The Sitter - Caroline McGhie

Adolescent baker’s boy Jack catches sight of a beautiful woman alighting from a train at dusk. His remote Norfolk village is built around a railway maintenance hub known as The Works which is ruled by ritual, hierarchy and God.

Newcomer Rosie is escaping a secret past involving a well-known London cartoonist who is a proponent of early photographic pornography.

A beguiling tale of love and learning unfolds against the backdrop of the hardships faced by the railwaymen and fishermen of the time.

Poignant and moving, this literary novel weaves the key themes of women’s rights, childhood memories, sexual freedom, religion, art and pornography around it’s compelling cast of characters. Based on extensive research in and around Melton Constable and Cromer, The Sitter exudes the charms of Victorian Norfolk and a nostalgia for the steam railways.

An historical novel of richness and depth, The Sitter is a remarkable, engaging and deeply atmospheric debut

 

What did I think?

The Sitter is quite a short book but it's worth taking your time to read it in order to savour this very accomplished debut from Caroline McGhie.

From the very first line, I was thrust into early 20th century Norfolk and all the sights and sounds were beautifully described.  Rosie is running away from London and she causes quite a stir when she steps from the train in the fictional village of Swanton Stoke.  Young Jack Stamp writes about Rosie's arrival in his diary and I absolutely loved reading his diary entries throughout the book.

Caroline McGhie gradually reveals the secret that Rosie is harbouring and it's interesting to note that we probably wouldn't bat an eyelid today, but Victorian England was very different.  It's not like the same things didn't happen, it's just that we didn't talk about them so they were seen as shameful.  I really felt for Rosie and my heart went out to her as she was put in an impossible position.

Atmospheric and haunting, The Sitter is a beautifully written debut novel and one not to be missed by historical fiction fans.

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

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: A Secret in the Family - Nancy Revell

1945, Sunderland. Ida Boulter makes the heart-wrenching decision to leave her five children behind as she escapes her husband and moves to London to start afresh with the love of her life.

1953, County Durham. Ida’s children have since built a new life in the beautiful home of Cuthford Manor – looked after by their eldest sibling Angie and her husband.

But their world is about to be rocked once again when their mother turns up out of the blue for the first time in eight years.

She has come back bearing a secret she can no longer keep from her family.

Will telling the truth cause more harm than good?

Only their love for one another will carry them through the turbulent times ahead.

 

What did I think?

It took me far too long to discover the books of local author Nancy Revell, but better late than never, and I have recently completed my Shipyard Girls collection after absolutely loving The Widow's Choice.  A Secret in the Family is the sequel to The Widow's Choice but it can definitely be read as a standalone, so don't be afraid to jump into the series if you're just discovering it now.

Young Ida dreams of a life on the stage but, like most working class women in Sunderland, she finds herself looking after a brood of children whilst her husband Fred spends his hard-earned wages from the pit down the pub.  It's no wonder that Ida's head is turned by Carl but when their affair is discovered she has a difficult choice to make: leave her children and start a new life or take the inevitable beating from Fred.  

Having read The Widow's Choice, I saw Ida in a bad light as I couldn't understand how she could leave her children but there are always two sides to every story and this is Ida's.  How my heart went out to her both in the past and the present and I was so pleased that she found happiness with Carl.

I really enjoyed catching up with Angie and her siblings again.  Angie has suffered her own heartbreak in the past but she has been given a second chance at love with Stanislaw, however, she is still not allowing herself to be truly happy.  When Ida returns, it's quite a shock for the siblings and some forgive her quicker than others.  There is so much emotion in this book that I couldn't hold back my tears at the end, so I would advise have a tissue handy when you're reading it.

Emotional, heartwarming and captivating, Nancy Revell brings the past to life in her wonderful new book, A Secret in the Family.  From County Durham to London, I felt like I was walking in the characters' shoes and experienced not just the sights and sounds but their emotions too.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend A Secret in the Family and I adored every single beautifully written word.  An easy five stars!

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:

Nancy Revell is the author of 12 titles in the bestselling Shipyard Girls series, which tells the story of a group of women who work in a Sunderland shipyard during WWII. Her books have sold more than half a million copies, across all editions, with the last book in the Shipyard Girl series a No.2 Sunday Times Bestseller. 

Before that, she was a journalist who worked for all the national newspapers, providing them with hard- hitting news stories and in-depth features. She also wrote inspirational true-life stories for just about every woman’s magazine in the country. 

