Book After Book

Publication: 18th August 2022 – Penguin Books UK

Midnight.
A call out to an isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford.
A body shot at point-blank range in the kitchen.

It looks like a burglary gone wrong, but DI Adam Fawley suspects there’s something more to it.

When the police discover a connection to a high-profile case from years ago, involving a child’s murder and an alleged miscarriage of justice, the press go wild.

Suddenly Fawley’s team are under more scrutiny than ever before. And when you dig up the past, you’re sure to find a few skeletons…

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The DI Adam Fawley series is one of my favorite and each year I wait eagerly for a new book. Hope to Die is the sixth book in the series and it starts with a gunshot heard in an isolated farmhouse late at night. A passerby calls the police and when they arrive they find the body of a man killed by a gunshot. The elderly couple living there claims that they don’t know who he is and that he was shot in self-defense. It should be an easy case to solve, but the couple failed to call the police, cold cases are reopened, and dark secrets are revealed. As DI Adam Fawley and his team investigate, they find out that the truth is far more complicated than a burglary gone wrong. 

After the events of The Whole Truth, I couldn’t wait to see what DI Adam Fawley and his team were up to. Adam and his wife Alex are now enjoying their newborn daughter Lily Rose and, while DC Erica Somer is recovering from a health issue, we are introduced to new characters as three new members join the team.

Once again, Cara Hunter created a gripping and twisty story that kept me engrossed from the first to the last page. I love how she includes other formats in the narrative, like extracts from Netflix documentaries, transcripts of police interviews, newspaper articles, psychiatric reports, and social media comments that add a bit of humor to the story. The plot is complex and unpredictable, the pace is fast and the suspense is way high, and I raced through the pages to see what would happen next.

Cara Hunter is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors and Hope to Die is yet another fantastic and thrilling addiction to this terrific series. Book number 7 can’t come soon enough!

A huge thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early proof of this gripping novel.

Cara Hunter is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling crime novels Close to Home, In the Dark, No Way Out, All the Rage and The Whole Truth all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and was shortlisted for Crime Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2019. No Way Out was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 best crime novels since 1945. And The Whole Truth was a Richard and Judy pick in 2021. Cara’s novels have sold more than a million copies worldwide, and the TV rights to the series have now been acquired by the Fremantle group. She lives in Oxford, on a street not unlike those featured in her books.

Publication: 23rd June 2022 – HarperCollins

A girl with a secret…
Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for prom night, the highlight of any high school experience. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, she will be dead.

A murder that remains a mystery…
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains unsolved. Her friends closed ranks, her family retreated inwards, the community moved on. But all that’s about to change.

One final chance to uncover a killer…
Andrea Oliver arrives in town with a simple assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But her assignment is a cover. Because, in reality, Andrea is here to find justice for Emily – and to uncover the truth before the killer decides to silence her too…

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Karin Slaughter is one of my auto-buy authors. Whether it is a new Will Trent novel, or a stand alone, or an Andrea Oliver new novel, I am going to read it.

Girl, Forgotten is the second book in the Andrea Oliver series and it takes place two years after the events of Pieces of Her. Andy Oliver has just finished her training as a US Marshal and her first assignment is to protect judge Esther Vaughan who has been receiving threats. Her daughter Emily was killed forty-years earlier, the killer never found, and Andy has her own personal reasons to get closer to the judge and investigate her daughter’s murder. Andy and her new partner Leonard Bible arrive to Longbill Beach to protect the judge, but they also come across a series of suicides of young women who were volunteering at a local fava bean farm.

In 1981, eighteen-year-old Emily Vaughan discovers she is pregnant after attending a party with her friends. She doesn’t remember anything of that night, but she could never believe that any of her friends would hurt her. Shunned not only from her family and friends, but from the entire community of Longbill Beach, Emily is determined to find out who the father of her baby is.

The story is told from two different points of view and the chapters alternate on two different timelines. The plot is compulsive, dark, and gripping. Some of the themes can be disturbing and not easy to read (especially the way Emily is treated following her pregnancy), but luckily the new character of Leonard Bible, Andy’s US Marshal partner, brings some comic-relief moments with his relationship with his wife Cussy and his witty humor.

