Book After Book

Publication: 4th November 2021 – Headline

You can learn a lot about someone when you swap houses…

Twins Katy and Rachel don’t know much about each other’s lives anymore.

Rachel thinks that Katy is a high-flying event planner in London, while Katy thinks that Rachel lives in idyllic marital bliss in the countryside.

Each sister believes the other has created a perfect life – but the truth is that neither twin has the life she pretends she does.

And when these sisters unexpectedly swap houses for a week, they’re in for a big shock.

But it might just be the wake-up call they’ve both been waiting for…

Packed hilarity and heartbreak, this new novel from bestselling author Olivia Beirne follows two estranged sisters who learn more about each other from a house swap than they ever expected… Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Marian Keyes.

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of House Swap, the entertaining new novel by Olivia Beirne.

House Swap is the story of two sisters, twins to be exact. Once very close, now Katy and Rachel communicate only through emails. Katy left their village in Wales three years ago and moved to London to find a job. Her twin sister Rachel believes that Katy is living her best life with a prestigious job and a fantastic flat. On the other hand, Rachel remained in the family home with her husband and building their perfect family. Or that’s what Katy believes. Both sisters are lying to each other, telling stories of the lives they wish they had, but that are very far from the truth. And when they swap houses, they start to figure out the truth…

I would describe House Swap as a funny, engaging, and enjoyable novel. I read it in two sittings, engrossed in the story of these two twins and their complicated, yet amusing, lives. I laughed a lot reading their adventures, but there are also some emotional moments. The relationship between the two sisters is central to the story, but there is also romance, friendship, and stories of second chances.

Katy and Rachel are fantastic protagonists. I really liked these two characters, although I had a little preference for Katy. I found her witty, funnier, strong, and determined. Rachel is more serious, afraid to fail and to disappoint those around her. As each sister starts to figure out the truth about the other, things get more complicated, a little more entertaining, and I loved how they developed as characters and how the story ended.

House Swap is a very exciting and captivating story, one that I couldn’t stop reading and I highly recommend. And it is out now!

A huge thank you to Emily and Headline for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

Olivia Beirne is the bestselling author of The List That Changed My Life and lives in Buckinghamshire. She has worked as a waitress, a pottery painter and a casting assistant, but being a writer is definitely her favourite job yet.

You can keep in touch with Olivia through her website oliviabeirne.co.uk, or via Olivia_Beirne on Twitter, olivia.beirne on Instagram and /Olivia-Beirne on Facebook.

Publication: 28th October 2021 – Zaffre

Clare Greene and Sam Wilson are getting married and everyone in Little Bramble is excited for the event of the year. But Clare and Sam are busy people and have left organising their wedding to the last minute.

Luckily, wedding planner Hazel Campbell has recently moved to the village. She had what she thought was a wonderful life in Edinburgh with a successful business, a loving fiance and her own wedding coming up. But when she caught her groom-to-be in bed with her best friend she fled, leaving everyone and everything behind.

Little Bramble seems like the ideal place for Hazel to start over. As she throws herself into planning the perfect country village winter wedding, she starts to find herself again. And soon she realises that a second chance at happiness might just be on the cards…

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of The Country Village Winter Wedding, the entertaining new novel by Cathy Lake.

Hazel Campbell is a wedding planner with a broken heart. Right before her wedding she found her soon-to-be-husband in bed with her best friend and business partner, so she decides to leave everything behind and start again in Little Bramble. With a new house and a new company, all she needs are clients. Everyone in Little Bramble is excited for the wedding of Clare and Sam and thanks to her charm and some brilliant ideas Hazel is hired to organize a winter wedding right before Christmas. Busy with the planning and still bruised by her past experience, romance and love are the last things Hazel is thinking about until she meets Jack who, like Hazel, is in Little Bramble for a new start. Will they find happiness together?

There are lots of things to love in this festive and romantic novel: engaging and likable characters, a beautiful setting, a winter wedding with lots of snow, a close-knit community feeling that comes out from every page, and a heartwarming and emotional story that kept me completely engrossed. I read The Country Village Winter Wedding in one day, captured by the author’s writing style and by the fantastic characters she created. Each character is relatable and authentic and I enjoyed their stories. Full of romance, friendship, and wedding planning, The Country Village Winter Wedding is the perfect story to get you in a Christmas mood!

A huge thank you to Tracy and Zaffre for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

Cathy Lake is a women’s fiction writer who lives with her family and three dogs in beautiful South Wales. She writes uplifting stories about strong women, family, friendship, love, community and overcoming obstacles.

Publication: 2nd November 2021 – Faber & Faber

All magic comes at a price, but love was never part of the bargain . . .

The look he was giving her. Serilda had never been looked at like that before . . . The intensity.
The heat. The raw astonishment. He was going to kiss her.

