BLOG BLITZ: Another Mother - Amanda James

Adopted at birth, for years Lu has secretly dreamt of finding her birth mother but childhood bullying has left her with a lack of confidence. When a tragic accident changes her life forever it sets her on a mission to get in contact with her birth mother and find out the reasons behind her adoption.

When she tracks down her mother in Cornwall there is an emotional reunion and the pair begin to form a relationship.

But is everything as wonderful as it appears or has Lu walked into a nightmare?

What did I think?

I've become quite a fan of Amanda James over the years, since discovering the amazing Summer in Tintagel that was published in 2016.  So I was eager to read her latest book, Another Mother - the title alone gave me shivers as I envisaged jealousy and manipulation of a woman caught between her two mothers, however, nothing could have prepared me for the book I was about to read...

Lucinda has an awful situation to deal with when her mother, Hannah, is killed in a road accident.  Her grief brings to the fore something she has been considering for a while: the search for her birth mother.  Although I can understand Lu wanting to fill that mother shaped hole in her life, I found it hard to empathise with her as I felt her timing was way off.  It's not long before Lu leaves her grieving father in Sheffield and heads off to Cornwall to meet her birth mother, Mellyn.

What a character Amanda James has created in Mellyn!  Mellyn seems desperate for Lu to call her 'Mum', despite knowing that the woman that Lu has called 'Mum' all her life has just died.  Ok, so selfish springs to mind, but I thought 'like mother like daughter' with Lu appearing so intent on replacing her adopted Mum so quickly.  It quickly comes to light that all is not as it seems when Lu often sees flashes of anger in Mellyn's stormy eyes and I was pleased that Lu seemed to be a bit wary and decided to keep Mellyn at arms length.  It did feel like Lu had fallen down the rabbit hole and landed in the Mad Hatter's tea party as Mellyn is entirely BONKERS!

With Mellyn being such a volatile and unpredictable character, I was completely intrigued to see how this story would play out.  I loved how Amanda James created a backstory for Lu so we could see how her character developed into the woman she is today.  It resulted in me reading with my fingers crossed for a happy ending for Lu but you'll just have to read the book to find out whether she gets her happy ending or not.  

Another Mother is an intense family drama that will get into your head and under your skin.  It left me feeling quite emotionally wrung out with so many ups and downs and it is the quality of Amanda James' writing that evokes such emotion in the reader.  A compelling read from start to finish.

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

My rating:

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About the author:

Amanda has written since she was a child, but never imagined that her words would be published, given that she left school with no real qualifications of note apart from an A* in how to be a nuisance in class. Nevertheless, she returned to education when her daughter was five and eventually became a history teacher. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true when her first short story was published. Amanda has written many short stories and has six novels currently published.

Amanda grew up in Sheffield but now has realised her lifelong dream of living in Cornwall and her writing is inspired every day by the dramatic coastline near her home. She has sketched out many stories in her head while walking the cliff paths. Three of her mystery/suspense novels are set there, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Summer in Tintagel and the Behind the Lie. Rip Current is also set in Cornwall and will be published by Bloodhound Books in April 2018.

Amanda, known to many as Mandy, spends far more time than is good for her on social media and has turned procrastination to a fine art. She can also usually be found playing on the beach with her family, or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.

Amanda's blog - http://mandykjameswrites.blogspot.com/

Twitter - @akjames61

Facebook mandy.james.33

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The Red Grouse Tales - Leslie W.P. Garland

Comprising four intriguing novella length contemporary adult fantasy stories which contain mystery, a hint of the supernatural or paranormal, together with a passing nod towards philosophy and religion - though in these modern fairy or folk tales the fantastic doesn't happen in some remote fantasy world, but right here in this one, in very ordinary, almost everyday circumstances! 

What did I think?

I've deliberated for quite a while over how to both rate and review The Red Grouse Tales.  As it is an anthology of four of Leslie W.P. Garland's short stories, I will review the book as a whole and as separate stories but as with all short stories, do bear in mind that I may have liked a story that may not appeal to others and vice versa.  Such is life and it would be boring if we all liked the same things!  

I loved the idea of The Red Grouse Tales: stories that friends told each other over a pint in their local pub.  The four stories are: The Little Dog, The Crow, The Golden Tup and The White Hart.  Each story is different and surprisingly thought provoking with hints of theology, philosophy and fantasy interwoven into them.

The Little Dog kicks off the anthology with a dark supernatural mystery.  I felt chilled by the character of Stan and feared for Bill's safety when he was partnered with him at work.  As the end of their shift together drew near, I felt relieved for Bill at the thought of him parting ways with Stan and his black heart.  I found the story quite slow to start but I loved the character of the little dog sitting on the roadside and Bill's pleasure at seeing him in the same spot every day.  The Little Dog gets a 3 star rating from me.