Nancy was born and brought up in the North East of England and now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, Paul.

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BLOG TOUR: One Last Secret - Adele Parks

One last client

A week at a beautiful chateau in the south of France – it should be a straightforward final job for Dora. She’s a smart, stunning and discreet escort and Daniel has paid for her services before. This time, all she has to do is convince the assembled guests that she is his girlfriend. Dora is used to playing roles and being whatever men want her to be. It’s all about putting on a front.

One last chance

It will be a last, luxurious look at how the other half lives, before Dora turns her back on the escort world and all its dangers. She has found someone she loves and trusts. With him, she can escape the life she’s trapped in. But when Dora arrives at the chateau, it quickly becomes obvious that nothing is what it seems…

One last secret

Dora finds herself face to face with a man she has never forgotten, the one man who really knows her. And as old secrets surface, it becomes terrifyingly apparent that one last secret could cost Dora her life…

From the Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks comes a blisteringly provocative novel about power, sex, money and revenge. 

What did I think?

OMG, Adele Parks, you devious little minx!  This book is filled to the brim with secrets and I devoured it in my quest to discover every single one of them.  Just when you think you have it all worked out, Adele Parks throws another curve ball to spin you in a completely different direction.  

Dora is a character with an unusual and unique voice; she is so blunt about everything, which shouldn't come as a surprise as her job as an escort doesn't require emotion.  It's actually really interesting to read about such an unusual character from her own perspective.  Of course, being an escort isn't something that little girls aspire to be but it is a necessary evil to pay the bills for a lot of women.

It took me a little while to warm to her as Dora is a very unemotional character, but I really liked her when I scratched beneath the surface.  I love how her personal and professional lives are so very different and it was lovely to read about her friendship with Evan, which comes under threat when she takes one last job as an escort.  A job that takes her to a luxurious chateau in France where nothing is as it seems.

I didn't manage to predict a single thing in this book.  Oh I had plenty of ideas and suspicions but I was completely wrong on all counts.  Reading books is one instance when I'm happy to be proved wrong as it shows how good the book is when you don't manage to predict any of it.  

One Last Secret is twisty, addictive and unpredictable.  I really enjoyed it and don't think I have read anything like it before; the main character is so unique and the twisty plot just keeps on delivering, even when you think all has been revealed there's still more to come. 

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

My rating:

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Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: The Bay - Allie Reynolds

The waves are to die for. It's a paradise they'd kill to keep.

There's a darkness inside all of us and The Bay has a way of bringing it out. Everyone here has their secrets but we don't go looking for them. Because sometimes it's better not to know.

Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend, shocked to hear she's going to marry a guy she's only just met. But Mikki and her fiancé Jack are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride.

Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the mysterious group of people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and disappear from life. How will they feel about Kenna turning up unannounced?

As Kenna gets drawn into their world, she sees the extremes they are prepared to go to for the next thrill. And everyone seems to be hiding something. What has her best friend got involved in and how can she get her away? But one thing is rapidly becoming clear about The Bay: nobody ever leaves.

 

What did I think?

Don't be misled by the gorgeous cover; something dark and dangerous is lurking inside The Bay.  I really enjoyed it; it's action-packed, gripping and hugely entertaining.

Kenna and Mikki have a puzzling relationship; they've been best friends since school in England but Mikki is not exactly thrilled when Kenna turns up on her doorstep in Australia.  Kenna is determined to stop Mikki from rushing into marrying Jack, although Kenna didn't even receive an invitation to the wedding.  Strange - something is definitely afoot!

Jack invites Kenna to join him and Mikki on a trip to Sorrow Bay, a secret part of the coast that only a few people know about.  The tension really begins to mount when Kenna meets other members of the group who really don't like sharing their waves with strangers.  Just what has Mikki got herself tangled up in?

I absolutely loved all of the different characters in this book; everybody is hiding something and I couldn't read fast enough to uncover all of their secrets.  The surfing and extreme challenges they partake in had my heart racing and I even found myself holding my breath at certain points as if I was underwater too.

The characters and the scenery are so vividly drawn by Allie Reynolds that I felt as if I was on the beach with them.  The Bay is one of those books that you can easily imagine being made into a film or series and I would definitely want to watch it.

Tense, gripping and thrilling, The Bay is a brilliant thriller that not only has you on the edge of your seat, it has you gripping the armrests and holding your breath.

