Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe

Margo Millet's got money troubles. As the child of a Hooter's waitress and an ex-Pro-Wrestler, she's always known she'd have to make it on her own. When she finds herself pregnant by her college professor - who is very keen not to be involved - she realizes she will need cash fast.

At twenty, alone with a baby, what Margo lacks in options she makes up for in ingenuity, and soon she has a plan: she'll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, producing content and writing storylines unlike anything else out there. Help arrives in the form of her live-action role-playing flatmate Suzie, and her father, Jinx - a recovering addict and veteran of the wrestling world, who has experience of making an audience fall in love.

Before she knows it, Margo is an online phenomenon. Could this be the answer to all of Margo's problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

 

What did I think?

I don't listen to a lot of audiobooks as I find it hard to concentrate on them but I was completely riveted by Margo's story in Margo's Got Money Troubles.  Elle Fanning's narration is flawless as she brings Margo to life and draws the listener into the story.  Elle is also set to play Margo in the upcoming TV series and I can't wait to watch it.

I really liked Margo; she is intelligent, sharp and caring in spite of her upbringing.  Her mother, Shayanne, is a Hooter's waitress with a gambling addiction and her father, Jinx, is an ex-pro wrestler with a heroin addiction.  It's no surprise that her married college professor, Mark, was able to take advantage of 19-year-old Margo and leave her pregnant, wanting nothing to do with the baby.

Margo has to come up with a plan to provide for her baby and it's actually rather ingenious, although her parents (who aren't together) are divided in their opinion of the suitability of Margo's job.  Then Mark finds out what Margo is doing and sues her for custody of Bodhi...

The story is both hilarious and heartbreaking as Margo is constantly questioned about her suitability as a mother.  Although it takes two to tango, I was so angry with Mark for wiping his hands of Margo in the first place and then deciding that he would be a better parent.  How dare he!!  Margo's parents have a lot to answer for too as she really needs their support but only one of them is prepared to put themselves out to help her.

There are so many funny moments as well as shocks and surprises that had me exclaiming out loud, so you might get some funny looks if you listen to this in public.  I was totally rooting for Margo from the start and I think she is an amazing woman who has more than her fair share of knocks in her young life but is destined for success and happiness.  Ok, I know she's not real but she sure felt real to me.

I absolutely loved listening to Margo's Got Money Troubles and I would highly recommend it.  This book is going to be huge so make sure you grab a copy and listen to it before the TV series comes out.

I received a gifted copy of the audiobook to listen to for the Adventures With Words listen-along and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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The Finery - Rachel Grosvenor

Tyranny is in the air in the city of Finer Bay, and Professor Wendowleen Cripcot would like to be left alone, thank you very much. The memories of the last one hundred years are quite enough to be getting on with, if only these young upstarts from the government body, The Finery, would stop trying to control her every move. 

With the eyes of a dictator upon her, there are not many places to hide...but Wendowleen has never been one to back down from a fight (just ask her pet wolf), and insurrection is brewing underground.

 

What did I think?

It's always a little daunting when I start a book in an unfamiliar genre but I knew from the very first page that I was going to love The Finery.  So, if you say you don't read fantasy then definitely make an exception for Rachel Grosvenor's fantastic debut novel.

Professor Wendoleen Cripcot is almost 101 years old but she still has her wits about her and she refuses to be told what to do, especially by that young whippersnapper, the Dictator.  Wendoleen is such a feisty character and I absolutely loved her and her pet wolf.  The character of Wolf is easily one of my favourite fictional animal characters and I loved his voracious appetite that added a wonderful sprinkly of humour throughout the novel.

As Finer Bay is a dictatorship, there's more than a hint of revolution bubbling beneath the surface and when The Finery captures Wendoleen in their crosshairs she has no alternative but to join the revolution.  I absolutely loved this part of the story and I could almost 'hear the people sing' as they rose up and made their voices heard.

Incredibly entertaining and so vividly written, it's very easy to forget that The Finery is a fantasy novel as I was so completely immersed in the story from start to finish.  The Finery isn't just a magnificent debut, it's a groundbreaking novel that has put fantasy firmly on my list of genres.  Put Rachel Grosvenor on your bookshelf and your watch list, readers!

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

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BLOG TOUR: The Whole Truth (DI Adam Fawley #5) - Cara Hunter

 

An attractive student. An older professor.

Think you know the story? Think again.

THE NEW UP-ALL-NIGHT THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER CARA HUNTER, PERFECT FOR FANS OF LINE OF DUTY

She has everything at stake; he has everything to lose. But one of them is lying, all the same.

When an Oxford student accuses one of the university's professors of sexual assault, DI Adam Fawley's team think they've heard it all before. But they couldn't be more wrong.