I liked how the character of Andy has developed since Piece of Her. Even though her past and the truth about her father still haunt her, she is more independent, determined, and she has found a job she is really good at. I really liked this version of Andy and I enjoyed how her relationship with her mother Laura has grown.

Once again, Karin Slaughter didn’t disappoint and created another thrilling and immersive story and I am already hoping for a sequel very soon… I want more of Andy, Mike, Laura, and Bible!

A huge thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe, her novels have all been Sunday Times bestsellers. Slaughter lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the founder of the Save the Libraries project―a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. Her standalone novel Pieces of Her is now a Netflix series, and the Grant County and Will Trent series are in development for television.

Publication: 21st July 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

Where there’s a will, can love find a way?

When cynical divorce lawyer Daisy Jackson unexpectedly inherits a ramshackle farmhouse in Provence, she sets off for the French countryside to oversee renovations herself.

But Gabriel Laforet has other ideas. A local builder with ties to the property, Gabriel is determined to see Daisy off and preserve the characterful, charming farmhouse – which, but for a missing will,he knows is rightfully his.

When the two meet, it’s clear they couldn’t be more different: Gabriel has lived in the small country village all his life; Daisy is a city girl whose career means everything. He is laid-back and messy;she is used to being in control. As they begin to work together, sparks fly. Yet they’re inexplicably drawn to each other and, in the heat of the Provence sun, secrets begin to spill. Perhaps Daisy can trust him with her carefully guarded heart after all?

But Gabriel is still searching for the missing will that proves the farmhouse belongs to him – and in doing so, risks upturning everything he and Daisy have started to build together…

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I am thrilled to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of An Escape to Provence, the entertaining new novel by Sophie Claire.

I also want to escape to Provence after reading this latest beautiful and enjoyable novel by Sophie Claire. I loved the characters, the setting, the food, and the story is emotional and heart-warming.

Daisy has inherited the farmhouse Le Mazet in Provence from a relative she didn’t even know she had and she plans to turn it into a rental house for tourists. The house needs a lot of work so she hires local builder Gabriel to transform it into a house more suited to her modern taste. However, Gabriel, who has his own personal attachments to the farmhouse and thinks he should be the rightful owner, has no intention to follow her instructions. When no other construction company accepts the job, Daisy has no choice but to take a few days off her work – for the first time in years! – and travel to Provence to convince Gabriel to do the job. After they finally reach an agreement, Daisy decides to stay for a few days to oversee the works, but, as her relationship with Gabriel turns into friendship and days turn into weeks, Daisy realizes that her life in London is not as perfect as she thought…

The story is told from the point of view of the two protagonists who couldn’t be more different. Daisy Jackson is a pragmatic and busy divorce lawyer in London who doesn’t do relationships and lives for her job. When she initially arrives in Provence, she finds it difficult to adapt to the slow pace of the village or to Gabriel long breaks from his work. Gabriel Laforet is more laid back, a builder with romantic views on life who is waiting to meet the love of his life and start a family. And yet the chemistry between these two characters is fantastic and I enjoyed how their relationship develops. 

The setting is appealing, evocative, and very-well described and I could picture in my head the rundown yet charming farmhouse or the sleepy French village where everyone knows everyone.

An Escape to Provence is the third novel by Sophie Claire that I’ve read so far and, once again, I enjoyed every page of it. I read it in two days, so immersed in this well-written, entertaining, romantic story and its relatable, well-developed characters that I couldn’t help but love. Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Oliver and Hodder & Stoughton for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of this beautiful novel.

Sophie Claire, born to a French mother and Scottish father, grew up in Manchester where she still lives with her husband and two sons.

She writes stories centred around sunny Provence, where she spent her summers as a child.

Publication: 26th May 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

Freya Scott is getting married. Her wedding to Matthew, her long-term boyfriend, is the first of eight in her calendar this year, and as someone who prides herself on being meticulously organised, Freya is intent on making it the perfect day to remember.

But when Matthew calls things off hours before they walk down the aisle, Freya’s entire life plan goes up in smoke. Humiliated and heartbroken, the last thing she wants is to attend a summer of other peoples’ nuptials on her own.