Now on to the elephant in the room, or The Crow.  Oh dear, I really didn't get on with this story at all.  The main problem for me was Father Patrick's broad Irish words being written phonetically and it hurt my eyes and my brain to read it.  I found it so hard going that I couldn't really take in the story as I was too busy trying to decipher what this Irish, or he could even have been Jamaican, priest was saying.  I just have to give two little examples:

Dese men t'inks dat dey know what's best for udder men... 

T' be sure, dere are dem dat want t' change d' world, change d' world t' a bedder place, and t' be sure maybe dey starts out wid dat intention...

I felt that the way the speech was written and the constant repetition of 't' be sure' to be a bit condescending.  I would have felt the same had an attempt been made to write Scottish or even Geordie accents into the written word.  I just wanted Dave to put a pillow over Father Patrick's face to put me out of my misery.  Sadly, The Crow only gets 1 star from me.

Thankfully, I never give up on a book so I laboured on and I was delighted to find that the next story, The Golden Tup, really appealed to me.  It's mysterious, intriguing and very dark; there's definitely evil lurking in Burnhope farm and I loved the way that Verity told the tale - I could imagine her recounting the story with a torch held up to her face to add to the creepiness.  The Golden Tup gets a solid 4 star rating.

For me, Leslie W.P. Garland definitely saved the best to last; The White Hart left me with goosebumps and I thought the writing was excellent.  It was slightly spooky, philosophical and humorous, with Pete Montague appearing as a modern day Romeo.  I loved how the three threads of the story were plaited together with not a hair out of place and I would easily give this story a 5 star rating.

Variety is the spice of life and from the various ratings I have given each story, you can see that there are quite a variety of stories in The Red Grouse Tales.  There really is something for everyone and although I clearly enjoyed some stories more than others, I think that's normal in a collection of vastly different tales.  I would definitely recommend you pick up The Golden Tup and The White Hart, if you're a fan of novellas.

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

My rating:

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The Beach House - James Patterson & Peter De Jonge

The second that Columbia law student Jack Mullen steps down from the train at East Hampton, he knows that something is very wrong. As he greets his family, his kid brother Peter lies stretched out on a steel gurney, battered, bruised - dead. The police are calling the drowning an accident. Jack knows that's not right. Someone wanted his brother dead.

But the establishment says otherwise. Jack tries to uncover what really happened on the beach that night, only to confront a wall of silence; a barricade of shadowy people who protect the privileges of the multi-billionaire summer residents. And when he discovers that his brother had nearly $200,000 in his bank account, Jack realises Peter wasn't just parking cars to make a living...

What did I think?

I used to read quite a bit of James Patterson years ago but it's been a while since I read one of his books.  The Beach House was a good one to choose as it reminded me of the amount of intrigue and suspense that James Patterson manages to get into his books.  With short, punchy chapters - most chapters only 2 or 3 pages long, you constantly promise yourself 'just one more chapter' until suddenly the book is finished and you find that you've read it in one sitting.

Jack Mullen is a law student who returns home when his 21 year old brother, Peter, is found dead in suspicious circumstances.  The inquest rules accidental death or suicide but with all of the witnesses having been threatened or bought, Jack knows that isn't the true story of Peter's death.  As Jack starts to look into Peter's life, it all leads to billionaire Barry Neubauer's annual party at his beach house in The Hamptons.  Jack and his friends have a plan to get justice for Peter and to manoeuvre Barry Neubauer into a position that his money can't buy him out of.

The Beach House is such a quick read as it is so addictive that you can't put it down once you pick it up.  Not simply a battle of good versus evil (I spotted the Empire Strikes Back reference) but more a reassurance that money can't buy you everything.  You might be able to buy the law but you can't buy the truth, I said as I fist bumped the air.

I absolutely loved The Beach House; it firmly reminded me why James Patterson is a bestselling author and with the addition of Peter De Jonge, he has written an outstanding, fast-paced, unique legal thriller.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Generation Game - Sophie Duffy

Philippa Smith is in her forties and has a beautiful newborn baby girl. She also has no husband, and nowhere to turn. So she turns to the only place she knows: the beginning.

Retracing her life, she confronts the daily obstacles that shaped her very existence. From the tragic events of her childhood abandonment, to the astonishing accomplishments of those close to her, Philippa learns of the sacrifices others chose to make, and the outcome of buried secrets.

Philippa discovers a celebration of life, love, and the Golden era of television. A reflection of everyday people, in not so everyday situations.