Because this time, the predator is a woman and the shining star of the department, and the student a six-foot male rugby player.

Soon DI Fawley and his team are up against the clock to figure out the truth. What they don't realise is that someone is watching.

And they have a plan to put Fawley out of action for good...

What did I think?

I discovered the DI Adam Fawley series when it was already into its fourth instalment, All The Rage, so don't worry if you're discovering Cara Hunter for the first time as these books work brilliantly as standalones (there's even a fabulous list of characters and their key personality traits at the beginning and I loved this).  The Whole Truth is written so brilliantly that new readers don't feel as if they're missing out on anything and series fans get pertinent facts inserted skilfully into the prose as gentle reminders.

There are a number of threads woven through this story to keep the reader (and DI Adam Fawley) on their toes: a sexual assault, a murder inquiry and a podcast claiming a miscarriage of justice in Fawley's biggest case.  All three grabbed my attention and kept me riveted, with my fingers getting a good workout in making the pages turn faster than ever.  With so much going on it's surprisingly never confusing and it had my mind whizzing nineteen to the dozen but I loved every second of it.

I also love the added extras you get in a Cara Hunter book as the prose is peppered with other media: text messages, podcast transcripts, police interviews, social media posts, news articles and police reports to name but a few.  The only tiny niggle I have is that some of the writing is quite small so I sometimes had to get my nose right into the book; of course it could just be my eyesight deteriorating with age (and too much reading).  

It's true, this really is an up-all-night kind of book, purely because there are no formal chapters of which to promise yourself that you'll read just one more.  Usually a lack of chapters would annoy me but I was actually really glad there aren't any as they would have just slowed my reading down.  So make sure you're sitting comfortably when you pick up The Whole Truth as you really won't be able to put it down.

Filled with twists, shocks and surprises, Cara Hunter has such sleight of hand I wouldn't have been surprised to see a rabbit pulled out of a hat.  The Whole Truth is absolutely fantastic; it's gripping, supersonically fast-paced and completely addictive - this is crime fiction at its finest.

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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The Scribe (A Kramer & Carver Thriller Book 1) - A. A. Chaudhuri

Making it as a lawyer has always been a cutthroat business.

A killer is targeting former students of The Bloomsbury Academy of Law. The victims – all female – are gruesomely butchered according to a pattern corresponding with the legal syllabus. Even more disconcerting are riddles sent by the killer to investigating officer, Chief Inspector Jake Carver, offering clues as to who is next and where they will die.

Up-and-coming lawyer Madeline Kramer, a former classmate of a number of the slain, soon finds her life turned upside down by the savagery. And when she decides to help Carver track down the killer, she places herself in mortal danger. Can Maddy and Carver unscramble the complex riddles and save the lives of those destined to die?

A. A. Chaudhuri’s Ripper-like mystery, The Scribe, throws down a challenge even hardened crime thriller fans will be unable to resist. It's perfect for those who love Lee Child and Ian Rankin.

What did I think?

I don't listen to many audiobooks as I find that my attention drifts and I end up missing vital parts of the story but this was definitely not the case with The Scribe, narrated by David Thorpe.  The plot is exceptional, the narration is outstanding and my attention was held for every single minute of the 13 hours and 26 minutes of the book.

I love legal thrillers and A. A. Chaudhuri has written something so completely different to anything I have ever read before by teaming up a young lawyer with a Chief Inspector, leaving the courtroom behind and creating more of a police procedural.  There's a killer in London and all of the victims are not only former students of a law academy, they are former lovers of the philandering professor, which makes him the prime suspect.  

Young lawyer, Maddy Kramer finds herself helping the police when she sees connections between the victims and has an idea where the killer may strike next.  It might be putting her own life in danger but she is determined to stop the killer and she also quite fancies the Chief Inspector, Jake Carver.  The plot focuses on the killings so there's not really any sexual tension between Kramer and Carver, it's more of a growing admiration and I'm looking forward to seeing how this relationship develops throughout the series.

David Thorpe's narration left me speechless; every character has a different voice so it really does give the impression that there is more than one narrator.  The whole story is brought to life through David Thorpe's dulcet tones and it not only held my attention but kept me fully engaged.  I had only planned to listen to the audiobook while exercising but I found that I snuck in a few extra chapters whenever possible as I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

I think the narration may be a bit too good as it caused me to be suspicious of a particular character; even though I had guessed partly right, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story as this wasn't the only twist to be revealed.  I even thought I was completely wrong at one point as the storyline shot off in a different direction and just when I thought all had become clear, there are still some shocks and surprises in store.

Fast-paced and hugely entertaining, The Scribe is a sharply plotted, highly addictive legal thriller and police procedural rolled into one.  I absolutely loved it and I already have book 2, The Abduction, lined up to play next.

