BLOG TOUR: The Desire Card - Lee Matthew Goldberg

It's time for some serious crime as I hop aboard the damppebbles blog tour for The Desire Card by Lee Matthew Goldberg.  I am releasing my review for the tour so read on to see what I thought.

Any wish fulfilled for the right price.  That's the promise the organization behind The Desire Card gives to its elite clients - but sometimes the price may be more menacing than anyone could ever imagine.

Harrison Stockton has lived an adult life of privilege and excess: a high-powered job on Wall Street fuels his fondness for alcohol and pills at the expense of a family he has no time for.  Quite suddenly all of this comes crashing to a halt when he loses his job and at the same time discovered he almost certainly has only months left to live.

Desperate, and with seemingly nowhere else left to turn, Harrison activates his Desire Card.  What follows is a gritty and gripping quest that takes him from New York City to the slums of Mumbai and forces him to take chances, and make decisions, he never thought he'd ever have to face.  When his moral descent threatens his wife and children, Harrison must decide whether to save himself at any cost, or do what's right and break his bargain with the mysterious group behind The Desire Card.


The Desire Card is a taut fast-paced thriller, from internationally acclaimed author Lee Matthew Goldberg, that explores what a man will do to survive when money isn't always enough to get everything he desires.

What did I think?

Harrison Stockton is such an odious character that I didn't think I was going to enjoy The Desire Card at first, but I am pleased to say that I couldn't have been more wrong!  I absolutely loved it!  It's the first book in a five book series and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

Harrison is what you would definitely call a workaholic; he is married to his job and it's almost like his wife is the other woman.  When Harrison finds out the cause of his sickly pallor that caused him to lose his job, it was like a real wake-up call to me.   As the author reminds us: nobody ever lay on their deathbed and wished that they had worked more.  I have been guilty of putting work before my health in the past so I could completely understand Harrison putting off his health check in favour of work.  What is unforgivable though, is putting work before his children's school events.  There is no do-over; you can never get that time back and every time he missed a soccer game or a ballet recital he lost a little bit of his own children. What would he give for a second chance? Read The Desire Card to find out! 

I found The Desire Card so very thought-provoking, not only the work/life balance but the thought that money could buy you anything you desired.  How much would I pay to save my own life or the life of my loved ones?  How can you even put a value on that?  The company who run The Desire Card manage to attach a price to absolutely anything your heart desires.  It's not so much a case of rubbing the lamp and a genie pops out, as this magic really does come with a price..more often than not, in a six figure sum!  Yikes!

The Desire Card is a dark, gritty and disturbing It's A Wonderful Life for the 21st Century.  As greed for money, power and possessions fuel the world, money really can buy you anything.  It's such an outstanding fast-paced, dark and compelling modern-day thriller that I think it would translate effortlessly to the screen.  I'm already looking forward to the next book!

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

My rating:

Buy it from:
Fahrenheit Press
Amazon UK
Amazon US



About the author:

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels SLOW DOWN, THE MENTOR, and THE DESIRE CARD. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar.

The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming from Fahrenheit Press in 2019. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests.

After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series (guerrillalit.wordpress.com). He lives in New York City.


Follow him:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leemgol
Website: http://www.leematthewgoldberg.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Matthew-Goldberg/e/B00RPF06TS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

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BLOG TOUR: Room 119: The Whitby Trader - T.F. Lince

I was one of the early reviewers of T.F. Lince's debut, Room 119: The Whitby Trader in October 2017 and I have to say it is a book that I absolutely adored.  I loved it so much that I offered to run a blog tour and I am delighted to repost my review to close what has been an amazing tour.  I'd like to take this opportunity to give a heartfelt thanks to each and every blogger for taking part and to Trev for supporting the tour.

So here's my review:

High-flying trader Dean Harrison has it all – the London penthouse apartment; the fast car; the beautiful wife. But when the threads of Dean’s life start to unravel, they do so with alarming speed.

Following the advice of a frail stranger, Dean sets off for Welnetham Hall Hotel and is plunged into the mysterious world of Room 119 – a world where nothing makes sense. How does everyone in the hotel know his name? Why does he travel there on a train line that shut down over fifty years ago? And who is the sinister man in black who pursues him wherever he goes?

As he gradually pieces together the puzzle of Welnetham Hall, Dean is forced to re-evaluate his life and realises that nothing is more important to him than his wife and daughter. Desperate to gt back to them, he vows he would lay down his life for the people he loves.

It’s a promise he may have to keep.

What did I think?