Fortunately, her friends have an idea: together they devise a series of outrageous challenges for Freya to complete at each event, designed to distract her from Matthew and what might have been.

From getting stuck in an old church bathroom and needing to be rescued by the vicar to making out with a barman at a French chateau, Freya realises that despite herself, she might just be having fun.

By the time the final wedding arrives, she’s not the same woman she was at the start of the season. And maybe her own love story isn’t over just yet…

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The day before her wedding, while guests are arriving and peacocks are loose in the house (a gift from her brother), Freya is dumped by her fiancé, the man she spent the last twelve years with, – in a broom closet. Heartbroken and with a full wedding season ahead of her (seven weddings to attend to, without counting the hen dos), her best friends, Ruby and Leo, encourage her to set herself a challenge for each wedding. From being the last one standing on the dance floor to getting a pair of cufflinks from a man, from making an impromptu speech to kissing someone at midnight to running naked in the corridor of a hotel (inspired by the Spice Girls), Freya will distract herself, enjoy herself, and stop thinking about the wedding that never was. 

I had so much fun reading The Wedding Season. I laughed a lot, but there are also a few serious and thought-provoking moments. Freya is an incredible protagonist. The Wedding Season is her journey as she heals from her heartbreak and she rediscovers herself. Freya is a hilarious, relatable, and authentic character and I enjoyed reading how she developed throughout the novel.

There is some romance, but what I loved most about this novel is the friendship theme. Freya is surrounded by a group of dynamic and entertaining characters that support her throughout the novel. I loved their witty exchanges, their group chats that always made me laugh, and their loyalty, especially with Ruby and Leo. 

Last year, I really enjoyed the author’s adult debut novel, The Secret Bridesmaid, and The Wedding Season was even better. It is entertaining, compelling, and addictive and it is one of my favorite books of the summer.

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a ARC of the novel.

Katy is the author of romantic-comedies The Secret Bridesmaid and The Wedding Season. She has also written several young adult novels including The It Girl series, the Hotel Royale series and Morgan Charmley: Teen Witch. She is the co-author of the middle grade Lightning Girl series and Star Switch with Alesha Dixon, and the Find the Girl teen series with YouTube stars Lucy and Lydia Connell. Katy was proud to be the author of a retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma for the Awesomely Austen series, a collection of Austen’s novels retold for younger readers. She has also written a non-fiction book, How to be a Princess: Real-Life Fairy Tales for Modern Heroines.

Katy lives in London with her husband, Ben, and her rescue dog, Bono.

Publication: 21st July 2022 – Bantam Press

This is a warning for all our guests at the wellness retreat.

A woman’s body has been found at the bottom of the cliff beneath the yoga pavilion.

We believe her death was a tragic accident, though DS Elin Warner has arrived on the island to investigate.

A storm has been forecast, but do not panic. Stick together and please ignore any rumours you might have heard about the island and its history.

As soon as the weather clears, we will arrange boats to take you back to the mainland.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy your stay.

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Detective Elin Warner is back and, once again, she finds herself in a remote location, with bad weather conditions, murder to solve, and a killer on the loose (and I loved it!). This time, the murder scene is a bit a closer to home, a recently opened hotel on a island just off the coast which her boyfriend Will designed and where his sister Farrah works as a manager. A few years earlier, the island had been the setting of another crime scene when a group of teenagers camping there had been murdered. Now, the victim is a young woman who wasn’t supposed to be on the island, and then someone else is found dead…

While I enjoyed The Sanatorium and The Retreat both in the same way, I have to say that I liked more the Elin Warner that we see in The Retreat. She has a new working partner, while her relationship with her boyfriend Will becomes a bit strained during the investigation. She is surer of herself and tougher working her first murder case since leaving the Major Crimes Investigation Team.

The plot is suspenseful and chilling. Secrets, lies, resentment, revenge, and jealousy start a series of murders while the island, renamed Reaper’s Rock, is itself a protagonist of the story. Once it housed a school that burnt down, then became an Outward Bound center where a group of teenagers was brutally murdered, and now people are being killed in the newly built retreat while a storm outside prevents people from leaving the island. As the storm raged I was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. And once the killer is found, the twists don’t end with a final shocking surprise that I didn’t see coming.

