BLOG TOUR: Because of You - Helene Fermont

How desperate are you to get the love of your life?

Hannah is the love of Ben's life, yet Vanessa will stop at nothing to claim the man she is convinced is her destiny.

Because of You spans 36 years in the life of Hannah Stein, a Swedish teenager who arrives in London, at the tail end of the disco era, for a gap year before embarking on a teaching career. The people she meets change the course of her life irrevocably and the novel charts her changing personal and professional fortunes over the next three decades. Because of You is about love, coming of age, friendship, bereavement, stillbirth and rape. Its themes include redemption, acceptance, fidelity and family. Because of You is a story that every woman can relate to.

Because of You is the deeply moving debut novel by Scandinavian writer Helene Fermont. It’s a gripping work of modern women’s fiction with a distinct ‘Scandi’ feel and a psychological twist. 

Scandinavian noir has firmly established itself as a bestselling genre in the UK. Because of You takes the elements that make this style of writing so compelling – the realism and dark, morally complex mood – and combines it with women’s fiction.

This is a dark, morally complex and cross-generational story of enduring love, fate and destiny and will appeal to readers who appreciate an emotive, uncompromising and fulfilling read driven by character and circumstance.

What did I think?

Because of You is an epic saga spanning the 1970's to the present day and crossing the continent from England to Sweden.  Hannah is such a lovely caring character that you feel yourself looking out for her as the story progresses.  I've never seen such an extent of growth in a character as I saw in Hannah; she evolved from a quiet young lady to a strong beautiful woman, in spite of all the bumps in the road on her journey.

Hannah comes to London in 1978 to study and lodges with her grandmother's friend, Ella.  It was hard for her to leave her family and Sweden behind, but she quickly makes friends with another Swedish girl, Sanna, and gains entry into her circle of friends.  As Hannah is introduced to the sparkly discos of the 1970's she catches the eye of reputed bad boy Mark.  Mark pursues Hannah and she agrees to give him a chance to prove he's not the bad boy that everyone thinks he is.  I was with Hannah's friends on this one and knew he wasn't good enough for her, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

While Hannah is still in a relationship with Mark, she meets Ben at a friend's party.  It is clear that Ben is the man for her but Hannah has such strong values that she won't consider taking anything further with Ben whilst she is seeing Mark.  Ben cannot forget Hannah and knows that they are destined to be together, and he doesn't care how long he has to wait.

As the years go by, Hannah splits up with Mark (hurrah), starts a relationship with Ben (hurrah) and goes back to Sweden to work as a teacher.  She is loved by the children and her colleagues, in fact loved a little bit too much by one of them.  Linus is a creepy colleague who is completely infatuated with Hannah.  She thinks she can handle him by telling him she's not interested but he doesn't seem able to take 'no' for an answer.  Linus is insanely jealous of Hannah's relationship with Ben and the threat of just how unhinged he is seemed to hang over the story like the Sword of Damocles.  Linus isn't the only one threatening the happiness of Ben and Hannah. Rich-bitch Vanessa has her eye on Ben and will do anything to get her claws into him, even resorting to joining forces with Mark in an elaborate scheme to break them up.  Oh it's all going to end in tears, but for whom?

My heart was breaking on several occasions as Hannah always thinks of other people before herself.  She deserves to be happy but she puts her happiness at the bottom of the list and puts other people before herself, even doing what she thinks is best for them rather than what they actually want.  There is so much going on in Hannah's life that some part of it with resonate with every single reader.  It is written so warmly that I almost felt as if I was part of the family, eating Zipporah's apple cake or celebrating Zadie and Walther's wedding anniversary with a glass of fizz.

A beautiful epic story of life, love and destiny, Because of You captured my heart and captivated me from start to finish.  It is so true to life with so many ups and downs but the strong sense of family was a shining beacon of hope throughout.  One thing I will say about the characters in this book, they sure do have big babies!  Two babies are born in the book, both weighing one stone with not a raised eyebrow in sight.  It was enough to make my eyes water!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest opinion.  I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour arranged by Bookollective.

