BLOG TOUR: Got What Was Coming - Hilly Barmby

 

Got What Was Coming alternates between past and present.

Three young women, Mali, Star and Abeba, receive an email from the school they’d attended as kids. It is an invitation to the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of ‘The Second Chance Cafe’, which they’d set up to help disenfranchised kids.

It is an exciting but ultimately tragic story that covers the complex lives and inter-relationships of four teenage girls and their mothers. The book reaches its climax with the death of another girl and the realisation of the role the others all played in her death and the impact on their lives through to adulthood.

What did I think?

Since I first discovered Hilly Barmby's book, I just can't get enough of them so I was delighted to received an early copy of her new self-published novel, Got What Was Coming and it's no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It's a very intriguing story with three main characters who are are all very different.  Mali, Star and Abeba may not have started off as friends at school but they are linked by a tragic event.  Via a dual timeline we find out exactly what happened in the past to make them into the women they are today.

With bullying at the heart of the story, it's often difficult to read as events play out and the tragedy is fully revealed.  It's very thought-provoking to see that although a particular person may not have been an active bully they are most definitely complicit by either standing by and doing nothing or pushing another person into the bully's sights to draw attention away from themselves.  

Incredibly poignant and compelling, Got What Was Coming is an eye-opening and thought-provoking story about human nature and the regrets that shape who we are today.  Never has that well-known phrase 'survival of the fittest' held so much meaning and chilled me to the core.  A highly recommended read and one that will stay with me for a long time.

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

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Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown

The debut novel from global star Millie Bobby Brown

Love blooms in the darkest days…

London, 1942.

Despite the raging war, spirited 18-year-old Nellie Morris lives a quiet life in the tight-knit East End community of Bethnal Green. Her family and friends all tease that she will marry air raid warden Billy, the boy next door who’s always been sweet on her.

The arrival of Ray, a handsome American airman stationed nearby, causes Nellie to question everything she thought she knew about her future.

Nellie’s newfound happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident occurs during an air raid. Even the closest family can’t escape the devastation of war, and as the secrets and truth about that fateful night become clear, they threaten to tear Nellie – and those dearest to her – apart.

Inspired by the true events of her family history, Millie Bobby Brown’s dazzling debut novel is a moving tale of longing, loss and secrets, and the lengths that we will go to fight for love.

 

What did I think?

Millie Bobby Brown's debut novel has been written with Kathleen McGurl and it's based around an absolutely tragic event that I had never even heard of, although similar horrific events have happened over the years.  

When I first started reading, I thought it would be a traditional wartime love story with boy meets girl and boy goes to war but Nineteen Steps is so much more than that.  It absolutely devastated me and as hard as it was to read about the horrific tragedy, it's a story that really needed to be told.  I'm not going to reveal what the tragedy was as it would spoil it for other readers but I applaud Millie Bobby Brown for bringing it to light, especially when it is very personal to her.

I absolutely loved Nellie and her whole family.  I feel very fortunate to have never experienced a war on home soil as it must have been so frightening.  Parents, often women on their own as their husband was fighting in the war, had such difficult decisions to make to protect their family, not least whether they should evacuate their children.  

Everyone thinks Nellie will end up marrying Billy the boy next door but fate has other plans for her and American airman Ray is thrust into her life.  It wasn't exactly love at first sight but I loved how their relationship grew, almost cruelly right in front of Billy's eyes.

Haunting, devastating and poignant, Nineteen Steps is a heartachingly beautiful story that will stay with me long after turning the final page.  I was close to tears on several occasions and I had a lump in my throat at the end.  It's well-written, very easy to read and should come with a warning that it may cause tears.  A solid 4.5 stars from me.

I received an ARC for the Tandem Collective readalong and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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The Trick to Time - Kit de Waal

 

'There's a trick to time. You can make it expand or you can make it contract. Make it shorter or make it longer . . .'

Some moments you want to last forever. Some moments shape a life.

For Mona, it's the joy of playing on a Wexford beach as a young girl, next to her family's cottage overlooking the Irish sea. The thrill of moving to Birmingham with a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding-house. Meeting the love of her life; a whirlwind marriage; a sudden, tragic loss.