I was completely immersed in The Retreat and I am already hoping for more adventures and cases for Detective Elin Warner.

A huge thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this gripping novel.

Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of households brands before following her passion for writing.

Her experiences living in the Swiss Alps in her early twenties inspired her acclaimed debut novel, The Sanatorium, which was an instant No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times Top Ten bestseller in hardback, and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

You can find Sarah on Twitter @SarahVPearse and Instagram @sarahpearseauthor

Publication: 7th July 2022 – Bantam Press

The murder of Sofia Suarez is both gruesome and seemingly senseless. Why would anyone target a respected nurse who was well-liked by her friends and her neighbours? As Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles investigate the baffling case, they discover that Sofia was guarding a dangerous secret — a secret that may have led the killer straight to her door.

Meanwhile, Jane’s mother Angela Rizzoli is conducting an investigation of her own. She may be a housewife, not a police detective, but she’s savvy enough to know there’s something very strange, perhaps even dangerous, about the new neighbours across the street. The problem is, no one believes her, not even her own daughter.

Immersed in the hunt for Sofia’s killer, Jane and Maura are too busy to pay attention to Angela’s fears. With no one listening to her, and danger mounting in her neighbourhood, Angela just may be forced to take action on her own…

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I am really excited to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of Listen to Me, the gripping new novel by Tess Gerritsen.

I have been watching and rewatching the Rizzoli & Isles tv series for years now (I know some of the episodes by heart), but I am ashamed to admit that I am a little behind with the books and I have a bit of catching up to do. Luckily, I had no trouble reading the latest one in the series, Listen to Me, because, even though it is the 13th book in the Rizzoli & Isles series, it can be easily read as a stand alone.

The story focuses on different cases. Detective Jane Rizzoli and her friend and medical examiner Maura Isles are investigating the brutal murder of a nurse. She was loved by everyone and led a quiet and normal life, so Jane Rizzoli is having trouble finding a motive for her murder. In the meantime, they also discover that a young woman is being stalked and she could be in danger. If a seemingly unmotivated murder and a stalker aren’t enough, Jane is also kept busy by her mother, Angela Rizzoli, who is convinced that her new neighbours are hiding something. They weren’t interested in her welcome-in-the-neighbourhood zucchini bread, they have installed bars over the windows, and the husband carries a gun. And while spying the new neighbours takes most of Angela’s time, she is also worried about the teenager neighbour who ran away. Since Jane doesn’t want to help her, Angela decides to start investigating on her own.

I loved Listen to Me. Angela’s storyline was the more entertaining and intriguing one. I always liked the character of Angela. Nothing goes past her, especially in her quiet suburb that it’s not so quiet right now. In fact, it seems that each one of her neighbours has a secret and, somehow, she manages to uncover them all… it’s true that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

The plot is fast-paced and full of twists and turns. Even though I started suspecting the truth before it was revealed, there were still many things that took me by surprise. I really enjoyed reading Listen to Me and I plan to catch up on the books that I haven’t read yet (I have already bought a couple of books). Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Random Things Tours and Transworld Books for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Bestselling author TESS GERRITSEN is also a physician, and she brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency and autopsy rooms. Her thrillers starring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TV series Rizzoli & Isles. But Tess’s interests span far more than medicine and crime. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she catalogued centuries-old human remains, and she continues to travel the world, driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena.

Publication: 28th June 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

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It doesn’t happen often that I start reading a book in the morning and I finish it on that same day, especially since I spent eight hours of that day at work (working, not reading 😉), but that’s what happened with This Vicious Grace. I was hooked from the first page and I stayed up late at night to finish reading it.

Alessa is the Finestra. Chosen by the goddess, she has a gift that will magnify the power of her chosen partner, the Fonte, so they can protect the island of Saverio from the attack that it’s coming. The only problem is that everytime she touches them they instantly die. After the death of three partners, a few assassination attempts instigated by a priest, and the escape of Fonte candidates from the island, Alessa asks for the help of Dante, a fighter marked as a killer, to protect her.