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Code Name: Papa - John Murray

Who’d have thought a bright, but fairly ordinary young man from middle class America who got just above average grades, dated the same girl throughout high school and went to church most Sundays, would grow up to eventually head a very secretive band of brave individuals--both men and women--who regularly put their lives on the line because they wanted to protect the rest of you. Yet that’s what we did, often sacrificing our personal lives (four marriages for me, all in the book) and our health (countless broken bones, major surgeries, even death) to do it.

Meanwhile you’re just going to have to call me “Papa” like everyone else around the globe has through most of those wildly unpredictable and dangerous years.

What did I think?

It always amazes me what events are taking place in so called peacetime to protect our various countries.  In the UK, MI5 and MI6 are of course real organisations and although films like James Bond and TV shows like Spooks are fictional, I always wondered how much truth is actually in them.  Code Name:Papa perhaps resembles the SAS in the UK, a team of special forces undertaking covert operations, so the author can't really go into a great deal of detail about his operations.  We do, however, get to know about the man they call "Papa" and the sacrifices he made for his country.

John joined the Marines in 1965 and was shipped off to Vietnam to serve his country, whilst there he made life-long friends with Bill and Jake.  Both men saved his life: directly in Bill's case as he tackled John to the ground in order to stop him triggering a trip wire, and indirectly in Jake's case after Jake's powerful father helped John get home and out of the Marines after being injured.  There was more to Jake's dad than met the eye; he ran a covert organisation of trained personnel who protected their country without drawing attention to themselves.  Jake's dad was known as "Papa" and he invited the 3 men to join his organisation, which all 3 of them did.  When "Papa" was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he chose John to take over the organisation and John then became known as "Papa".

This isn't a book filled with grisly details of the operations carried out, but more a glimpse into the life of the brave men and women who keep their country, and the world, safe without us knowing.  They put themselves in danger and remain anonymous to protect their loved ones but by doing this, they give up the chance of a happy normal life.  They can't tell their family what they do or when they'll be home and they end up becoming strangers to their children.  For me, Code Name: Papa wasn't just about John's life, but the life he lost.  He wasn't there when his wife needed him and he wasn't there to keep his children on the straight and narrow.  This is the same for the other recruits and there's a heartbreaking story about Jake and his son, Adam.  Their family is their country and they really will do anything to keep it safe.

Sometimes I forgot that this was non-fiction as some of the stories really are quite horrifying, but the writing is fairly clinical so it reads like a debriefing on occasions (she said, he said etc).  It must have been quite a journey to put all of this down on paper and I would have liked to have felt a bit more emotion coming through, especially in the more personal family stories.  It does, however, prove the authenticity of the book as "Papa" must be detached and unemotional at all times.  Certainly an eye-opening book, Code Name:Papa will give you a new dimension to stories you read in the news as sometimes we may only get half of the story.

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

My rating:

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Autumn: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons - Melissa Harrison

Autumn is a time of transformation. Crisp, clear days mark summer’s close and usher in a new season with its rich scents and vivid palette, leaves flaming red and gold by day, bonfires and fireworks lighting up the lengthening nights. There is abundance, as humans and animals make stores for the winter; and there is decay, which gives rise to the next cycle of life.

In prose and poetry from across the British Isles, Autumn captures both the exhilaration and the melancholy of this turning point in the year. Featuring original writing by Horatio Clare, John Lewis-Stempel and Amy Liptrot, classic extracts from the work of Ted Hughes, Helen Macdonald and Nan Shepherd, and a wealth of fresh new voices, Autumn is an evocative celebration of the year’s decline – and new beginnings.

What did I think?

You couldn't mistake which season this book is about as the writing is so colourful that it could only be Autumn.  I've previously read the hopeful new beginnings of Spring and the warm lazy days of Summer so naturally the clear crisp days of Autumn would follow.

Autumn is another anthology published in conjunction with The Wildlife Trusts, so purchasing this book contributes to a worthy cause. Autumn is often chosen as the favourite season for many people, myself included, and this anthology clearly tells us why we think so fondly of Autumn.  The changing colour of the leaves, the frantic scurrying of the hedgehogs and the crisp frosty mornings all warn us that Winter is coming.

