty must be feeling.  I felt as if I was not only stepping into her shoes but seeing right inside her head.  It's strange but I never really felt as if Matty's memories were unreliable, however, Henry's were a little more cloudy but this is most likely due to him being a child when they were separated.

I absolutely adored Matty; she may be a batty septuagenarian (Anne Goodwin's words) but she's really quite a character.  I am delighted that Anne is writing a sequel so we can continue Matty's journey as I'm missing her already and I really need to know what happens next.

Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a truly immersive story that really gets under your skin and you can't help but fall in love with Matty, a wonderfully quirky and charming main character of whom I felt incredibly protective.

Many thanks to Anne Goodwin for sending me a digital ARC to review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon 

About the author:

Anne Goodwin grew up in the non-touristy part of Cumbria, where this novel is set. When she went to university ninety miles away, no-one could understand her accent. After nine years of studying, her first post on qualifying as a clinical psychologist was in a long-stay psychiatric hospital in the process of closing.

Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, about a woman who has kept her past identity a secret for thirty years, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Her second novel, Underneath, about a man who keeps a woman captive in his cellar, was published in 2017. Her short story collection, Becoming Someone, on the theme of identity, was published in November 2018. Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of prize-winning short stories.

Author links:

Website: annegoodwin.weebly.com 

Twitter @Annecdotist

Link tree https://linktr.ee/annecdotist

YouTube: Anne Goodwin’s YouTube channel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Annecdotist

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anne-Goodwin/e/B0156O8PMO/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Goodwin/e/B0156O8PMO/

Inspired Quill: https://www.inspired-quill.com/blog/anne-goodwin/

Newsletter signup https://bit.ly/daughtershorts

Book purchase links: https://linktr.ee/matildawindsor

Over Your Shoulder - CJ Carver

Loving someone doesn't mean trusting them...

You love them both, but can you trust them?

Twelve years ago, Nick’s brother, Rob, drowned.  His body was never found.  When Nick met Susie at his brother’s funeral, he thought it was destiny.

But when Rob suddenly re-appears, Nick is forced to examine everything he once knew. Why do the police want to talk to Rob? And what is he running away from?

Nick wants to find his brother but if he does, he risks losing the woman he loves. Because Susie has her own secrets, and as the truth emerges, Nick finds it is those closest to us we should fear the most…

What did I think?

Wow that was a good read.  I have a few CJ Carver books in my TBR and they have just shot up the queue based on this outstanding thriller.  I do love books filled with secrets and I don't think any more could have been crammed into this book and I realised towards the end that I was reading in a perpetual state of wide eyed shock and surprise.

Nick is a great central character; he's family oriented and extremely likeable but I felt like he was in the middle of a merry-go-round with his world spinning before his eyes.  It must have been quite a shock to see his brother, Rob, on TV, especially when Rob had been missing presumed dead for twelve years.  It was actually at Rob's funeral where Nick originally met Susie, the woman he went on to marry.  Uh-oh, I've watched enough spy dramas to suspect an orchestrated meeting, but what would Susie have to gain from marrying Nick?  Susie didn't give me any reason to suspect her, although we find out she has her own secrets, but my brain was in complete overdrive that I even had her painted as a Russian spy at one point.

So many questions buzzed around my head in relation to Rob.  He didn't just disappear, he faked his own death.  What or who is he running away from?  It definitely felt like the danger levels were ramped up to maximum when Rob stuck his head above the parapet.  I couldn't read fast enough to unearth all of the secrets; the majority of which managed to surprise me.  One little surprise was spoiled slightly though, so hopefully it will be corrected in the final print version; Nick and a passenger are driving in one car with his brother in the car behind but Nick refers to his band of merry men as being 'four of us'.  For a split second I thought I'd missed something but I'm a numbers queen so I immediately suspected a stowaway.  I didn't guess who it was though so part of the surprise did work.

Over Your Shoulder is a superb story; it's gripping right from the start and doesn't loosen its hold one bit until the final page is turned.  Chock full of shocks and surprises, it's a fast-paced gripper of a thriller.

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

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Toymakers - Robert Dinsdale

I am delighted to be the final stop on The Toymakers blog tour and I am re-posting my review of this imaginative and enchanting book.

Do you remember when you believed in magic?

It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment.

The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles of their own. Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own.

But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own…

What did I think?

I was immediately drawn to the striking cover of The Toymakers and decided to read this on the run up to Christmas to inject a little magic into my life.  I didn't expect to feel so emotional at the end but the power of Robert Dinsdale's writing clearly worked its way into my heart like a toy soldier scaling a battlement.  Don't be mistaken: this is not solely a magical feel-good story, it is mainly set during World War I so be prepared for loss and devastation but you can forget about it for a while when you enter Papa Jack's Emporium.