Cursed by the god of lies, a miller’s daughter has developed a talent for storytelling – but are all of her tales as false as they appear?

When one of Serilda’s stories draws the attention of the devastating Erlking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dungeon and orders her to spin straw into gold, or be killed for lying. In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. But love wasn’t meant to be part of the bargain.

A compulsive read, and as bewitchingly good as you’d expect from a YA bestselling author. You will stay up all night reading this.

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Gilded is an engrossing and riveting story of magical creatures, ghosts, a cruel king, and fairytales with a fantastic and engaging heroine.

The protagonist is Serilda, a young woman with the gift of narrating stories of legends, murders, and sacrifices. Everyone in the village believes Serilda to be cursed and weird. No one believes her stories, except for the children in the school where she works as an assistant.

Once a month, during the full moon, the evil Erlking leads the hunt in which he captures children and magical creatures. And it is to protect two magical creatures that Serilda lies to the Erlking and tells him she can spin straw into gold. Her lie will cost her as the Erlking takes her to Adalheid Castle and orders her to spin straw into gold by the morning or she will die. Help comes in the form of Gild, a mysterious boy with no memory of his past and cursed to never leave the castle. For a price, Gild spins straw into gold, saving Serilda’s life, but the Erlking is not done with her…

Gilded is my first novel by Marissa Meyer and her writing style captured me and kept me glued to the pages. Full of stories and legends, dark creatures, magical places, and forest folk and with a fantastic cast of characters that includes a brave and determined heroine, a witty and adorable romantic interest, and a wicked villain with no conscience, Gilded is a compelling, gripping, and gothic novel of fairytales and legends I can’t wait to read more.

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

Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Renegades Trilogy, The Lunar Chronicles series, the Wires and Nerve graphic novels, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book. Her first standalone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times bestseller. Marissa created and hosts a podcast called The Happy Writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters.

Publication: 14th September 2021 – Bloomsbury

A spark of rebellion is all it takes to DEFY THE NIGHT.

In a kingdom where sickness stalks the streets and only the richest can afford a cure, King Harristan and his brother Prince Corrick are forced to rule with an iron fist.

Tessa Cade is a masked outlaw marked for death, but she likes it that way. Together with the mysterious, handsome Weston, she robs from the rich to help the poor, distributing food and medicine to those who need it most.

As it becomes clear that the only way to save her people is to assassinate the King, Tessa must face a deadly mission that will take her to the dark heart of the kingdom . and force her to work with the very people she intended to destroy.

From New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer comes a brand-new blockbuster fantasy series about a corrupt kingdom, a star-crossed romance and a girl who will do anything for justice.

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Defy The Night is the new gripping novel by one of my favourite authors, Brigid Kemmerer. I loved the Cursebreaker series, and I found myself, once again, addicted to her brilliant writing, her gripping plot, and the fantastic characters she creates.

The Kingdom of Kandala is affected by a disease. People die everyday and the cure is not easy to come by. The King equally rations the cure among the people, but the rich have the means to buy more so that the poor are the ones more affected. Daily, smugglers are caught stealing and brutally executed, while rebellion is spreading.

The story is told from two points of views. In the Wilds, Tessa Cade is an orphan who by day works in an apothecary and by night she distributes the cure to those in need together with her partner in crime Weston Lark. In the meantime, in the Royal Sector, Corrick is the Prince and the King of Justice tasked with stopping and punishing the smugglers and he would do anything to protect his brother, the King of Kandala. Through these two characters we see both sides of this world. Growing up in the Wilds, Tessa wants to help those in need of the cure and she hates the King and his brother, so she finds herself on the side of the rebels. However, when she enters the palace she realizes that the truth is much more complicated and that it is not simply black and white. Corrick is loyal to his brother and he is driven by the need to protect him. He is ruthless and terrifying, but there is more to him than it seems.

Defy The Night is, without a doubt, one of my favourite books of the year, especially because of the amazing cast of characters created by the author. I adored Tessa, Wes, Corrick, Harristan, and also Quint. They are complex and driven, but also charming and funny and I can’t wait to read more about them.

Full of political intrigue, surprises, loyalties, outlaws, and romance, Defy The Night is an uptodownable fantasy that I will keep recommending over and over again!

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

Brigid Kemmerer is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cursebreaker series, which includes A Curse So Dark and Lonely, A Heart So Fierce and Broken, and A Vow So Bold and Deadly. She has also written the contemporary young adult romances Call It What You Want, More Than We Can Tell, and Letters to the Lost, as well as paranormal young adult stories, including the Elemental series and Thicker Than Water. A full-time writer, Brigid lives in the Baltimore area with her family.

brigidkemmerer.com
@BrigidKemmerer

Publication: 28th September 2021 – Simon & Schuster UK

Wynter’s Trees is the home of Christmas. For the people of Wynmouth it’s where they get their family Christmas tree, and where Christmas truly comes to life.