In this anthology, there are some notable works from modern day authors and wildlife lovers.  I am always surprised to find out who has written each piece and, although there are some classics such as Dylan Thomas, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, I thought that the modern day wildlife lovers really shone through in this anthology.  I especially enjoyed reading about badger spotting by Alex Francis, invasion of dormice by Jane Adams, blackberry picking by Tamsin Constable, dolphin spotting by Lucy McRobert and salmon jumping by Megan Shersby.  The piece that really stood out for me and epitomised Autumn was written by Louise Baker.  Louise is the grandaughter of a naturalist and I believe that she captured Autumn perfectly in her short piece.  I've chosen a few lines from Louise Baker's piece below, it really is magnificent and captures the essence of Autumn perfectly.

Autumn is bold bursts of colour...

Autumn is a dappled night sky peppered with stars...

Autumn is the crunch of leaves...

Autumn is the snuffle of hedgehogs...

Autumn is an anthology that you can dip and out of, but I found that once I got started I was intrigued to see what surprise was in store for me over the page.  It is full of vibrant colour and sound as nature starts to preserve its inimitable energy of regeneration to survive the harsh winter that is to come.  Autumn is a stunning anthology that perfectly captures this most beloved of seasons.

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

My rating: 

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My Husband's Son - Deborah O'Connor

Heidi and Jason aren't like other couples. Six years ago, Heidi's daughter was murdered. A year later, Jason's son Barney disappeared. Their shared loss brought them together.

By chance, Heidi meets a boy she's certain is her husband's long-missing son - but Jason is equally convinced it's not him.

Is Heidi mad? Or is Jason hiding something? And can their fragile marriage survive Heidi's search for the truth . . .

What did I think?

I had no idea before I started this book that it was set in my native North East.  It always takes the reading of such books to another level when the area is familiar to you and you don't need to imagine the scene.  It left my imagination free to run wild on the plot so I had an absolute whale of a time reading My Husband's Son.

Heidi and Jason met at a conference after sharing the worst kind of experience imaginable for a parent: they both have missing children.  Heidi's daughter, Lauren, went missing and was later found murdered whereas Jason's son, Barney, has never been found so Jason still has hope.  Heidi moved to the North East when she married Jason and it is on a visit to a local off-licence in Gateshead that she notices a boy who she thinks resembles Barney.  She encourages Jason to visit the off-licence to take a look and he says it isn't his son.  Jason is convinced that he has such a close bond with Barney that he will know him immediately when they are reunited. Heidi, however, cannot get this boy out of her head and takes increasing risks to find out more about him.  How far is she willing to go to find out if this boy is her husband's son?

What a cracking read.  One minute I was on Jason's side, thinking Heidi needed to drop this madness then I was thinking, what if Heidi is right?  Wouldn't a parent explore every avenue and investigate every possibility before disregarding a possible sighting of their missing child?   Why would Heidi be convinced when Jason wasn't?  Is she clutching at all straws as there is no hope for her daughter? Does Jason have something to hide and what exactly is he relationship with his ex-wife?  What on earth is going on in Heidi's head for her to take such unnecessary risks?  There were so many questions going round and round in my head that I positively tore through the pages in search of the answers.

I was completely unprepared for the amazing ending and had to stay up quite late to finish it as I couldn't have put this book down if my life depended on it.  A superb debut by Deborah O'Connor and a well deserved 5 out of 5 from me for My Husband's Son.  If you like books that make you question everything you are reading, then this one is most definitely for you!

I chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: Bloodie Bones - Lucienne Boyce

I hopped onto this Brook Cottage Books blog tour at short notice and I'm so glad I did as Bloodie Bones is an outstanding book, full of suspense and mystery.  I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour and there's a fabulous giveaway to win a paperback copy towards the end of my post.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

Release Date: May 2016

Publisher: Silver Wood Books

 “Parsons and tyrants friends take note. We have born your oppreshuns long enough. We will have our parish rights or else Bloodie Bones will drink your blood.”

When Lord Oldfield encloses Barcombe Wood, depriving the people of their ancient rights to gather food and fuel, the villagers retaliate with vandalism, arson and riot. Then Lord Oldfield’s gamekeeper, Josh Castle, is murdered during a poaching raid. Dan Foster, Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist, is sent to investigate.

Dan’s job is to infiltrate the poaching gang and bring the killers to justice. But there’s more to Castle’s death than at first sight appears. What is the secret of the gamekeeper’s past and does it have any connection with his murder? What is Lord Oldfield concealing? And did someone beside the poachers have a reason to want Josh Castle dead?