Thank goodness I am passionate about supporting local North East authors, or I might have missed this amazing book.  I was expecting a novel about a stock trader who maybe takes one risk too many and loses his job, his family, and himself.  What I did not expect was the direction that the story went in and my wholehearted enjoyment of it.  Leave your expectations at the door for this one and just buckle up and enjoy the ride it takes you on.

For some readers, the beginning of the book might be a little off-putting, with all that testosterone flying around the trading floor.  I work in finance so I loved the buzz of the stocks and shares, the bulls and the bears and the backstabbing as the new guy tries to make a name for himself.  Whatever you do, don't give up if you don't like the first chapter or two; it is a necessary part of the story which comes full circle at the end, but the real story is about to begin and what an outstanding story it is!

I loved Dean's character.  He may be a city big shot but he hasn't forgotten his roots in the North East.  He is a classic case of a 'live to work' person: his life revolves around his job, often at the expense of his family.  A family he really does care about, after all, he's working so hard to give them everything they want but the only thing they really want is him.  He just doesn't realise it...yet.  A visit to creepy Welnetham Hall is about to change all of that.

Strange things happen to Dean when he stays in Room 119.  He wakes up to a fairground outside his window where he is rescued by a clown after being pursued by a tall man dressed in black with a silver topped stick.  I had just started to think that it felt like he'd fallen down the rabbit hole when Dean announced that they're "all mad here".  T.F. Lince then added some Back to the Future vibes and even a bit of Homer's Odyssey to the Alice in Wonderland pot and created a thoroughly entertaining rip-roaring story.

What I loved most of all, although it sounds quite lighthearted and a bit wacky, it has a pretty serious message running through it.  Getting that work/life balance just right is a tricky skill to master and Dean didn't even realise he'd got it wrong until it was almost too late.  It's also quite thought-provoking and I struggled to hold back my tears when reading the chapters about the care home for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.  I've often thought with such conditions that you've lost your loved one whilst they are right infront of your eyes; perhaps they are living in a between-world, I'd like to think so.

What an outstanding debut: hugely entertaining, thought-provoking and extremely emotional; I really would have kicked myself if I had missed it.  FIVE HUGE STARS, it is without doubt one of my top books of the year.  I highly recommend Room 119 - 'The Whitby Trader' and I can say with the utmost certainty that you won't have ever read anything like it!

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon UK

Buy it from Amazon US



About the author:

Trev Lince originates from Marske-by-the-Sea on the North East coast of England, but now lives in Darlington with his wife, Claire.

Their daughter, Annie, is a very good guitarist and is setting up a band, playing every pub in the North East that she can. She’s so rock and roll, living the dream while her father is approaching his mid-life crisis.

A keen golfer and frustrated Middlesbrough FC fan, Trev gets to as many matches as work and leisure time allow. He writes in what little spare time he has, when not working as a IT Consultant for a major oil company in Surrey.

Room 119 – The Whitby Trader is Trev’s first book and he really enjoyed the experience of writing it. Who knows? He may have a few more stories bursting to get out of his head.

If you want to know more you can find Trev on Twitter @Room119TFLince

I met Trev and his lovely wife Claire over the weekend at a North East Authors and Readers event so here are a few snaps of me meeting Trev and one of Trev signing his book.

Follow the tour:

Room 119 - 'The Whitby Trader' - T.F. Lince

High-flying trader Dean Harrison has it all – the London penthouse apartment; the fast car; the beautiful wife. But when the threads of Dean’s life start to unravel, they do so with alarming speed.

Following the advice of a frail stranger, Dean sets off for Welnetham Hall Hotel and is plunged into the mysterious world of Room 119 – a world where nothing makes sense. How does everyone in the hotel know his name? Why does he travel there on a train line that shut down over fifty years ago? And who is the sinister man in black who pursues him wherever he goes?

As he gradually pieces together the puzzle of Welnetham Hall, Dean is forced to re-evaluate his life and realises that nothing is more important to him than his wife and daughter. Desperate to gt back to them, he vows he would lay down his life for the people he loves.

It’s a promise he may have to keep.

What did I think?

Thank goodness I am passionate about supporting local North East authors, or I might have missed this amazing book.  I was expecting a novel about a stock trader who maybe takes one risk too many and loses his job, his family, and himself.  What I did not expect was the direction that the story went in and my wholehearted enjoyment of it.  Leave your expectations at the door for this one and just buckle up and enjoy the ride it takes you on.

For some readers, the beginning of the book might be a little off-putting, with all that testosterone flying around the trading floor.  I work in finance so I loved the buzz of the stocks and shares, the bulls and the bears and the backstabbing as the new guy tries to make a name for himself.  Whatever you do, don't give up if you don't like the first chapter or two; it is a necessary part of the story which comes full circle at the end, but the real story is about to begin and what an outstanding story it is!

