Six Mile Store - A. M. Belsey

SOMETHING UGLY’S WAITIN’ FOR YOU

Honey’s working weekends down at the Six Mile, trying to figure her life out. Her boyfriend’s about to leave the country, her college advisor hates her guts, her momma ain’t listening, and she’s got this cop breathing down her neck just about all the time.

She finds a friend in her new colleague Lisa, but when one of their regular customers turns up dead, everything goes sideways faster than a greased hog at the county fair…

 

What did I think?

Six Mile Store is a novella with 113 pages so it's a very quick read that I read in one sitting and I really enjoyed it.

The store is in the middle of nowhere but there's a lot going on with the characters to really draw the reader in.  Through the eyes of Honey, who works at the store, we peek into her life and encounter a wealth of colourful characters.  It reads like an episode of a bingeworthy TV series with vibes of Breaking Bad and Hillbilly Elegy.

It's very character driven and I was invested in Honey's story but also intrigued by the other quirky characters.  I mean what does Billy Wayne do with all that toilet paper and who is this Lisa woman who seems to turn up out of the blue to start managing the store?  There may not be many pages in the book but there's a lot going on and it is very addictive reading.

Atmospheric, gritty and dark, Six Mile Store is a compulsive and unusual book that shocked and entertained me.  It's well worth a read if you're looking for something a bit different.

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

My rating:

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Waterstones

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BLOG TOUR: Welcome to Dorley Hall (The Sisters of Dorley Book One) - Alyson Greaves

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan Riley never had, until one day he disappears, and Stefan has to adapt to life without him. But, one year later, when he runs into a girl who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He discovers that other boys have disappeared, too, dozens over the years, most of them students of the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, many of them troubled or unruly before their disappearance.

What is happening to these boys? Who are the handful of women on campus who bear a striking resemblance to some of those who went missing? And what is the connection to the mysterious Dorley Hall?

Stefan works hard to get into the Royal College for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too.

A closeted trans girl attempts to infiltrate a secret underground forced feminisation programme.

Content note: this story engages with some reasonably dark topics, including but not limited to torture, manipulation, dysphoria, nonconsensual surgery, and kidnapping. While it isn't intended to be a dark or dystopian story, the perspective characters are carrying a lot of baggage, and the exploration of the premise might be triggering for trans readers.

 

What did I think?

I just don't know where to begin in my review of the groundbreaking trans novel Welcome to Dorley Hall; I've simply read nothing like it before.  It does have a dystopian feel but it also feels very current and realistic and even though I've turned the final page, the characters are still fluttering around in my head.

I absolutely loved the main character of Stefan; he was devastated when his friend Mark disappeared and his spidey sense went on high alert when he bumped into a girl in the supermarket who reminded him of Mark.  Determined to find out what happened to Mark, Stefan follows in Mark's footsteps to college and uncovers a secret group who are turning men into women.

Stefan finally lets down his guard and looks deep inside himself and sees an opportunity to become the woman he has always wanted to be.  The only problem is, the men in the programme have all wronged women and Stefan is just too nice to do anything like that, so once he gets in, he has to put on an act to stay in.

Well, consider my thoughts well and truly provoked!  I thought it was rather ingenious to punish men by turning them into women but it also made me realise that it's the women who are trapped in men's bodies who are being punished every single day.  I really started to care what happened to Stefan and I was on the edge of my seat every time I thought he was going to be caught out.

Welcome to Dorley Hall is a very intriguing, provocative and powerful novel.  I'm really pleased that I have read it as it gave me a glimpse into the mind of a trans girl and I would be interested to see how Stefan's story progresses.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Alyson lives in a very small flat in a very large city, and writes fiction with trans themes and characters. Her Twitter is twitter.com/badambulist

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BLOG TOUR: Blood Ribbons (Steph Grant Murder Mystery Series Book 4) - Lin Le Versha

 

Arnhem 1944

British paratroopers launch one of the most audacious plans of the Second World War – Operation Market Garden. Private Duncan Shaw records his experiences as his unit fights desperately to capture a vital bridge from the Germans.