What did I think?

I didn't really know what to expect from The Generation Game and I think, because I had no preconceptions, that it turned out to be a wonderful trip down memory lane and a heart-wrenching story to boot.

Philippa Smith reminisces about her life as she welcomes her new baby into the world in 2006.  Philippa is an older mother and refuses to see her husband in the hospital, so I was immediately intrigued.  With no other visitors coming to see her, we look back over Philippa's very colourful life with amazing references to tv game shows, both in the chapter titles and hidden within the prose.

You can't help but feel sorry for young Philippa as she is dragged from pillar to post with her mum, Helena.  Helena isn't very maternal and is happy to leave Philippa with sweet shop owner, Bob, when she has the opportunity to move to Canada with her new man.  As Bob becomes both mother and father to Philippa, he is helped by hilarious neighbour, Wink, who is addicted to game shows in particular The Generation Game.  Bob and Wink become more of a family to Philippa than Helena has ever been.

Funny, sad and unbelievably nostalgic, The Generation Game is a love letter to the 1980's; beautifully written, if I wasn't smiling I was struggling to hold back tears whilst reading it.  It reminded me that appearances can be deceptive and there is often a reason for people behaving the way they do.  Nobody knows what private anguish is going on behind a person's public facade and there are always two sides to every story.  You can read Philippa's full story in The Generation Game whilst reminiscing about some of the key moments from the past 40 years.

The Generation Game is like a little British history lesson in a nutshell, with the bonus of also being a superb examination of how complicated family life can sometimes be.  A beautifully simple but tremendously clever debut from Sophie Duffy.

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

My rating:

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About the author:

Sophie currently lives in Teignmouth, Devon with her husband and three children. The Generation Game was inspired by her childhood growing up in a sweet shop in Torquay. 

Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophiestenduffy

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Monsters - Raphaela Weissman

Every evening, Annie and Paul Mayfield and their son Thomas sit together in the seething silence of their Brooklyn apartment, still haunted by the memory of the attack on the Twin Towers a year earlier. The nights are plagued by Thomas's vivid nightmares, Annie's unexplained sleepwalking, and Paul's growing paranoia as he fears the implications of their disquiet. 

At eight years old, Thomas is eerily serious, and oddly precocious. He also lives in fear- of his parents' unexplained behavior, the monsters he imagines hiding everywhere, and the uncertain world he inhabits in his own room. 

Monsters is a relentless portrait of a family on the brink of chaos, as they struggle to care for each other under the weight of fear.

What did I think?

I don't like to remember that awful day back in September 2001 but at the same time, I don't think we should forget it either.  Monsters refers to 9/11 but isn't about that day, rather about the effects of it on the people who have those flaming towers burned onto their retinas.

Thomas has nightmares about being in a plane crash and you don't need to be a psychologist to understand what event sowed the seeds for that nightmare.  His parents are barely functioning, certainly not with each other, in fact Thomas thinks they turn into monsters when his back is turned.  It is clear that Annie and Paul do love their son but their marriage is so fractured that it feels doomed to failure.

It's really interesting to see how the family interact with each other, especially in the wake of Annie's sleepwalking.  Paul hasn't just fallen out of love with his wife, he has become afraid of what she might do whilst in a fugue state.  Instead of helping Annie, Paul distances himself from her and daydreams about another woman filling her shoes.  Annie feels this distance between herself and Paul and easily transfers her feelings on to other men.  All the time, I was screaming: 'What about Thomas?'  They are so selfish, thinking about themselves instead of helping their son, it got me so mad.

Monsters is a bit of a slow-burner; I thought nothing much was happening but then I would suddenly experience an outpouring of emotion as feelings of anger/despair/concern/frustration burst out of me.  I think Monsters is a brilliant study of a fractured family who struggle to show any kind of emotion around each other, although I certainly felt a wealth of emotions whilst reading it.

An emotional piece of literary fiction, Monsters is such a compelling read that once started you will find hard to put down.

I read Monsters in instalments via The Pigeonhole and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: My Little Eye - Stephanie Marland

Can a group of true crime addicts take on the police to catch a serial killer?

A young woman is found dead in her bedroom surrounded by rose petals - the latest victim of 'The Lover'. Struggling under the weight of an internal investigation, DI Dominic Bell is no closer to discovering the identity of the killer and time is running out.

As the murders escalate, Clementine Starke joins an online true crime group determined to take justice in to their own hands - to catch the killer before the police. Hiding a dark secret, she takes greater risks to find new evidence and infiltrate the group.

As Starke and Bell get closer to cracking the case neither of them realise they're being watched. The killer is closer to them than they think, and he has his next victim - Clementine - firmly in his sights.