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

My rating:

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Amazon

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BLOG TOUR: One Bad Thing - M.K. Hill

She thought she'd got away with it. She was wrong.

Hannah Godley is an agony aunt on a London radio show Queen of Hearts. She's warm and empathetic; a good listener. Her catchphrase is: Be kind, always. But when a stranger phones in to tell a tragic story about her brother who killed himself after he was the victim of a terrible prank by two people, Hannah goes cold. Because she remembers Diane's brother well. In fact, all these years later, he still haunts her dreams. All because of that one bad thing she did when she was young...

Is Diane just a sad, lonely woman looking for a friend, or does she know what Hannah did, and is looking for revenge? Because as Diane insinuates herself into her life and family, Hannah is going to discover that you can never truly escape that One Bad Thing you did – sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the price...

 

What did I think?

Ooooh this is such a good book!  I was hooked from the very first page when Hannah explains that she did something in her past that she's not proud of...but what did she do?  I couldn't read fast enough to find out but that's not the only hook...someone knows what Hannah did and if the truth comes out it could destroy her.

Hannah is radio's Queen of Hearts and her crown would well and truly slip if people ever find out what she did, so when a caller to the radio show threatens to expose Hannah's secret, Hannah will do anything to keep it buried...even befriending the person who is threatening her.  Diane is really creepy, she is so clingy and needy but it's clear that she is very lonely and I did feel sorry for her.  Loneliness can be a crippling condition so I could understand Diane grabbing on to social contact whether obtained through fair means or foul.

Although Hannah has a deep, dark secret that could show her in a completely different light to her public persona, I still really liked her.  She's a new mum, juggling a busy career and a home with a husband who needs a good talking to.  I think Sean often forgets that he is married; he acts like a single bloke, always leaving Hannah to look after the baby.  Sean's contribution to parenthood was to hire a nanny...enough said.

I just loved everything about this book: the well-developed characters, the fast-paced, drama-filled plot and the compelling writing that really drew me into the story.  The writing is so good that I already have my eye on M.K. Hill's previous books and can't wait to read them.

Gripping, pacy and twisty, One Bad Thing is a cracking thriller that is as impossible to predict as it is to put down.  I highly recommend it and I think M.K. Hill is definitely an author to watch.

Many thanks to Sophie Ransom for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to Head of Zeus for providing an ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Amazon

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The Collector's Daughter - Gill Paul

 

An unforgettable discovery

In 1922, Lady Evelyn Herbert’s dreams are realised when she is the first to set foot inside the lost tomb of Tutankhamun for over 3,000 years.

A cursed life

But the months after the discovery are marred by tragedy, when Eve’s father dies suddenly and her family is torn in two. Desperate to put the past behind her, Eve retreats into a private life with her new husband.

A deadly choice

But she is harbouring a dark secret about what really happened in Egypt. And when a young woman comes asking questions years later, the happiness Eve has finally found is threatened once more…

What did I think?

Gill Paul's amazing ability to reach into history and bring her characters to life has made her one of my favourite historical fiction authors.  So I was delighted when I found out that the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb was the subject of her new novel, The Collector's Daughter.

I've always loved Egyptian history and although I've never been to the Valley of the Kings, I have visited Cairo and seen some of the breathtaking treasures discovered in the tomb.  I knew Lady Evelyn was present in 1922, as I remember seeing the famous photo of her stood in between Howard Carter and her father Lord Carnarvon, but I didn't know that she was the first person to enter the tomb.  Considering people at the time thought that there was a curse of the pharaohs, this shows precisely the type of plucky young lady she was.

Although there are flashbacks to 1922 and beyond, the story is mainly set in 1973 when Eve is recovering from yet another stroke with her adoring husband Brograve by her side.  The depiction of a stroke is written so sensitively that it broke my heart in two.  Just the thought of reliving your saddest memories over and over again (as you had forgotten them) brings tears to my eyes.  Eve is determined not to let the stroke beat her and, when she gets a mysterious visitor asking questions about Tutankhamun's tomb, her memories of that time help her recovery.  There's one special memory that she must not share though...

Simply wonderful!  I adored every single page of The Collector's Daughter; Lady Evelyn is a most unexpected heroine and I now have great admiration for her.  Gill Paul's beautiful writing completely swept me away to Egypt and I didn't want to leave!  A poignant story woven around true facts, The Collector's Daughter is a breathtaking novel and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

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

My rating:

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Amazon

BLOG TOUR: The Perfect Couple - Lisa Hall

When Emily applies for a job as a housekeeper for widower Rupert, it’s a chance to start over – a steady job and regular money means she can work towards her own place, not sharing a grimy flat with old mate, Mags.