Many thanks to the author for arranging the audio files to be sent to me from Isis Audio for the purpose of review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep - H. G. Parry

For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world. His older brother, Rob - a young lawyer with an utterly normal life - hopes that this strange family secret will disappear with disuse, and he will be discharged from his duty of protecting Charley and the real world from each other.

But then, literary characters start causing trouble in their city, making threats about destroying the world, and for once, it isn't Charley's doing. There's someone else out there who shares his powers and it's up to Charley and a reluctant Rob to stop them - before anyone gets to The End.

What did I think?

Now this is one book that I couldn't wait to get my hands on; being a book magnet, a book about books is just my kind of thing!  I think H. G. Parry should be crowned Queen of Booklovers; she clearly loves books so much that she has brought the characters to life in her astonishing debut, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep.

So many readers remark that well-written characters often pop out of books when they're reading; of course they mean metaphorically not literally, which is not the case for Charley Sutherland.  Charley has the amazing ability to be able to conjure a literary character from within the pages of a book, often by accident when he is so immersed in his reading.  The only trouble is, once the character has been released from their literary prison, they don't always want to go back.  As the literary community grows, Charley and his brother, Rob, face an epic battle of good versus evil before the world as they know it is destroyed forever.

What a wonderful character H. G. Parry has created in Charley; his love of books and words is simply breathtaking.  When I say 'books', I mean physical paper books and I'm totally with Charley on that.  There is an extract from his notebook where he says: 

'Words aren't the same to me on a screen.  I can see them but I can't connect with them.  They're too hard and bright; I float on top of them, like a leaf on the surface of a pond.  Words on paper are quiet, and porous; in the right mood, I sink down between the gaps in the letters and they close over my head.'

How beautiful is that?  Although I read digitally when I absolutely have to, I have struggled to explain why I prefer books to ebooks and H. G. Parry has described this feeling so eloquently and exquisitely.

Who hasn't read Pride & Prejudice and imagined Mr Darcy so vividly that you expect him to materialise in the room with you?  Obviously quite a few people have done so as numerous Mr Darcys have been brought to life in this book and, after the 1995 TV adaptation, unsurprisingly one of them bears a striking resemblance to Colin Firth.  If ever you wanted to bring a literary character to life, what a one to choose, eh?  <<swoon>>

Wonderfully imaginative, The Escape of Uriah Heep is a dream come true for bibliophiles who believe in magic.  There certainly is magic within these pages and it's most definitely best kept there!

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

My rating:

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About the author:

H. G. Parry has a PhD in English literature and teaches at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. She has published a number of short stories; The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is her debut novel.

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BLOG TOUR: Truth or Die (D.S. Imogen Grey #5) - Katerina Diamond

Their darkest secrets won’t stay buried forever…

The butchered body of a professor is found in a private office of Exeter University. It is the first in a spate of horrific murders that shakes the city to its core.

Who would target a seemingly innocent man, and why? DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles turn to his students for answers, but their investigation turns up no leads. Someone must know more than they’re letting on…

As the body count rises, the police have to look into the past to uncover the person responsible before it’s too late.

But are they brave enough to face up to the truth?

What did I think?

I've been a fan of the D.S. Grey and Miles books since being bowled over by the first book in the series, The Teacher.  Unfortunately for me I haven't yet read book 3, The Angel, which sees the introduction of some characters who make a reappearance in this book.  It didn't disadvantage me too much, and you can definitely read Truth or Die as a standalone, but I did feel like I had missed out on a great back story so it has spurred me on to read The Angel as soon as possible.

With such multi-dimensional and established characters as D.S. Imogen Grey and D.S. Adrian Miles, Katerina Diamond writes one hell of a police procedural.  Add to that her dark and twisted imagination and you are guaranteed a crime thriller you will never forget.  Often grisly in its level of detail, one particular method of murder is spine-tinglingly chilling but there's a pun attached to the victim's name which did make me smirk.

There's almost a dual storyline running through Truth or Die with Grey and Miles getting a little more up close and personal as well as chasing down a killer of students and professors at Exeter University.  These murders aren't random by any means and Grey and Miles discover that there's a dark and disturbing game afoot.  Can they catch the ringleader before more bodies turn up?  I certainly couldn't read fast enough to find out!

I deliberated a bit over my rating for this one; as a standalone I would rate it 4 out of 5, but as part of the series I have no doubt that it would scoop the full 5 stars.  I now want to read the whole series all over again to see what I've missed and to revisit Grey and Miles from the start.

Fast paced and gripping, Truth or Die is another outstanding page turner from Katerina Diamond that sees the D.S. Imogen Grey series go from strength to strength.  

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

My rating:

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