I loved the characters of Alessa and Dante. Their chemistry is off the charts and their easy and witty banter made me often laugh. Alessa is a fantastic and interesting protagonist that you can’t help but like and feel for her. When she became the island’s Finestra she had to give up any relationship with her family. Also, since her touch kills, all the Fontes are afraid of her and stay away. She longs for friendship and contact and the only one who is not scared of her is Dante, but he has his own demons and secrets to face.

The writing is addictive and the world-building is incredible and compelling. It is based on Italy and the Italian language, used as an old language, is often used for proverbs and swear words. 

This Vicious Grace has romance, friendship, action, and twists and it kept me hooked from the first to the last page. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of one of my favorite novels of the year!

Emily Thiede is the author of This Vicious Grace. A former school teacher, Emily is a creative writing instructor and board member for Writer House, a local nonprofit, and a co-host of the Basic Pitches podcast. When she isn’t writing, Emily enjoys exploring second-hand bookstores, fostering rescue kittens, and getting lost in the woods near her home in central Virginia. You can find her across social media platforms @ektwrites and on her website, www.ekthiede.com.

Publication: 7th July 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

Recently widowed actress Casey Fletcher has escaped to her family’s lake house for peace and quiet. She’s been happily losing herself in her thoughts and several bottles of bourbon, until the glamorous couple across the lake catch her attention. They look so perfect – just like Casey and her husband used to be.
But is anyone what they seem?

Casey has a detective sat at her kitchen table.

She has a man bound and gagged upstairs.

Casey will uncover dark truths so life-changing that nothing will ever be the same again.

International bestselling sensation Riley Sager is back with his most ambitious thriller yet. With his trademark blend of sharp characters, psychological suspense and gasp-worthy twists, The House Across the Lake will shock readers from the first page to the last.

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The House Across the Lake is the sixth novel by Riley Sager and, as it always happen with his novels, I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading.

The protagonist of the story is Casey Fletcher. Daughter of a famous actress, an actress herself, she’s been exiled to the family’s lake house following a disastrous performance that made the front page of newspapers. Recently widowed, Casey has nothing to do, but drink all day, until, one day, she spots a body floating on the lake. The Royces recently bought the house across the lake and Casey manages to save Katherine Royce, former supermodel and wife to tech entrepreneur Tom, from drowning. Casey and Katherine seem to get along, but, as Casey spies on the couple across the lake, she notices that their life is far from perfect. And, when Katherine suddenly disappears, Casey knows that Tom is involved, but as she starts digging, she discovers that the truth is much more darker and twisted than she could have ever thought.

I enjoyed everything about this novel. Whatever I suspected, I was completely wrong. Everything is unexpected and surprising. The twists are many and the more you read the bigger and more shocking they get. The story is set entirely in Vermont where the suffocating atmosphere, the lake and its haunted legends, a few isolated houses, and a storm on its way keep the tension high.

Casey is a compelling protagonist. With a drinking problem and secrets that I didn’t expect, she is the perfect unreliable protagonist who no one believes when she accuses Tom of Katherine’s disappearance.

The House Across the Lake is yet another incredible novel by Riley Sager who is an auto-buy author for me. Chilling, dark, and immersive is not at all what you expect so get ready to be surprised!

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently Home Before Dark and Survive the Night. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Publication: 26th May 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

A woman’s body is found in a river just outside of Lisbon. Inspectors Isabel Reis and Aleksandr Voronov identify the murder victim as Marta Nunes – a youth centre worker who, like Isabel, classifies as Gifted. Born with special abilities, the Gifted are often looked at with a certain level of suspicion.

In the search for her killer, Reis digs into Marta’s past. She soon discovers that she is connected to a number of missing women. All young, all telepathic Gifted, all vanished off the face of the earth.

Marta might have been helping these missing girls, or she might have been hurting them. But Inspector Reis needs to find the truth about who killed Marta and why, and she needs to find where the missing girls go. Because some of them might still be alive out there…

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I really loved The Colours of Death, so when I saw there was a sequel coming out (although House of Silence can easily be read as a stand alone) I was thrilled and, after finish reading it, I can say that I wasn’t disappointed. This series is part thriller and part paranormal. It is set in a world where a part of the population is Gifted, having the power of telekinesis or telepathy. Regulars (people without powers) and Gifted co-habit, but many Regulars don’t trust Gifted and what they can do with their powers so Gifted are constantly monitored by the government.