As Emily gets to know more about Rupert’s world – how he likes his supper when he comes in from work, who his friends are – she can make sure everything runs like clockwork for him.

Soon there’s a spark between them; Rupert likes Emily and invites her to stay. For good.

To the outside world, they really seem to be a perfect match. There’s just the small issue of what really happened to Rupert’s first wife…

A gripping, razor-sharp game of cat and mouse, from the bestselling author, Lisa Hall.

What did I think?

The Perfect Couple is another brilliant book from Lisa Hall that drew me in from the start, filled me with an air of trepidation throughout and left me gobsmacked at the end.  Lisa Hall's imagination seems to know no bounds as she constantly comes up with amazing unique plots that shock and surprise the reader.

Newlyweds, Rupert and Emily are the perfect couple, or should that be Rupert and Caro?  All of Rupert's friends tell Emily that Caro and Rupert were the perfect couple and they were all left shocked and distraught after Caro's sudden death.  After a whirlwind romance, Emily transforms Cinderella-style from housekeeper to lady of the manor but there's trouble in paradise when Emily feels like someone is watching her and she receives disturbing threats.  While Emily tries to work out who is threatening her, and she has a few suspects, she starts to wonder what really happened to Caro and begins to put the pieces of the jigsaw together.

So many alarm bells were going off in my head when I was reading The Perfect Couple.  I'm not going to say what they were as it would spoil the plot but I was constantly questioning the motives of the characters.  Some characters make decisions that seem strange and unbelievable when you consider their history but it all makes sense in the end.  All of my 'why would she...' and 'why did he...' questions were answered with a big 'OH I SEE', because I totally didn't see at the time due to Lisa Hall being the Mistress of Deception.

Gripping, intriguing and twisty, The Perfect Couple is a stunning psychological / domestic noir thriller.  Lisa Hall is absolutely on fire and long may it continue as her books are guaranteed page-turners and The Perfect Couple is no exception.  Keep 'em coming, Lisa!

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 Girl You Forgot - Giselle Green

I was an early reader of The Girl You Forgot by Giselle Green so I was thrilled to get a spot on the blog tour and I was completely over the moon to see my name in the acknowledgements section of the book.  It is my pleasure to publish my review as part the of the Rachel's Random Resources blog tour.

Does the heart never really forget?

When Ava’s partner Will is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, the doctors give Will one chance to survive - an operation which means he will lose his recent memory. Ava begs him to take the chance, sure that she can cope with Will forgetting her. After all, they have something very special to live for.

But they are also keeping a heart-breaking secret, and if Will loses his memory, Ava will have to carry that secret alone.

Can they rebuild their love from scratch or will their secrets and past come between them? Will Ava really be a stranger when Will wakes up – or does the heart never really forget…

Giselle Green returns with a heart-breaking, deeply moving story of love, loss, and what it really means to be alive. Perfect for all fans of Jodi Picoult, Susan Lewis and Diane Chamberlain.

What did I think?

A heart-wrenching moral dilemma lies at the heart of The Girl You Forgot: should we lie to protect those we love, even if they have asked us to?  Giselle Green has written such a powerful, emotive and thought-provoking book with completely relatable characters that you can't help but wonder what you would do in the same circumstances.

Ava has just found out that she's pregnant when Will is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.  Will has the hardest decision to make: should he have the operation at the risk of losing his memory or enjoy what time he has left?  Will decides to go in for surgery but only after he makes Ava promise to withhold something from him when he wakes up.  Will's surgery is successful but he has lost all of his memories from the last 7 years; understandably confused to wake up with a girlfriend he doesn't recognise by his side, he asks Ava to promise to always tell him the truth.  What a double whammy!  Poor Ava.

My heart really went out to both Will and Ava.  As lovely as it was to see Will fall in love with Ava all over again, it was heartbreaking when he admits that wasn't able to experience the simplest of emotions: happiness.  Ava is torn between keeping her promise to Will before the op and keeping her promise to Will after the op.  I certainly didn't envy her that moral dilemma!  I loved how Ava confides in gardener, Harry, who has memory loss issues of his own.  Harry has some amazing words of wisdom for Ava, which is food for thought for her and the reader.   

