BLOG TOUR: A Ruined Girl - Kate Simants

 

TWO BOYS LOVED HER.

BUT WHICH ONE KILLED HER?

On a dark night two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into a house. They beat and traumatised the occupants, then left, taking only a bracelet. No one knows why, not even Luke, Rob's younger brother and Paige's confidant. Paige disappeared after that night. And having spent her life in children's homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her.

Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren's obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart...

What did I think?

Part way through I thought I had A Ruined Girl all worked out; a few minutes from the end, I was just doing a celebratory dance around the ring when Kate Simants landed a right hook and a knockout blow that wiped the smug look off my face.  A Ruined Girl is an absolute cracker of a novel; it's fast-paced and gripping with a dark and gritty storyline that grabbed me from the start and didn't let go until I had turned the final page.

The story opens with a girl being buried in the woods by a boy and a man.  The boy is so tender with the body that it is clear that he has deep feelings for the girl.  Of course you then wonder why he killed her, or helped to kill her.  Why else would he be burying her in the woods?

Rob is a prisoner eligible for the Community Atonement Programme, whereby he meets and apologises to those affected by the crime that saw him sent to prison.  Rob and Paige, a young girl from a care home who later disappeared, were seen on CCTV after breaking into a house and stealing a valuable bracelet.  Rob went to prison and Paige has never been found.  Wren Reynolds is Rob's probation officer and she has the unenviable job of taking Rob to meet his victims.  With what happened to Paige being the big question on everyone's lips, Wren can't help digging into the past even when it puts a strain on her family life.

Switching between 'Before' and 'Now' we get glimpses into the past where Rob's brother, Luke, is in the same care home as Paige.  Luke is obsessed with Paige, watching her movements and buying her gifts, and it's much more than a harmless teenage crush.  It tells you in the blurb that two boys loved her and one of them killed her, but I couldn't decide between Rob and Luke.  A burglary gone wrong or hormones gone crazy?

Both the before and now storylines had me absolutely gripped.  I wanted to find out about events leading up to Paige's disappearance but I also wanted to put together the pieces of the puzzle with Wren.  I loved Wren's character; she makes so many mistakes that I felt like slapping my forehead every time she did something stupid, I even hissed through my teeth and said 'noooooo' on one occasion.  Her emotions are running high with taking on such a high profile case while her partner is about to give birth.  She does seem to have bitten off more than she can chew and if she's not careful she might end up losing her job as well as her family.

Perfectly plotted, A Ruined Girl is dark, disturbing and completely compelling.  Kate Simants is definitely one to watch and I can't wait to read more of her books.  

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: Only Human - Diane Chandler

 

Every betrayal has a consequence... One family... one summer... one woman...

Anna Bond is floundering. Tiger mum to tricky teen Sophie, now slipping through her fingers, and loyal wife to big sociable Ollie, whom she no longer trusts, what does she do next with her life? Once a confident career woman, after so many years at home and the school gate, Anna now finds her mind is chattering and her soul is searching - for what matters. Then Jack walks into their lives. Sophie’s first boyfriend is a breath of fresh air for the whole family, and Anna gradually discovers new purpose for herself. But when deceit creeps in, tensions surface, and she finds herself propelled through a tangled web of secrets and lies towards a devastating climax.

What did I think?

Now and again a book comes along that is so special you want to shout about it from the rooftops; Only Human is that book for me.  So here I am up on the roof trying to find the words to review this utterly breathtaking novel.  I absolutely adored Diane Chandler's novel, Moondance, so I couldn't wait to read what she wrote next.  Only Human is a sublime read from beginning to end and I have never been so engrossed in a book outside of the crime genre.

From the first page the reader is launched into the midst of a Bond family drama: Anna has just discovered that her husband, Ollie, is having an affair.  Wanting to keep Ollie's indiscretion hidden from their daughter, Sophie, they attempt to maintain a united front.  Beneath the surface though, Anna is in turmoil and she searches for a way to find herself again.  I feared that the sticking plaster they put over their marriage would come unstuck at some point as once the trust is gone, it's so difficult to get it back.