The protagonist of this series is Isabel Reis. She is an inspector in the police department of Lisbon and she is Gifted: her power of telepathy allows her to read other people’s thoughts and see their memories. In House of Silence, the story starts a few months after the ending of the first book. Following the high-profile murder case in The Colours of Death, Isabel and her partner Aleksander Vonorov have been relegated to minor cases until the body of a young woman is found washed up, her throat cut. As they investigate, they discover that the woman was Gifted and she was linked to the disappearance of other Gifted. Isabel and Voronov have to figure out who killed her what happened to the missing Gifted and, most important of all, if they are still alive.

I really like the character of Isabel Reis. She is relatable, determined, and authentic. Her struggle with her developing power is as much central to the story as the murder case. Through chapters set in the past, we see how she learned to control it when she was younger, but also how it affected her relationship with her family. In the present, as high-level Gifted seem to be disappear, Isabel tries to hide how much her power is growing.

I also enjoyed her relationship with Voronov.  It is easy, trustworthy and I loved their witty banter, – and also how he constantly feeds her. We also learn a bit more about his past and it made me like this character even more.

The murder case is intense and darker than I initially thought and the story ends with a surprise that left me wanting for more. I already can’t wait for book number three to see what’s next for Isabel and those Gifted like her. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Jenny and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a copy of this gripping novel.

Half-Angolan and half-Portuguese, Patricia was born in Portugal but moved to England when she was eight. As well as the MA in Creative Writing from City she holds a BA in Creative Writing from Roehampton. She lives in London and The Colours of Death was her first novel. House of Silence is her second.

Publication: 14th June 2022 – Hodder & Stoughton

She’d failed them. All of them. And now she was paying the price.

Kiva thought she knew what she wanted-revenge. But feelings change, people change… everything has changed.

After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they’ve ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.

A fresh start will mean a perilous quest, forcing mortal enemies and uneasy allies together in a race against the clock to save not just Evalon, but all of Wenderall. With her loyalties now set, Kiva can no longer just survive-she must fight for what she believes in. For who she believes in. But with danger coming from every side, and the lives of everyone she loves at risk, does she have what it takes to stand, or will she fall?

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It’s publication day for the third and (unfortunately!) last book of one of my favorite series. I loved The Prison Healer trilogy from the very beginning. The first book made me fall in love with the characters, The Gilded Cage ended with a cliff-hanger that took me completely by surprise and made me count down the days until the publication of this third book, The Blood Traitor, which was the perfect brilliant ending to this fantastic trilogy.

In The Gilded Cage, Kiva’s loyalty was torn between her family and their sworn enemy, Prince Jaren and the royal family, but now she knows the truth and where her loyalties lie, but first she needs to reunite with her found family and regain the trust of the people she loves to save the kingdom of Evalon. And to do that they need to go on a journey to recover magic objects and partner up with unexpected allies.

I really didn’t want this series to end. The author’s writing is addictive, the plot is intriguing, well-developed and well-crafted, and engrossing, and the characters are brilliant and so likable. Kiva and Jaren are adorable, I loved Tipp, Tor, Cresta, Naari, and Ashlyn, and Caldon is, without a doubt, my favorite character. Can we have a spin-off series about Caldon please?

The author also created an incredible world-building full of magic and legends: people with elemental powers, magic rings, challenges to face, quest for power, rebels to defeat, and much more…

The Blood Traitor is everything I hope for and much more. Heart-breaking, jaw-dropping, action-packed, with enough shocking twists to keep you on the edge of your seat and a bit of romance that makes you wish for more. I will miss the characters and the story!!!

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Australian author Lynette Noni studied journalism, academic writing, and human behavior at university before venturing into the world of fiction. She is now a full-time writer and the #1 best-selling and award-winning author of The Medoran Chronicles, the Whisper duology, and The Prison Healer.