The Emporium is hidden away down a side street in London and you could easily walk past it, if you didn't know it was there.  This magical toy shop opens at first frost and closes as the first snowdrop flowers but in the short time it is open you can find every toy imaginable in its four walls, but even more toys that you could never have imagined.  Papa Jack and his sons, Kaspar and Emil, create all the toys themselves and there's quite a rivalry between the boys as to whose toys are the best.  

Cathy Wray is drawn to the Emporium after she sees an advert in the newspaper, just when she thought she could not escape her predicament.  So she runs away from home and starts a job in the Emporium, but when the first snowdrop flowers she has nowhere to go and hides in the wendy house in the Emporium.  Both brothers find her at different times and keep it a secret from each other as their rivalry extends to who will win Cathy's heart.  After the war, this intense rivalry threatens to be the downfall of the Emporium when Kaspar meddles with Emil's precious toy soldiers...the toy soldiers don't want to fight anymore and seem to have minds of their own.  Can the Emporium ever survive when Kaspar, Emil and thousands of toy soldiers are at loggerheads and Hitler's bombs are flying overhead? 

Let your imagination run wild and expect the unexpected in The Toymakers.  My imagination went into overdrive and I thought of those horrific Chucky movies as the toy soldiers were scuttling about all over the place.  I found it terribly heartbreaking as the horrors of the First World War were touched on and hoped the soldiers had somebody like Kaspar in the trenches with them to give them some comfort.

The Toymakers is so magical but slightly scary that I think of it as a fairytale for adults.  The Emporium is painted in such glorious colour through the magical prose that I felt as if I was visiting it myself.  I think The Toymakers is a little like the Emporium itself, it's only going to be enjoyable to those who believe in magic but know that the big bad world is right outside the door.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



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BLOG TOUR: The Visitors - Catherine Burns

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 did I think?

I loved this book; it's dark, skincrawlingly creepy and disturbing but so compelling that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.  Whilst gathering my thoughts after reading The Visitors, I began to realise how very cleverly written it is.  To stir such intense feelings in a reader is no mean feat but that is exactly what Catherine Burns has done with this, her outstanding debut novel.

It starts with a scream in the night that made all my hairs stand on end when Marion isn't alarmed but instead is worried that her neighbours might have heard it.  In just the second paragraph, Marion refers to 'them' as my stomach somersaulted at the thought of who could be trapped in the cellar.  My feelings for Marion then became confused as she remembered her childhood: a time of cruel name-calling and lacking any real friends.  Marion never seemed to fit in anywhere and my heart went out to this child-like woman in her fifties, whispering her dreams of falling in love to her toy teddies.

Marion lives with her brother, John, in the family home.  As children, John was the high-achiever whilst Marion was the disappointment, but appearances can be deceptive and it is clear that John has a very dark side.  How much of this dark side of John was nurtured by his father is unclear, but 'like father like son' springs to mind as their mother blocked it all out with her little white pills.  Now that John and Marion are older and their parents have died, it's quite scary to see how complicit Marion is in John's crimes.  The big question is: does she know what she is doing or is John taking advantage of her?  When John is taken into hospital, Marion is forced to go down into the cellar to tend to 'The Visitors' and, finally free from her brother's watchful gaze, that's when we see Marion's true colours.

The Visitors is so very thought-provoking as I think we have become a bit lapse over the years with regards to the internet.  When we first started to go online, it was new and exciting but we quickly discovered that the internet could be used to hide anybody's identity.  I remember being very wary of internet 'friends' and being frightened that they weren't who they said they were.  Despite many stories of child grooming, I think we, myself included, have become more careless and neglectful over the years by taking those online at face value; but just whose face are they using?  I would be very loathe to arrange to meet somebody I met online these days as I think more than ever that the internet is a hunting ground for sexual predators luring lonely, vulnerable and innocent people into their trap.  I've really scared myself now but I love it when a book makes me think about things long after I've turned the final page.

The Visitors is an extraordinary debut novel; it is impeccably written with an enviable ability to stir a myriad of emotions in the reader.  I have never switched my emotions back and forth so often over a character.  Very highly recommended but prepare for your skin to crawl as you encounter The Visitors in the cellar.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Residing in Manchester, Catherine Burns is a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge. She worked as a bond trader in London before studying at the Moscow Institute of Film, and teaching film theory at Salford University. 

The Visitors is her debut novel 

Follow Catherine on Twitter @C_Burnzi

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