The focus shifts from their marital problems when Sophie gets her first boyfriend.  Jack is welcomed into the Bond's home and becomes one of the family, but teenage love doesn't last forever.  It is often said that women are attracted to men who are like their father, and Jack may be more like Ollie than Sophie realises.  You really feel the mother daughter bond being stretched to the limit when Anna tries to speak to Sophie about Jack.

As if Anna doesn't have enough going on, she volunteers at Old Friends where she meets the most wonderful octogenarian, Fred.  Oh Fred is such a marvelous character, he's like everyone's favourite Grandad and it's so heartbreaking to see his health decline.  Diane Chandler's beautiful words paint such a poignant picture of Fred and shows how we try to turn a blind eye and pretend everything is fine rather than admit that our loved ones are failing.

Only Human is an outstanding novel of a family in turmoil filled with so much betrayal, revenge and drama that I could hear the dramatic EastEnders drum beats in my head as pivotal moments played out on the page.  Diane Chandler writes from the heart and tells such a marvellous story of human nature that I experienced a wealth of emotions whilst reading.  

From humour (I'll never be able to look at an M&S carrier bag without laughing) to heartbreak, Only Human is an exceptional book and one I will never forget.  I could read it again right now, I enjoyed it so much.  Only Human is a book that deserves so much more than 5 stars to really show how awesome it is; I can't recommend it highly enough.  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Diane Chandler worked first as a political lobbyist in Brussels. Then at the European Commission, where she managed overseas aid programmes in Ukraine just after the fall of communism. Ukraine became the subject for her prize-winning first novel. Diane lives in west London and is available for interviews, events and feature-writing commissions. She is the presenter of the Chiswick Buzz TV Book Club – Words With Wine in W4.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BLAST: A Girl Made of Air - Nydia Hetherington

This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived...

Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus.

Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child... But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again?

Beautiful and intoxicating, A Girl Made of Air brings the circus to life in all of its grime and glory; Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse will live long in the hearts of readers. As will this story of loss and reconciliation, of storytelling and truth. 

What did I think?

As soon as I saw the absolutely stunning cover of A Girl Made of Air I knew I had to read it.  It is Nydia Hetherington's debut novel and it is so haunting and atmospheric that I got goosebumps several times whilst reading it.  I have to say that it is quite a strange book, with the story being told through journals, letters and folktales, so it took me a little while to get into it but it is well worth persevering if you struggle to connect at first.  It's also a lot darker than you might expect, so you might be disappointed if you're expecting something along the lines of The Greatest Showman; it's more like what The Greatest Showman might have been like if it was a Tim Burton film.

Although the sparkle and shine of the circus is depicted on the front cover this is a dark and terribly sad tale of an unnamed main character, known only as Mouse.  Mouse is the daughter of Marina, who dazzles the crowd by swimming with crocodiles, and Manu, the animal trainer.  Mouse might as well be invisible as far as Marina and Manu are concerned and the only affection she is shown is from the animals until flame haired funambulist Serendipity Wilson takes Mouse under her wing.

Serendipity Wilson's tales of folklore from the Isle of Man were one of my favourite parts of the book; they reminded me of the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, although Serendipity Wilson's tales had a much darker edge to them.  Some of the stories that Mouse tells are heartbreaking and disturbing and I was so pleased that she had Serendipity Wilson looking out for her, but everything changes when the circus loses one of their own: a young child named Bunny.

Mouse leaves the circus and travels to New York in search of Bunny and when she reaches Coney Island, it really did feel like she had fallen down the rabbit hole with all those rabbity allusions.  For me, this part of the book really stood out and it seemed like Nydia Hetherington's writing became more vivid, lyrical and dreamlike as she painted such a colourful picture of a bleak and dilapidated place.  It made my heart sing to see Mouse evolving into the strong, confident woman she was always meant to be.  

Dark and disturbing in places but completely mesmerising, A Girl Made of Air is a stunning debut from Nydia Hetherington.  I think this is a book that will benefit from a re-read to fully experience all the nuances of the story and it's definitely worth picking up a hard copy for that beautiful cover alone.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Originally from Leeds, Nydia Hetherington moved to London in her twenties to embark on an acting career. Later she moved to Paris where she studied at the Jacques Lecoq theatre school before creating her own theatre company. When she returned to London, she completed a creative writing degree at Birkbeck. Nydia is based in London. 

Follow Nydia on Twitter: @NydiaMadeofAir

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BLOG TOUR: A Song of Isolation - Michael J Malone

Film star Amelie Hart is the darling of the silver screen, appearing on the front pages of every newspaper. But at the peak of her fame she throws it all away for a regular guy with an ordinary job. The gossip columns are aghast: what happened to the woman who turned heads wherever she went?

Any hope the furore will die down are crushed when Amelie’s boyfriend Dave is arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. Dave strongly asserts his innocence, and when Amelie refuses to denounce him, the press furore quickly turns into physical violence, and she has to flee the country.

While Dave is locked up with the most depraved men in the country and Amelie is hiding on the continent, Damaris, the victim at the centre of the story, is also isolated – a child trying to make sense of an adult world…

Breathtakingly brutal, dark and immensely moving, A Song of Isolation looks beneath the magpie glimmer of celebrity to uncover a sinister world dominated by greed and lies, and the unfathomable destruction of innocent lives… in an instant.

What did I think?

Any story involving child abuse is difficult to read, but Michael J Malone turns the subject on its head in A Song of Isolation by focussing on a different side of the story: that of the person accused of these terrible acts.  Michael J Malone leaves no stone unturned as the catastrophic effects of such a damaging accusation are portrayed.  It's a book I couldn't put down and I felt simultaneously completely devastated and absolutely furious by events in the story.

Amelie and Dave are reevaluating their relationship when Dave is arrested for child abuse.  Amelie is a film star, but her career was cut short after a stalking incident which made Amelie decide to leave the bright lights behind and move to Scotland, where she met Dave.  It is devastating for Amelie to hear the accusations levelled against Dave but she decides to stand by her man during the court case, despite the vitriol that is aimed against her by the public and the press.

Dave's guilt or innocence aside, there is another victim in this story: Damaris, the 11 year old neighbour of Amelie and Dave.  Whether Damaris was telling the truth or not became irrelevant for me: either something terrible had actually happened to her or she was made to believe something had.  Either way, her life was changed irrevocably and she has to live with it for the rest of her life.  Although it's such a difficult storyline, Michael J Malone handles it sensitively whilst not shying away from the subject matter.

Heartbreakingly devastating and completely compelling, A Song of Isolation is another outstanding novel from Michael J Malone.  Very highly recommended.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines, After He Died and In the Absence of Miracles soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr. 

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BLOG TOUR: Strictly Come Dating - Kathryn Freeman

I love Kathryn Freeman books so I am thrilled to be taking part in the Rachel's Random Resources Blog Tour for Strictly Come Dating.  Scroll down to find out about Kathryn's new book and to read my review.

 

Saturday nights are strictly for dancing… 

As the glitter ball shimmers and sequins flash, forty-year-old Maggie remembers the pull of the dancefloor.  But now, as a newly divorced mum of two, Maggie’s certain her dancing days are over.  Or are they…?

Encouraged by her friends, Maggie dusts off her silver stilettoes and enrols for dancing classes, all she needs now is the perfect partner.

Enter Seb.  Young, carefree and hot as hell, Seb is definitely a perfect 10!  Even though everything about him is outrageously inappropriate! But as Seb sweeps her across the dancefloor every week, Maggie begins to see a new side to him; kind, caring, funny, strong. 

And Maggie realises that he’s the only one she’d like to foxtrot with…perhaps even forever

What did I think?

I'm a huge fan of Kathryn Freeman but I have to admit that, having never watched Strictly Come Dancing and being unable to tell a foxtrot from a tango, I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy her new novel, Strictly Come Dating.  I needn't have worried as I enjoyed it immensely, so take note -  this one isn't just for Strictly fans.  

Maggie is a fabulous character and I loved how she and her friends gathered around the TV each Saturday to watch Strictly together.  They take turns hosting and they're so serious about Strictly that phones and talking aren't allowed during the show.  They all gladly accept the rules until Maggie's friends' brother, Seb, arrives back from Australia and can't hold his tongue.  He finds the show amusing but spends most of the evening watching Maggie, which doesn't go unnoticed by his sisters although Maggie is completely unaware.

Seb is completely smitten with Maggie and he doesn't care that there is a 10 year age gap but Maggie is completely hung up over her age.  I wanted to give her a good talking to as she keeps going on about her age (she's mid-thirties not an OAP) but I could understand her being a bit down on herself after her husband left her and her two fabulous girls.  Seb does his best to bring back the sparkle into Maggie's life and there's nothing more sparkly than Strictly!

I loved the strong family vibe in Strictly Come Dating, both Maggie's relationship with her daughters and Seb's relationship with his sisters.  Maggie's daughters, Penny and Tabby, totally stole the show for me - they are gorgeous girls and a credit to Maggie, with no thanks to her ex-husband, Paul.  When Paul comes back on the scene he's like a Dementor from Harry Potter, sucking out all the fun from their life.  I'm surprised Maggie even let him into the house after he had been absent for two years but then she was thinking of what was best for her girls.

Strictly Come Dating is a fabulously sparkly romance that isn't just for Strictly fans, although Strictly fans will LOVE it.  It's a wonderfully heartwarming read that kept me entertained and left me with a big smile on my face.  I loved it.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the author:

A former pharmacist, I’m now a medical writer who also writes romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero. 

I’ve two sons and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), so any romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn't always about hearts and flowers - and heroes come in many disguises.

Social Media Links – 

Website:  http://kathrynfreeman.co.uk

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kathrynfreeman

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KathrynFreeman1

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Feral Snow - Mark Lowes

 

Alone and stranded in the Arctic wasteland, would you risk your life to save a stranger or try to get home?

Paul is a father-to-be; traumatised by his past, he's terrified of becoming a father after his own beat him until he was unilaterally deaf. While working as a freelance cameraman in the Arctic, he's caught in a blizzard, separated from his crew, and falls into a chasm. Alone, and waiting for death to come, personal demons plague his mind.

When a young native girl falls into the chasm with him, Paul must learn how to accept responsibility and what it takes to give your life for a child.

FERAL SNOW, while a tense and action-packed story, is an intimate journey between two polar opposites and how love can be forged in the unlikeliest of circumstances. It has been compared to The Revenant, 127 Hours, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

What did I think?

I was very intrigued by the synopsis of Feral Snow and I was not disappointed; it's very unusual and unlike anything I've read before.  With such a small cast of characters, indeed mainly just one or two for most of the book, I was surprised to be so completely riveted by the story.  

Paul is quite a complex character and you have to wonder at his motivation for travelling to the Arctic when his wife is very close to giving birth.  When Paul falls into a chasm with only his own thoughts for company, his layers are peeled away you begin to understand what's behind his decision.  It's often said that the abused become abusers so Paul is not afraid to die if it will keep his unborn child from harm...until he meets twelve year old Nanny.

Nanny is an awesome character, she's strong, tough and smart but her story is even more devastating than Paul's.  Nanny is the key to Paul confronting his demons and it's truly heartwarming to see Paul's character evolve.  Due to the solitary nature of the story, I did wonder if Nanny was a figment of Paul's imagination and there are quite a few moments where the reader questions what is real and what isn't.  With so much action and danger, it's not so much dreamlike as what nightmares are made of.

What is real is the effect of global warming on the Arctic and Mark Lowes weaves this into his story beautifully to get this powerful message across.  It's not just glaciers melting into the sea (which Mark Lowes vividly describes) but also the serious threat against the whole ecosystem.  The environmental issues are very cleverly incorporated into the story and it's very thought-provoking, so much so that it's been on my mind long after I finished the book.

Tense and gripping, Feral Snow is an awesome survival thriller with a powerful message and a brilliant debut novel from Mark Lowes.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: The Octopus - Tess Little

When Elspeth arrives at her ex-husband’s house in the LA hills for his 50th birthday party, she’s expecting a huge crowd for the famous film director. Instead, there are just seven other guests and Persephone, Richard’s pet octopus, watching over them from her tank.

Come morning, Richard is dead.

As the investigation uncovers bruising in Richard’s throat, each of the guests come under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new boyfriend, the cinematographer, the manager and the ex-wife, Elspeth herself.

In the weeks following the party, stories of Richard’s past surface, colliding with memories of their marriage, and Elspeth begins to question not just who killed Richard, but why these seven guests were invited, and what sort of man would want to trap this mysterious, intelligent creature.

From the LA hills to the Norfolk marshes, The Octopus is a stylish exploration of power: the power of memory, the power of perception, the power of one person over another. 

 

What did I think?

Set in three parts with no chapters, it takes a little while to get used to the format of The Octopus as it jumps between past and present with only a space between the paragraphs to warn the reader of a timeline change.  Both timelines are intriguing though, so I didn't mind the flicking between them as it felt like a memory being replayed in your mind and the talented writing of Tess Little pulls all of the little scenes together to produce the bigger picture.

Film director Richard Bryant is celebrating his 50th birthday and invites seven guests to his party.  Expecting a lavish affair, the guests are surprised to find they are so small in number.  Nobody is more surprised to be invited to this exclusive dinner party than Elspeth, Richard's ex-wife, especially when their daughter Lillie isn't among the guests.  Visiting Richard's home for the first time, Elspeth is mesmerised by the aquarium spanning two floors containing a giant Pacific octopus named Persephone.

I found the guests very interesting, most of them from the film industry and they are as superficial and self-centered as I imagined.  I thought it was really nice of Richard (how wrong I was) to serve dishes relating to all of his guests and they all had fun guessing which dish related to each person, apart from Elspeth's dish as she seemed to be invisible and they didn't even notice that she hadn't been matched to a dish.  I was so mad!  Clearly as the 'ex-wife', Elspeth is of no value to those in the film industry so it's like they don't even see her.

When Richard is found dead the next day, the police start an investigation into his death.  Was it an accident or was it murder?  As each guest comes under suspicion, we learn more about their relationship with Richard and we start to see what kind of a man he really was.  As Elspeth tries to piece together events from that night, she starts to doubt her memory as her past and present collide - this was very cleverly done and really has you thinking about the reliability of your own memories.  Elspeth also knows something that the police don't know: Persephone is quite an escape artist and makes a habit of escaping her tank each night.  Could the octopus have killed Richard?

With very clever plotting, intriguing characters and mesmerising writing, Tess Little has written an extraordinary whodunnit thriller that has the feel of a modern-day Agatha Christie novel.  The characters are all displayed before us as we search for clues as to who the murderer might be and I loved building up these pictures of Richard's life and his interaction with the others.  I also loved Persephone's story; it's very fascinating and so poignant that I had a little lump in my throat at the end.

Although she has previously written short stories, The Octopus is Tess Little's debut novel and it's so captivating that I found it very difficult to put down.  With this clever and compelling debut, Tess Little has proven herself to be a very talented writer; she is definitely one to watch.  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Photo credit: Daniella-Shreir

Tess Little is a writer, historian, and Examination Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford, the entrance exam to which is deemed ‘the hardest exam in the world’ – questions have included ‘What is the use of magic?’ and ‘Improve the rules of any one sport’, though Tess answered a question on hip hop v. Eurovision. She is currently working towards her doctorate on the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s, having spent the last few years interviewing feminist activists and visiting archives across the UK, France, and the US. Her short stories and non-fiction have appeared in Words And Women: Two, The Mays Anthology, The White Review and on posters outside a London tube station. She was born in Norwich in 1992. The Octopus is her first novel.

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