What did I think?

I consider myself a fan of Steph Broadribb's Lori Anderson series, so I was really excited to see Steph releasing her latest book, My Little Eye, in the name of Stephanie Marland.  I don't want to get drawn into comparisons with Broadribb and Marland or Anderson with Starke but I'm rather glad that Steph has written them under different names as both characters are strong individuals in their own right.

I really liked the character of Clementine Starke.  Aside from having such a cool name, she seems very vulnerable and damaged at first but blinking heck she's one tough cookie.  I loved delving into her background as we get to know her as 'The Watcher' in an online crime group.  Clementine is writing her thesis and wants to prove that an online group of super sleuths can solve a murder case quicker than the police, led by DI Dominic Bell.  Dom has his own demons to deal with as he's being investigated by the IPCC after Operation Atlantis didn't go to plan.  He's being pulled in different directions as he attempts to catch a serial killer whilst dealing with bureaucracy.

Clementine is accepted into a select group within True Crime London who attempt to catch a serial killer known as 'The Lover'.  Clementine is studying the people in the group as much as she is trying to catch the killer.  It is quite scary that anyone can create an online persona that is completely different to who they really are.  Anyone can spin a web of lies on the internet to hide their true self so my heart was racing as the building of danger and suspense made me believe that Clementine could be in danger at every turn.  Will she catch the killer before the killer finds her?  Eeeek!

What a fast-paced page-turner this is.  It's something so completely different from a police procedural serial killer hunt with an unlikely group of true crime aficionados examining the evidence and looking for clues.  My Little Eye is so fresh and current; a brilliant whodunnit for the digital age.  I loved it and can't wait for more Starke and Bell.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon


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Bound in Scales - Steven de Luca

Scientist.

Sorcerer. 

Thief.

For most of his adult life Alduce has kept to the shadows… until now.

His passion to complete ‘The Atlas of Dragons’—the definitive guide to dragon lore—consumes him and he must emerge from the safety of his studies to face the world once more.

After years of research he has discovered the secret to unlocking the fabled gateways, powered by a legendary lost metal known only as Flaire.

Risking his life on an experiment fraught with danger, he embarks on an unimaginable journey to another world, where dragons are real.

He will forge an unlikely new friendship and face the ultimate test to his humanity, changing his life forever.

His voyage of self-discovery leads to lies, deception and betrayal that threaten to destroy everything he has strived to achieve.

Will Alduce find the answers he seeks?

Can he learn from his mistakes and find redemption? 

Or will he choose the path of destruction?

What did I think?

Fantasy is not my preferred genre so I didn't really know what to expect when embarking on Bound in Scales by Steven de Luca.  A couple of hours later, I was like a newly hatched dragon emerging from an egg, blinking in an attempt to focus on the time when I managed to tear my eyes away from the page.  There's magic in this book, that's for sure; it even made me forget about my morning cup of tea to the point that the tea was STONE COLD.  Books have come close but have never succeeded in making me forget about my first cuppa of the day until Bound in Scales landed on my kindle.

Alduce is a bit of a loner, content with his own company he is writing an Atlas of Dragons and what better way to study these fine creatures than from within their midst.  Using science and sorcery, Alduce adds shapeshifter to his repertoire as he transforms into magnificent black dragon, Nightstar.  In the land of dragons, he befriends a yellow dragon named Sunburst and together the pair form a friendship that will be tested time and again.

With Alduce being a human, his thoughts and fears, hopes and dreams are completely relatable.  When he becomes Nightstar, he is still the same person underneath and his whole character is part of who Nightstar becomes.  With individual personal strengths and surprising insecurities, the dragons became characters I quickly began to care about, forgetting at times that they were beasts not people.

The whole story had me gripped from start to finish, from Alduce trying to keep his identity a secret from the other dragons to the battle with the evil Extractor who sees dragon blood as a valuable commodity.  The writing is excellent as landscape and characters are described so vividly that I could easily visualise the intended scenes.  I have to applaud the author for his amazing Northern Lights scene as the breathtaking beauty of this natural phenomenon is described with such reverence and clarity through Steven de Luca's outstanding imagery.   

Harry Potter meets Game of Thrones in this fantastic debut from new fantasy writer, Steven de Luca.  Remember that name as I'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot more about him.  Don't be put off if fantasy is not your preferred genre, this is an extraordinary piece of pure escapism fiction and one that I will enjoy reading again...hopefully along with a sequel so we can continue the adventures of Alduce and Nightstar.  Try something new and take a chance on Bound in Scales, you won't regret it!

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon