Deadly Partnership - Richard Gardner

On his retirement, widower Paul Jenkins decides to live with his sister by the sea. But having moved in, the idyllic life that he has been hankering after is thrown into turmoil when he comes face to face with a burglar in the middle of the night.

His impulsive reaction to the intrusion has disturbing consequences when he is confronted with some unsavoury characters. However, it is the dead that he has far more to fear from.

What did I think?

With a first chapter that reminded me of a Peter James book, Deadly Partnership grips the reader instantly and refuses to let go.  I was left with my mouth agape at the end of chapter 1 as the scene was set for a thrilling read.

I loved the way the characters were portrayed, although I didn't particularly like any of them.  When I first read about Paul and his son, Gary, I felt as though Gary was taking advantage of his father's generosity by asking for more money to keep his business afloat.  My feelings soon changed as things progressed, as it became clear that Paul remained in control of every situation he was put in.  

Paul plans to move in with his sister, Julie, who currently lives in the family home.  When Julie becomes involved in spiritualist meetings, the resident medium warns her about letting Paul move in.  Julie doesn't pay much attention to this warning and allows Paul and Gary to renovate the house, but Julie gets more than she bargained for when a restless spirit starts appearing.  With some people willing to do anything to keep their secrets buried, will this spirit ever be able to rest in peace?

The paranormal edge gave this thriller a little something extra and just shows that you might be able to fool the living but you can't run away from the dead.  A hugely enjoyable novel that continued to surprise me at every turn.

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

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BLOG TOUR: The Happiness Millionaire - Janet Jones

Get ready to be a Happiness Millionaire and change your life forever.

Are you struggling to reach your potential, believing there is more to life but don’t know how to change it?

Perhaps you are feeling unconfident, unfulfilled or even a little vulnerable?

Chances are you’re suffering from a poverty mindset, born out of fear. You’re not alone. In fact, I used to feel the same way. Like you, I was stuck, struggling with life. And, through discovering 13 time-tested life principles and creating powerful visual imagery, I discovered how to turn my life around and achieve a R.I.C.H life—

Relationships, Income, Confidence, Health.

In short, I became a Happiness Millionaire, and now it’s your turn!

Through my workshops, I’ve helped people just like you break through to a R.I.C.H. mindset and a fulfilling life. And now, the transformative power of the 13-positive images from the workshops are available to you in this book, to work through at your own pace. Take the journey they offer and move towards that worthy goal for which we are all striving: happiness.

What did I think?

How very brave of Janet Jones to share her story with us and I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that she did.  It sounds easy but I think it is a difficult question to ask yourself - are you happy?  If you have to think about the answer, then chances are you are not.  I admit to being happy in some areas of my life but not so happy in others.  I thought it was my lot in life and just took what I have been given but this wonderful book has taught me that I can take back control and change the direction of my life.

As a born worrier, I recognised straight away that I am P.O.O.R., with a Poverty mindset and often feeling Overwhelmed,  Off-balance and filled with Regret.  I didn't even see anything wrong with this, thinking that it's just the way I am, until Janet started talking about 'desire'.  It was like an epiphany for me as I realised that I'm floating along on the sea of life, letting the tidal currents take me where they will, and settling for 'good enough'.  So what am I doing wrong?  Listening to my pesky inner voice, that's what!  How many times do you call yourself names that you think are harmless?  You go shopping and forget your shopping list - what an idiot, or you drop your bookmark and lose your place in your book - you muppet!  I didn't realise how often I did this and what makes it worse is that your brain can't distinguish between fact and fiction so it actually believes what you're telling it.  This was another eureka moment for me and further confirmation that I was reading a truly inspirational book.

The book contains 13 positive images that you are encouraged to look at for a certain length of time.  Everyone will see something different in each image and afterwards we are given examples of other thoughts and interpretations.  There is no wrong answer!  For me, the images are there to inspire, provoke and enhance and I loved the 'in a nutshell' section at the end of each part so that we can be reminded of the images we have seen so far.  I do feel, however, that these images wouldn't transfer so well to kindle - seeing them in full colour and having the ability to flick back to them when required was an absolute necessity for me.

You're not going to be a Happiness Millionaire by the time you finish this book; like anything worthwhile, it's not going to happen overnight but you can start making deposits into the happiness bank today.  I hadn't even reached the start of the inspirational images before I had changed my outlook and started to see immediate results.  

Truly inspirational and thought-provoking, Happiness Millionaire is a book to live, not just to read.  Only by putting the ideas into practice will you start to see results and hopefully, like me, you will start to see results before you even finish the book.

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

My rating:

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Follow the tour:

Forgiveness: Effortless Inspiration for a Happier Life - Dani DiPirro

Packed with insightful quotes, thought-provoking reflections and empowering affirmations designed to make you think about forgiveness in new ways, this uplifting little book provides bite-sized inspiration for you to feel lighter, freer and more at peace in everyday life.

What did I think?

What a super little book, it's certainly small but mighty.  I've bought the odd self-help book in the past and got bored after a few pages, leaving them barely thumbed through.  I do, however, still have a bit of an addiction to this kind of book so I was really pleased to win a copy in a Goodreads Giveaway.  Forgiveness only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to read from cover to cover, depending on how much thought you give each quote or idea.  In just a few pages of Forgiveness, I was eagerly reading to see what pearl of wisdom or inspirational quote would be imparted next.  I was so taken with some of the quotes that I shared them immediately by reading them out to my family.

The book itself has beautiful purple pages throughout, which is not only my favourite colour but a colour I find very peaceful and spiritual.   Each little section starts with an inspirational quote, including many from literary favourites such as Anne Frank, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde.  The quote is followed by a little passage about forgiveness with some key words such as 'compassion', 'patience' and 'happiness' and then leaves us with a thought to ponder to help us achieve these feelings.

Forgiveness certainly made me think about life and how we sometimes make it difficult for ourselves.  We often love to wallow in misery and negativity, forgetting how much better we feel when we're happy, kind and loving.  This is definitely a book I will dip in and out of in the future, but more likely I will read the whole book over and over again.  Forgiveness is full of enlightenment and wisdom, I feel like a better person already after just reading it once.  I am so looking forward to how much better I will feel when I put it into practice.

Inspirational and thought-provoking, Forgiveness is a little gem of a book and the best self-help book I have ever read.  It may be small but it packs a mighty punch.

I'll leave you with the fabulous Oscar Wilde quote that is included in the book:

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

My rating:

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