The Girl You Forgot is a beautiful story, beautifully written by Giselle Green.  It's full of heart being heartbreaking, heart-wrenching and heartwarming in equal measure.  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Giselle Green is an award-winning, bestselling contemporary women's fiction author. Mum to six boys (half of whom have flown the nest) and owner of one bright orange-and-cinnamon canary who hopefully never will, Giselle enjoys creating emotionally-gripping storylines about family and relationships.

Social Media Links – 

Twitter Profile: @gisellegreenUK

Website: https://gisellegreen.com/

Facebook Profile: Giselle Green Author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/giselle-green

Newsletter sign up: https://bit.ly/GiselleGreenNewsletter

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BLOG TOUR: The Liar's Daughter - Claire Allan

No one deserves to be taken before their time. Do they?

Joe McKee – pillar of the Derry community – is dead. As arrangements are made for the traditional Irish wake, friends and family are left reeling at how cancer could have taken this much-loved man so soon.

But grief is the last thing that Joe’s daughter Ciara and step-daughter Heidi feel. For they knew the real Joe – the man who was supposed to protect them and did anything but.

As the mourners gather, the police do too, with doubt being cast over whether Joe’s death was due to natural causes. Because the lies that Joe told won’t be taken to the grave after all – and the truth gives his daughters the best possible motive for killing him…

A gripping suspense novel about deadly secrets and lies. The perfect read for fans of Clare Mackintosh.

What did I think?

Oh this is a very disturbing and emotional book; I experienced a range of emotions whilst reading but mainly those in the anger and rage end of the spectrum.  Claire Allan tackles a difficult subject head-on as we see first hand the long term effects of Joe McKee's terrible actions.

From the start, we are warned not to feel sorry for Joe as the reader is told in Joe's own voice that he deserves the death sentence he has been handed through his cancer diagnosis.  He is released into the care of his step-daughter, Heidi, who clearly doesn't want anything to do with him but Joe's own daughter, Ciara, can't stand the sight of him either.  It's not hard to work out why his two daughters hate him but what really got to me was reading about their past and the devastation that Joe left in his wake.

My heart went out to both Heidi and Ciara.  Heidi for losing her mother at such a young age and being left with a virtual stranger to bring her up, and Ciara who idolised her father and was crushed when he left.  It's no surprise that Ciara was jealous of Heidi when they were children as, in her mind, Heidi had replaced her in Joe's affections.  Ciara's tormenting of Heidi was pretty despicable and I don't know how Heidi could even bear to be in the same room as her childhood bully; she's a better woman than I am, that's for sure.

Joe's death shouldn't come as a surprise but it would appear that someone in the house helped him on his way a little earlier than expected.  As the police are called in and the family line up like characters on a Cluedo board, each of them with motive, it is for the reader to work out 'whodunnit'.  

The Liar's Daughter is a disturbing portrayal of a family hiding the darkest of secrets.  With heightened emotions they turn on each other before realising that they are stronger together, and only by sharing their pain can they ever find some kind of peace.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



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Together - Julie Cohen

Is this a great love story?

Or a story about great love?

You decide.

On a morning that seems just like any other, Robbie wakes in his bed, his wife Emily asleep beside him, as always. He rises and dresses, makes his coffee, feeds his dogs, just as he usually would. But then he leaves Emily a letter and does something that will break her heart. As the years go back all the way to 1962, Robbie's actions become clearer as we discover the story of a couple with a terrible secret - one they will do absolutely anything to protect.

What did I think?

I received a copy of Together along with an envelope stating that it should only be opened when instructed.  Needless to say, with such an intriguing package, Together didn't have long to wait on my TBR pile before curiosity got the better of me.  Once I opened the book, I became lost in Emily and Robbie's story and would have raced through it at the speed of light even without the added intrigue of the mysterious envelope.

The story of Emily and Robbie is told in reverse from 2016 to 1962.  Now anyone who knows me would think that I would struggle with this back to front timeline, but Julie Cohen's writing is so flawless that the story flows so effortlessly and it feels completely right to start at the end.  In 2016, Emily and Robbie have been together for 54 years, although they aren't married.  Robbie wakes up one morning and makes a difficult decision that will break Emily's heart, and left me wide eyed with shock.  You find out early on in the book that the pair are hiding a secret, although you have no idea what it could be, and I wondered if Robbie's decision had something to do with this.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

As time flips backwards, we go back through 1990 when we find out that Emily is estranged from her family, through 1975-77 when Emily and Robbie adopt their son Adam, through 1972 when they are both married to other people and back to 1962 when their eyes meet for the first time across a crowded train platform.  Then finally, it was time to open the envelope containing the final few missing pages that I read in stunned silence as tears welled in my eyes.  