But now, decades later, Mona is determined to find happiness before it's too late. She knows that every moment is precious. But can we ever let go of the past that shaped us?

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, this beautiful book almost broke me!  It smashed my heart into smithereens then put it all back together again.  As soon as I realised what was going on, I was powerless to stop the tears from falling and I was openly sobbing as Mona's past was revealed.

I don't want to give away anything about the breathtaking plot as this is a book that needs to be experienced first-hand by every reader.  It's certainly an emotional rollercoaster as we follow the path of Mona's life from Ireland to Birmingham.  From the wise words Mona's father gave her in Ireland to the selfless acts that Mona now carries out from her home in Birmingham, The Trick to Time is an absolute delight from beginning to end.

Mona is a really interesting character; at first glance she's a sixty year old dollmaker who lives on her own but scratch the surface and you will find an angel with a broken heart.  Although she has loved and been loved, Mona has had such a tragic life but she uses the experience of her own tragedy to help others.  I wish everyone had a Mona in their life.

Written with sensitivity, warmth and humour, The Trick to Time is an exceptionally beautiful novel.  Mona's father's trick to time is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life; time is something that we can never get back so use it wisely.  Keep your tissues handy when you read this heartachingly beautiful book that I unreservedly recommend.

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

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BLOG TOUR: The Hidden Hours - Sara Foster

Arabella Lane is found dead in the Thames on a frosty winter's morning after the office Christmas party. No one is sure whether she jumped or was pushed. The one person who may know the truth is the office temp, Eleanor.

Having travelled to London to escape the repercussions of her traumatic childhood in Australia, tragedy seems to follow Eleanor wherever she goes. To her horror, she has no memory of the crucial hours leading up to Arabella's death - memory that will either incriminate or absolve her.

Caught in a crossfire of accusations, Eleanor fears she can't even trust herself, let alone the people around her. And soon, she'll find herself in a race against time to find out just what happened that night - and discover just how deadly some secrets can be.

 

What did I think?

Once I picked up The Hidden Hours I couldn't put it down; it is filled to the brim with suspense and intrigue.  With a dual timeline that gives the reader a glimpse into a past tragedy in Eleanor's life, I positively raced through the pages to uncover all of its secrets.

Eleanor has to be the most unreliable narrator I have ever come across.  Not only is she burying her memories from her past in Australia, but Eleanor may be the key to finding out what happened to Arabella Lane, if only she could remember.  It's an interesting thought: to be unable to remember something you desperately want to remember compared with being unable to forget something painful that you don't want to remember.  

Having recently travelled from her home in Australia, Eleanor is new to London so she doesn't know who she can trust and Sara Foster has surrounded Eleanor with a right bunch of characters to make the reader question everybody's motives.  Uncle Ian who is completely under the thumb of his frosty wife Susan and Eleanor's colleague Will who seems to be a bit too friendly.  I had everyone under suspicion at one time or another, including Eleanor, so I wasn't terribly surprised when I found out what had happened to Arabella as any one of them could have done something, if anything was done to Arabella at all.  Sara Foster has woven so much intrigue and mystery into her story that anyone could have done something and anything could have happened.

The format of the book is excellent and adds to the suspense, not just the dual timeline but a little paragraph at the start of many of the chapters that give a wider view of what is going on after Arabella's death.  I really liked this touch as it kept Arabella at the forefront of my mind as unravelling her life would be the key to solving the mystery of her death.

Rather strangely for a page-turner, I found the pacing quite slow but at the same time it really did help to build up the tension.  Eleanor's lack of memory added an extra dimension to the story as she really had no idea what had happened and she even doubts herself.  I couldn't help but feel sorry for her as it seems like death follows her around so I'm surprised she wasn't a gibbering wreck.

The Hidden Hours is such an addictive read, filled with tension, suspense and intrigue.  It so very well written and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Sara Foster.

Thank you to Legend Press for my review copy; all opinions are my own. 

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No Bed of Roses (Love Heals Book 1) - Jean Gill

Should some secrets be left buried in the past if you want a second chance at love?