As tensions in Barcombe build to a thrilling climax, Dan will need all his wits and his fighting skills to stay alive and get to the truth.

Bloodie Bones was the winner in the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2016 was long listed for the M M Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction 2016; and is approved by Awesome Indies. 

What did I think?

Bloodie Bones is set in 1796 and introduces us to Dan Foster, a Bow Street Runner.  Bow Street Runners are known as London's first professional police force and Dan is called upon when Lord Oldfield's gamekeeper is murdered during a confrontation with local poachers.  Dan adopts the pseudonym 'Dan Fielding' and goes undercover in Barcombe where he is quickly welcomed into the local poaching gang after showing his fighting skills when a boxing challenge comes to town.

As Dan starts to follow clues and hunt for evidence, it becomes clear that the killer could be anyone.  So many people could have a motive for wanting Josh Castle out of the way and I certainly had my suspicions about one or two of them.  Even local bogeyman, Bloodie Bones, becomes a suspect when threatening notes are left at further scenes of unrest.

I loved the character of Dan; he is far from perfect with his shady past and roving eye.  He has had, and still has, quite a hard life but he shows his softer side when he takes young Walter under his wing and tries to keep him on the straight and narrow, with the added benefit of enabling him to get close to Walter's mother, Anna.  There are some excellent buried secrets in Barcombe for Dan to unearth which ensured the pages kept on turning repeatedly for 'just one more chapter'.

Full of cleverly placed historical detail, Bloodie Bones is a riveting murder mystery with a keen sense of period.  I can close my eyes now and easily visualise the huge mansion, vast woodland and creepy graveyard.  The historical facts were cunningly placed in the text like hidden treasure, just awaiting the reader to stumble upon these little golden nuggets.  I was amazed when Lord Oldfield actually read The Riot Act to the villagers when they converged on Oldfield Hall.  After looking up the Bow Street Runners, I was surprised to see that it was founded by Henry Fielding in 1749, so I loved how Lucienne Boyce used Fielding as Dan's pseudonym.  

I thoroughly enjoyed Bloodie Bones; it really is an outstanding book filled with suspense and mystery.  I will definitely be looking out for book number 2 to see what adventures are next for Dan Foster.  

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

My rating:

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About the Author

Lucienne Boyce writes historical fiction and non fiction. After gaining an MA in English Literature (with Distinction) with the Open University in 2007, specialising in eighteenth-century fiction, she published her first historical novel, To The Fair Land (SilverWood Books, 2012), an eighteenth-century thriller set in Bristol and the South Seas. Her second novel, Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery (SilverWood Books, 2015) is the first of the Dan Foster Mysteries and follows the fortunes of a Bow Street Runner who is also an amateur pugilist. Bloodie Bones was joint winner of the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2016, and was also long listed for the M M Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction 2016.

In 2013, Lucienne published The Bristol Suffragettes (SilverWood Books), a history of the suffragette movement in Bristol and the west country. She regularly gives talks and leads walks about the suffragettes. She has contributed articles to various publications, and also appeared on television and radio in connection with both her fiction and non-fiction work.

Lucienne has recently joined the team of Bristol Radio BCfm’s Silver Sound show as a presenter. She is on the steering committee of the West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network, and is also a member of the Friends of the Women’s Library, the Historical Novel Society, the Society of Authors, and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Lucienne is currently working on the second of the Dan Foster Mysteries, and a biography of a married couple who were involved in the suffragette, socialist and pacifist movements. She was born in Wolverhampton and now lives in Bristol, which is the setting and inspiration for much of her work.  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucienne.boyce

Twitter: @LucienneWrite

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6437832.Lucienne_Boyce

Blog: http://francesca-scriblerus.blogspot.co.uk/

Website: http://www.lucienneboyce.com/

The Last Night - Cesca Major

In a quiet coastal village, Irina spends her days restoring furniture, passing the time in peace and hiding away from the world. A family secret, long held and never discussed, casts a dark shadow and Irina chooses to withdraw into her work. When an antique bureau is sent to her workshop, the owner anonymous, Irina senses a history to the object that makes her uneasy. As Irina begins to investigate the origins of the piece, she unearths the secrets it holds within...