I feel privileged to have shared such intimate moments with Emily and Robbie.  They haven't had a smooth ride in their life as the drove down several rocky roads but what they did have was each other.  When reading Together, we are asked whether we think this is a great love story or a story about great love.  I can't choose one over the other so in my opinion, it is both.

Together is completely mesmeric and totally unique in its telling of this beautiful love story.  I urge you to read this book, even if it's not your usual genre.  A beautiful captivating story of love against the odds.  It's certainly not your traditional love story of moonlight and roses, more warts and all under the microscope on the front page of the newspaper.  With shocks at the beginning and the end, read it and weep; I certainly did.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Little Boy Found - LK Fox

WHEN HE FOUND HIS LITTLE BOY, NICK THOUGHT THE NIGHTMARE WAS OVER . . . IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

One rainy morning, just after Nick drops off his young son Gabriel outside the crowded school gates, he has a minor collision with another car. The driver won't surrender his insurance details, so Nick photographs the licence plate. When he gets home, he enlarges the shot on his phone and spots something odd about the picture - Gabriel in the back seat, being driven away by a stranger. Nick needs to know what happened to his boy, but losing Gabriel turns out to be far less terrible than the shock of finding him. Now, to discover the truth, he must relive the nightmare all over again...Be warned, this is not another missing child story: what happened to Nick and his son is far more shocking.

What did I think?

It's not something that I usually comment on, but I have to say that I love the cover of this book - the colours work so well together and the blurry boy reaching out from behind the glass gives me goosebumps...more so now that I have read the book.  So what's it all about?

Nick drops his son off at school and bumps into another car.  The driver isn't very forthcoming and leaves the scene before details are swapped, luckily Nick manages to snap a picture of the car reg on his phone.  When he enlarges the picture, he can't believe what he sees - his son Gabriel in the back of the car.  How can that be?  He's just dropped him off at school, but when he rings the school Garbiel's name is not on the register.  Nick's mind is in turmoil as he tries to make sense of what has gone on.

Meanwhile we encounter another story, that of Ella who is infatuated with Ryder, the lead singer of a band.  Ella would do anything to meet Ryder but when her dream comes true it rapidly turns into a nightmare.  What on earth does this have to do with Nick's story?  A-ha!  Even my suspicious mind couldn't work this one out and, although it seems quite unrealistic, it was still a pretty good storyline.

Little Boy Found is quite a page turner and although you hope for a happy ending, you do fear that it may not happen.  Nick's life is put completely under the microscope and his history is revealed, warts and all...some of it I guessed and other bits of it, I didn't.  I did get a surprise at the end but with so many unhinged characters, I did feel as if anything could happen! 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.  I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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Lost for Words - Stephanie Butland

THIS BOOKSHOP KEEPS MANY SECRETS . . .

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you.

Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories.

Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story?

It's time to turn the pages of her past . . .

What did I think?

Lost for Words is a book lover's dream as it is a novel set in a bookshop.  I expected a bit of lighthearted chicklit but couldn't have been more wrong as it goes so much deeper than I expected.  Loveday with her unusual name is such a unique character that you can't help but take her straight to your heart, and of course envy her book-filled surroundings!

My attention was captured right from the start as Loveday finds a book on the pavement - surely someone hasn't thrown a book away so it must have been dropped inadvertently. She puts up a notice in the window of the bookshop where she works, hoping that the owner will come in to claim it.  This is how she meets Nathan, who opens up a new world of poetry, friendship and possibly something a little more.  Loveday just has to realise that not all men are like creepy stalker Rob who keeps pushing flowers through her letterbox. Thankfully Nathan perseveres, and I was cheering him on from the sidelines as Loveday fell under his spell.

Loveday is such a spiky character but I absolutely adored her; she doesn't mix well with people and she doesn't know how manipulative and mean they can be.  Along with Loveday and Nathan, bookshop owner Archie and Loveday's scatty colleague Melody all found a place in my heart, leaving me in floods of tears at the end of this outstanding book.

Beautifully written, with completely 3-dimensional and well developed characters, Lost for words is a book that I will remember fondly for many years to come.  A highly recommended read.

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

My rating:

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