Helen Tanner runs her own business, spends her evenings out with friends,anything to avoid memories of the tragedy she left behind. She lives alone and likes it that way.Until, that is, a dark-haired vet walks into her shop and into her life. Her first unpromising encounter with Dai Evans turns into a tumultuous affair. As passion grows into love, Helen is forced not only to consider a new future, but to face up to a troubled past.Should she tell her lover what causes her nightmares? Will this family man still want her when he knows the truth?

Heart-rending and powerful, No Bed of Roses is a story of loss, love and healing. Jean Gill's characters always feel like real people: complex, thoughtful, and with believable histories and motivation. We really want Helen and Dai to be together and all that stands in their way is the human damage caused by loss and guilt. How can they live with Helen's ghosts? 

What did I think?

I'm a big fan of Jean Gill's Troubadours series so I was interested to see Jean turn her hand to something outside of the historical fiction genre.  As if I could have doubted it, Jean makes the transformation impeccably with deep complex characters that you can't help but care about.

Helen lives in a small village in Wales where she runs her own wool shop.  When local vet, Dai Evans, walks into her shop one day to buy a present for his wife, the electricity between them is palpable and the pair begin an affair.  When Dai splits up with his wife, he thinks Helen will be pleased but she pushes him away.  The reader knows that something terrible happened in Helen's past but she hasn't shared this with Dai.  When he was married, Helen was quite happy to be the other women and keep Dai at arms length so he doesn't get too close to her, but now that he is free she doesn't seem too keen.  Does she not love him or does she think he won't love her if he knows her secrets?

In No Bed of Roses, Jean Gill's warm wonderful writing takes on a comforting edge like one of the jumpers her main character, Helen, was knitting.  With such a keen sense of place, I felt like I had been swept away to the Welsh Valleys and then to rural France as Dai took Helen to face her demons.  Cheating on his wife aside, I loved Dai's loyalty to his family and in return applauded their warm virtual embrace of Helen when she was introduced.  I did find the ending a little abrupt but possibly because I wasn't really ready to leave the story.  I will certainly be looking out for the next book in the series, More Than One Kind, another novel set in both Wales and France as we follow Helen's friend, Neil, on his teaching exchange. 

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

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A Dream of Lilies (A Touch of Cinnamon Book 3) - Petra March

Nicholas Baudin lives in Toulouse, France, where he owns a small coffee place, Le Petit Café. His life is apparently tranquil, and made of small joys and simple habits. In truth, though, this young man's soul is troubled with memories of a painful event.

Then, on a bright spring day, Nicholas meets a strange, enchanting young woman with white hair, and pale blue eyes. Her name is Lily Brightwell. She is an actress who captivates crowds with her talent and her stories.

As Nicholas begins to fall for the young artist, his life turns into something unexpected and lovely.

What did I think?

The 'A Touch of Cinnamon' series is getting better and better and, albeit this is a short novella, it is most definitely my favourite book so far.  There is something so very poetic about the way it is written as it perfectly blends romance and tragedy.  Although it is part of a series, it could definitely be read as a standalone as enough history of the characters is relayed as a refresher.  For those of us who have read A Veil of Glass and Rain and All the Skies I Will Not See, this was another beautiful and captivating part of the story.

The moment when Nicholas first sets eyes on Lily was absolutely breathtaking.  It is like he is drawn to her by an invisible magnetic field and no matter what they do or where they go, they are meant to be together.  Lily is living with the pain of losing her first love, David, in such terrible, tragic circumstances.  She needs to let go of David before she can love again and, as she faces up to what happened to David, she finds that she has been linked to Nicholas way before she even knew of his existence.

I absolutely love the way that Petra March links all of her stories together, with coincidence and fate playing a starring role.  The stories are so moving with deeply defined and emotionally damaged characters that leap off the page as if you are reading in 3D.  Their thoughts and feelings are laid bare so we feel as if we know the characters inside and out.

A Dream of Lilies is a stunning addition to this remarkable series; A Touch of Cinnamon is a captivating series of love, fate and destiny that would melt even the coldest of hearts.  Each book reads like an act of a play which, when read in its entirety, will have your heart calling for an encore.  Bravo!

  

I received this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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