Decades earlier in the 1950s, another young woman kept secrets. Her name was Abigail. Over the course of one summer, she fell in love, and dreamed of the future. But Abigail could not know that a catastrophe loomed, and this event would change the course of many lives for ever...

What did I think?

The Last Night is an absolutely breathtaking novel by Cesca Major, I have goosebumps just thinking about it to write my review.  It starts in 1952 with quite a disturbing scene when a young girl finds a body in the sea.  All I could think about at first is whose body is it and how did it get there, but Cesca Major very cleverly distracted me with such interesting stories of two vibrant main characters.

Told from a few different viewpoints, the main characters being Irina in the present day of 2016 and Abigail in the past of 1952.  The two become linked in a most intriguing way when Irina receives an old bureau to restore.  With locked drawers and hidden compartments, Irina strives to unearth the secrets held within.  Some items appear strange and worthless but they clearly meant a lot to the owner of the bureau for the items to be hidden and kept safe.  Items that we keep to remind us of a treasured memory are so very priceless and irreplaceable, making them worth more than gold.

Irina is such an interesting woman.  We learn early on that she has some terrible scarring on her face but it is not until near the end of the book that we find out what happened to cause this.  Her guilt and fear cause her to push away her loved ones but it is to her ex, Andrew, that she turns when she tries to uncover the secrets of the bureau and things start to go bump in the night.

It is these strange, ghostly and unexplainable incidents that compel Irina to follow the clues from the hidden treasure.  So she visits Lynmouth and hears the story of Abigail, a young woman from the 1950s.  Abigail had to leave Bristol and her best friend, Mary, when her mother died and was living up the hill in Lynton with her sister, Connie, and her creepy husband, Larry.  The tension in the house was palpable at times and the air with thick with the underlying threat that Abigail wasn't exactly safe when she was alone with Larry. When Abigail becomes close to local lad, Richard, my heart was singing as the buds of young love started to bloom.  But disaster was just around the corner...

Told with such breathtaking vividness, and based on true events, The Last Night is written so beautifully that it broke my heart in two. The powerful emotional writing had me struggling to contain my fear and my tears as I raced through the pages of this amazing book. With such stunning narrative, Cesca Major has ensured that events of that night, the last night, will never be forgotten.  There's not a word out of place in this fabulous five star read and it's a book I know that I will remember for many years to come.

I chose to read an ARC of The Last Night and this is my honest opinion.

My rating:

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The Wharf Butcher - Michael K Foster

A serial killer is stalking Tyneside. But there is a pattern to his killings, his choice of victims, his method of slaughter. David Carlisle, a criminal profiler, is brought in to assist DCI Jack Mason with his task of identifying the killer and stopping him in his tracks. The Wharf Butcher is a fast-paced thriller that shines a light on the dark forces at work within the corridors of power, in the board room and the police force itself. The clock is ticking to catch the monster that has been unleashed. But first Carlisle must get inside the killer's head...

What did I think?

With all of the fantastic books set in the North East, you could be forgiven for thinking that Newcastle was the murder capital of the world.  We really are blessed that there are so many interesting landmarks in the region, making it a perfect setting for dark and gritty Northern crime.

We are introduced to two excellent main characters in The Wharf Butcher: DCI Jack Mason and David Carlisle, a criminal profiler. Mason and Carlisle have some past history of working together and I think that there is a lot more of that story to come in future books (hurrah!).  As they hunt for a killer who likes to use Ford Mondeos and the Metro system as his mode of transport they start to see a link to the victims.  As the net closes in on the killer in a nail-biting finale I was left gasping for breath.

As a resident of the area, I really enjoyed reading about places I knew from King Street in South Shields to The Malting House in The Felling.  I've no idea why we call Felling 'The Felling' but it's definitely a Gateshead thing so it did tickle me a little bit.  The whole undertone of the book reminded me of the darkness and violence of The Sopranos.  As one of the locations is the North Shields Fish Quay, there may very well be a victim who ends up swimming with the fishes.

There were quite a lot of characters to get my head around at times, but I do sometimes read too fast so that's mainly an issue with my reading style.  Overall it's a great start to a series and I look forward to reading the next book, Satan's Beckoning, for another Mason and Carlisle adventure.

I chose to read an ARC of The Wharf Butcher and this is my honest opinion.

My rating:

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