Loom in the Loft - Jay Black

Pubescent short story writer Drew has two dreams: to become a New York Times bestselling novelist, and to convince his single, 30-something neighbour Sasha to tutor him in the intimate arts. When an aged, terminally ill neighbour offers Drew the cash fortune stashed in the walls of her house, he enlists Sasha to assist with its post-mortem extraction. Pressed by the looming arrival of the deceased's estranged adult children, both eager to inherit her estate, Drew and Sasha bank on their promise to keep secrets neither can afford to have exposed.

 

What did I think?

Loom in the Loft is a quick read at just 86 pages long but there is a lot going on in the book to keep the reader entertained.

Set in Canada in the 1970s, Drew is 13 years old but he works hard both inside and outside of school to make his single mother proud of him.  Drew mows lawns for his neighbours and he's so highly regarded that one of his elderly neighbours leaves him a life-changing inheritance.  It's one of the younger neighbours who catches his eye though...

Sasha works from home making blankets in her loft and she sees an opportunity to get Drew working for her, keeping her house clean and her bed warm.  It is clear to everyone but Drew that he is being groomed and manipulated by Sasha, but Drew doesn't really care as his wet dreams are becoming a reality.

It's no surprise which direction the story goes in and I was prepared to feel really angry on Drew's behalf but he is so mellow that I ended up having no ill-feelings towards Sasha as both characters got what they wanted in the end.

I really enjoyed the story and felt it was perfectly paced from start to finish.  The only slight criticism I have is that my reading rhythm was slowed somewhat by the conversion to today's money whenever a monetary figure was mentioned.  It didn't slow me down much though!

Nostalgic and captivating, Loom in the Loft is a very entertaining coming of age story and I think it's well worth reading.

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

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Attic at Wilton Place - CE Rose

The perfect life. The perfect home. But at what price?

Introspective Ruth Parker is desperate for love and attention. Overlooked as a child by her cold and critical mother, her pain manifests in loneliness and a crippling lack of self-esteem. When glamorous actress ‘Aunt’ Vanessa, her mother’s childhood friend, shows an interest in her, Ruth basks in the blinding light of her attention.

Once Ruth escapes to university in London, Aunt Vanessa invites her to Wilton Place, her stunning Belgravia residence. As she blossoms under Vanessa’s guidance, Ruth finds herself torn between student life and the hypnotic, luxurious confines of Wilton Place. Belgravia wins out, but when Ruth explores the gloomy attic of her new home and finds a hidden, locked door, she discovers that Vanessa is hiding the darkest of secrets from her childhood, secrets that threaten everything Ruth knew about her own mother.

How far will Ruth go to find the truth - and how much does she really want to know?

 

What did I think?

CE Rose weaves a dark and deceptive tale in gripping new novel, The Attic at Wilton Place and I really enjoyed it.  With a majestic and slightly creepy house at its core, it is hauntingly gothic and the house is bursting with secrets that will be revealed when the level of suspense reaches maximum.

I have mixed feelings about the main character Ruth.  On the whole, I felt sorry for her as she has been groomed and manipulated by her 'Aunt' Vanessa, something that Vanessa found easy to do as Ruth's mother (Joyless Joy, as I named her) shows her no affection whatsoever.  Ruth makes some questionable decisions but I had to remind myself how young she was and that she was being played like the cello she so loves.

This story has so many layers and CE Rose perfectly balances her build up of suspense with gradual revelations to keep the reader hooked.  I thought I had it all worked out but I was wrong on every single count and I was delighted to be wrong as I love to be shocked and surprised by such talented authors.

Filled with suspense and bursting with secrets, The Attic at Wilton Place is a twisty page-turning gothic thriller that thoroughly entertained me.  It's well worth a read if you like your books deliciously dark and creepy.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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BLOG BLITZ: No Place Like Home - Rebecca Muddiman

What would you do if you came home to find someone in your house?

This is the predicament Polly Cooke faces when she returns to her new home. The first weeks in the house had been idyllic, but soon Jacob, a local man, is watching her.

What does he want and why is he so obsessed with Polly?

In a situation where nothing is what it seems, you might end up regretting letting some people in.

What did I think?

As she is a local North East author, I've wanted to read a Rebecca Muddiman book for a while so I jumped at the chance to read her fifth novel, No Place Like Home.  It took me a little while to get into the book, as the chapters seemed to jump between timelines without notice, but once the pieces started to fall into place I realised what a clever book this is.

I think as readers we are perhaps a little spoiled by having 'then' and 'now' labelled on chapters; sometimes it's obvious and other times it's not.  Well, No Place Like Home falls into the latter category but once you get into the rhythm of the book it does become easier to spot...so bear with it, readers!  I have to be honest and say that I didn't have a clue what the heck was going on at first but I was definitely intrigued enough to find out.  

Polly returns to her new home one evening to find someone in her house; her fear turns to anger as she recognises the intruder when he puts the light on.  We then jump back a few weeks to around the time she moved in and she notices somebody across the street watching her as she draws her curtains for the night.  I hate the thought of being watched without my knowledge so I totally empathised with Polly; she should feel safe and secure in her own home, not threatened and afraid.

When we find out that the man watching her is Jacob, an old schoolfriend of Polly's, I could feel my interest levels going up a notch.  They weren't exactly friends at school but when they run into each other years later, Polly is too nice to say no to befriending Jacob...and Jacob doesn't want to be 'just friends'.  I really felt for Polly when she tells one of those little white lies we often tell people to avoid hurting their feelings, only it means a lot more to them than we realise.  I was thinking 'uh-oh, she's said the wrong thing there' as green for go flashed in Jacob's mind.

Now I can't say too much else about the plot without giving the game away, but I just have to say that I have never been more wrong about a character in my whole reading life.  The feelings I had towards this character did a complete 180 as Rebecca Muddiman shows us how very deceptive appearances can be.

No Place Like Home is sinister, unnerving, creepy and utterly surprising.  I felt as if Rebecca Muddiman had got inside my head and pulled all the right strings before revealing how very manipulated I had  been.  Well played, Ms Muddiman!

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Rebecca Muddiman was born and raised in the North East and worked in the NHS for many years. She has published four crime novels – Stolen, Gone, Tell Me Lies, and Murder in Slow Motion. Stolen won a Northern Writers Award in 2010 and the Northern Crime Competition in 2012. She is also a screenwriter and was selected for the London Screenwriters Festival Talent Campus in 2016.

Most of her spare time is spent re-watching Game of Thrones, trying to learn Danish, and dealing with two unruly dogs. Sometimes all at the same time.

Links:

https://twitter.com/RebeccaMuddiman

https://www.facebook.com/rebeccamuddimanwriter/

https://rebeccamuddiman.wordpress.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7053551.Rebecca_Muddiman

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