Arnhem, Present Day

Duncan’s great granddaughter Zoe retraces his steps as part of a college project to accompany veterans of the battle and record their experiences. What Zoe doesn’t anticipate is uncovering a series of disturbing family secrets, some with deadly consequences.

Another dangerous case for Steph and Hale

A body is found tangled in the rushes on the banks of the Rhine, close to the river boat where former police officer, Steph Grant, and her partner, Chief Inspector Philip Hale, are chaperoning students from the college where she now works. Working with Dutch police, the pair investigate further, and quickly discover that no one is safe – be they pupils, veterans or staff.

What did I think?

Blood Ribbons is the fourth book in the Steph Grant Murder Mystery series but it can be read as a standalone.  Although the characters are familiar to fans of the series, it has its own contained storyline and it's a real good 'un.

The college that Steph works at are planning to write a book to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, which was the World War II battle for the bridge at Arnhem that inspired the film A Bridge Too Far.  One of the students has a personal link to the battle and she shares poignant extracts from her great grandfather's journal.

With Steph and Hale around, there's bound to be a dead body or two and the pair find themselves investigating once again.  The plot is very clever as Lin Le Versha catches the reader in a pincer movement with both a present day and a past mystery to solve.  I was completely riveted by both strands of the story and I simply couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Of course it wouldn't be a Steph Grant book without an appearance from Derek, her faithful hound.  Derek may not make an appearance until towards the end of the book but it's definitely quality over quantity as he has a big part to play in the story.

Blood Ribbons is an outstanding murder mystery that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.  The historical element is beautifully and sensitively portrayed and I found it quite emotional and poignant.   A highly recommended read.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

Hobeck Books

Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: Blood Lines (Steph Grant Murder Mystery Series Book 2) - Lin Le Versha

Set within the mysterious beauty of coastal Suffolk, this gripping new crime series is a dark murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final shocking twist is revealed. Lin Le Versha is not to be missed, the brilliant new talent on the British crime writing scene.

Eighteen year-old Darcy Woodard appears to have it all – intelligence, good looks and artistic gifts. His teachers adore him, as does former policewoman Steph Grant, who is now the receptionist at Darcy's college.

But beneath the surface - all is not as it seems.

Adopted and mixed race, Darcy is convinced he doesn't fit in. He tries to ignore the racial taunts.

There's Darcy’s dysfunctional mother Esther who is trapped in a literary time warp.

Then there's his sister Marianne, who Darcy desperately wants to protect from the dark forces that surround her.

Then tragedy rocks Darcy’s life when a drugs gang forces its way into his life and all the people he cares for.

What can Steph and her former boss DI Hale do to protect the local community? And can they really trust Darcy to help them defeat the county lines gang?

Blood Lines is the second thrilling book in the Steph Grant murder mystery series by the brilliant Lin Le Versha.

 

What did I think?

Blood Lines is the second Steph Grant Murder Mystery book and although I haven't read Blood Notes, the first book in the series, you can absolutely read this as a standalone as I really enjoyed it.

Set mainly on a college campus, it's pretty dark in places as Lin Le Versha takes her readers on a tour of the dark and dangerous drug underworld.  Drugs are rife in the college and the principal decides to take action, with the help of former policewoman and college receptionist Steph Grant and her partner DI Hale.

I love how the Woodard family are incorporated into the story.  Steph knows Darcy and Marianne from college, but she just happens to meet their mother Esther when they are both visiting the local cinema on their own.  Steph soon becomes a friend of this incredibly dysfunctional family but when Darcy seems to turn up at every strange event, Steph realises there's more to this family than meets the eye.

Dealing with drugs, the plotline is quite dark but Lin Le Versha injects (no pun intended) an element of lighthearted humour in the form of Steph's dog Derek.  I mean just him being called Derek made me smile and I loved him tagging along with Steph as she tries to bring down the leader of the drug gang.  I also really enjoyed the college setting with the inevitable power struggles as some tutors vie to show their authority.

Blood Lines is a gripping, fast-paced, dark and twisty murder mystery; it's entertaining and surprising and I definitely want to read more of Steph Grant's story.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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