I loved Dean's character.  He may be a city big shot but he hasn't forgotten his roots in the North East.  He is a classic case of a 'live to work' person: his life revolves around his job, often at the expense of his family.  A family he really does care about, after all, he's working so hard to give them everything they want but the only thing they really want is him.  He just doesn't realise it...yet.  A visit to creepy Welnetham Hall is about to change all of that.

Strange things happen to Dean when he stays in Room 119.  He wakes up to a fairground outside his window where he is rescued by a clown after being pursued by a tall man dressed in black with a silver topped stick.  I had just started to think that it felt like he'd fallen down the rabbit hole when Dean announced that they're "all mad here".  T.F. Lince then added some Back to the Future vibes and even a bit of Homer's Odyssey to the Alice in Wonderland pot and created a thoroughly entertaining rip-roaring story.

What I loved most of all, although it sounds quite lighthearted and a bit wacky, it has a pretty serious message running through it.  Getting that work/life balance just right is a tricky skill to master and Dean didn't even realise he'd got it wrong until it was almost too late.  It's also quite thought-provoking and I struggled to hold back my tears when reading the chapters about the care home for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.  I've often thought with such conditions that you've lost your loved one whilst they are right infront of your eyes; perhaps they are living in a between-world, I'd like to think so.

What an outstanding debut: hugely entertaining, thought-provoking and extremely emotional; I really would have kicked myself if I had missed it.  FIVE HUGE STARS, it is without doubt one of my top books of the year.  I highly recommend Room 119 - 'The Whitby Trader' and I can say with the utmost certainty that you won't have ever read anything like it!

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: The Empathy Problem - Gavin Extence

Driven by money, power and success, Gabriel has worked ruthlessly to get to the very top of the banking game. He's not going to let the inconvenience of a terminal brain tumour get in his way.

But the tumour has other ideas. As it grows, it appears to be doing strange things to Gabriel's personality. Whether he likes it or not, he seems to be becoming less selfish, less mercenary, less unlikeable.

Once he could dismiss the rest of humanity as irrelevant. Now he's not so sure. Women, in particular, are becoming worryingly three-dimensional. And none more so than Caitlin, the 'unremarkable' girl he sees busking on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral. When she plays her violin, Gabriel could almost believe that he has a soul...

But as each day that passes brings him closer to his last, has time run out for second chances?

What did I think?

This was actually a bit of a wake up call for me as I saw so much of myself in Gabriel - not his power and success but definitely putting work before health.  Getting the work life balance is something that many people have off to a tee but for the small number of workaholics out there it's something that is very difficult to do, even when you have a health scare.

Gabriel simply doesn't have time for a brain tumour, it will involve taking too much time off work.  Gabriel will allow absolutely nothing to interfere with his work, not even any treatment that might extend his life or make him more comfortable - treatment can be done on a Saturday, can't it?  (Anyone who knows me will be seeing the similarity to me right about now).  The brain tumour, however, does not love work as much as Gabriel.  As the tumour grows, Gabriel begins to experience emotions he didn't know he possessed and it causes him to make some very surprising decisions.

All of this is going on at the time of the anti-capitalism Occupy protests in London in 2011 to 2012 as thousands of people took to the streets to protest about inequality and corporate greed following the banking crisis.  Gabriel's luxury office overlooks the Occupy camp and he is in effect one of the bankers that they are protesting about.  As Gabriel's emotions start to change, he takes a walk through the square and hears the most beautiful music.  He is inexplicably drawn to Caitlin, a talented busker, who he then scarily stalks.  You could really feel him losing control of the rational part of his brain at this point.  His stalking actually proves useful when Caitlin is mugged and Gabriel, lurking behind in the shadows, challenges her attacker.  Caitlin and Gabriel strike up a friendship that is both hilarious and despondent as Gabriel tangles himself into a web of lies.

I'm not a big fan of politics and there's a large part of the storyline that's dedicated to the anti-capitalism protests, however, it wasn't overbearing.  There's enough going on with Gabriel's rainbow of emotions to hold the reader's interest.  It's so intriguing to see the experiencing of emotions that you or I may see as ordinary being shown as completely alien to Gabriel.  It's powerful and fascinating to see that, as human beings, we're all capable of feeling the same emotions but for some more than others they're buried so much deeper.

Having previously read The Mirror World of Melody Black, I find Gavin Extence to be a completely unique author.  His writing is so thought-provoking, engaging and witty that his books are impossible to put down.  I read The Empathy Problem in less than 24 hours but the story within will stay with me for a lot longer than that.  

I received this book from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon


About the Author:

Gavin Extence lives in Sheffield with his wife, children and cat. 


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