But for Liza Wynter, it’s a millstone around her neck. It was her father’s pride and joy but now he’s gone, she can’t have anything to do with it. Until her father’s business partner decides to retire and she must go back to handle the transition to his son Ned.

When Liza arrives, she discovers a much-loved business that’s flourishing under Ned’s stewardship. And she’s happy to stay and help for the Christmas season, but then she has other plans. But will the place where she grew up make her change her mind? And can it weave its Christmas cheer around her heart…?

Underneath the Christmas Tree is the perfect festive read, promising snowfall, warm fires and breath-taking seasonal romance. Perfect for fans of Milly Johnson, Carole Matthews and Cathy Bramley.

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Good morning everyone and welcome to my stop for the blog tour of Underneath The Christmas Tree, the engrossing new novel by Heidi Swain.

Underneath The Christmas Tree is my first Christmas novel of the year and I couldn’t have chosen a better one. I think that Wynter’s Trees would be a magical place for those who, like me, adore Christmas. Full of Christmas trees and with the brand new Christmas market, it is where Christmas comes to life. Liza Wynter has no intention to go back there, but she has no choice. Her late father’s former partner is retiring and leaving his place to his son Ned and, as a business partner, although a silent one, Liza has to approve it. So, very against her will, she moves back to Wynter’s Trees, but she has every intention to leave as soon as possible. Except, as she keeps spending time there, with her memories, with the locals, and especially with Ned, her resolve to leave everything behind weakens.

I am truly a fan of Heidi Swain’s novels. Underneath The Christmas Tree didn’t disappoint. Her writing is addictive and her stories are heart-warming, entertaining, and romantic. I loved the setting of a place that is essentially the home of Christmas. But, as usual, what I loved most are the characters. Relatable, witty, and enjoyable, all the characters are likable and I really enjoyed the sense of community and unity between all of them.

If you love Christmas stories, romance and friendship, and lots of laugh, then Underneath The Christmas Tree is the right read for you. Also, there is a handsome naked guy who comes out of his house only covered by a small towel not once, but twice!

A huge thank you to SJ Virtue, Harriet, and Simon & Schuster UK for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of the book.

Heidi lives in beautiful south Norfolk with her family and a mischievous cat called Storm. She is passionate about gardening, the countryside, collecting vintage paraphernalia and reading. Her TBR pile is always out of control! To find out more, follow Heidi on twitter @Heidi_Swain or visit her website: heidiswain.co.uk.

Publication: 30th September 2021 – Zaffre

THIS CHRISTMAS IS TO DIE FOR . . . LET THE GAME BEGIN

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house.

Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.

So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house – and not all of them are playing fair.

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life.

Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas.
But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

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Lily Armitage hasn’t been back to Endgame House since her mother’s death when she was young. But, following the death of her aunt Lillian, she has no choice but spend Christmas in the family home with her estranged cousins for the reading of the will and to take part in the traditional Christmas Games. Starting on Christmas Day and for the next twelve days, Lily and her cousins will have to solve the clues left by their aunt to find the keys and win and inherit Endgame House.

Lily has always been good in solving the clues in the previous games, but she is not playing to win the house, but because, in a letter, her aunt promised that winning the game would reveal who really killed her mother. As a snowstorm cuts them off from the outside world, people start dying and, unless someone managed to get into the house, it means that the killer is one of them. But who can Lily trust?

I really enjoyed The Christmas Murder Game. It is suspenseful, full of twists and surprises, and so well-written that I found it difficult to put it down. I liked the setting of a big remote house, with its many rooms and also a maze, where it become very easy to get rid of someone.

The characters are intriguing and suspicious. Everyone has its own motive to take part in the game, inheritance aside, and, at one time or other, I suspected everyone and I didn’t see the truth coming.

Thrilling and unpredictable, with strong Agatha Christie vibes – like in And Then There Were None, who will survive? – The Christmas Murder Game is the perfect immersive read to enjoy as the days turn colder and in front of a fire with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

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

Alexandra Benedict read English at Cambridge and studied creative writing at Sussex. She composed film and television soundtracks, as well as performing as a musician before becoming a full-time writer in 2012. As A. K. Benedict, she published the critically acclaimed The Beauty of Murder and The Evidence of Ghosts. Find out more at www.akbenedict.com or follow her on Twitter @ak_benedict

Publication: 30th September 2021 – Hodder & Stoughton

From the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series, the first book in a new series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after.

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered.

Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game – and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy…

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Stephanie Garber is the reason I read so many fantasy novels. Until a few years ago, I read mostly crime and women’s fiction and then I stumbled upon the Caraval series and I fell in love with this magic world of games and fantasy, bargains and fates and I became addicted to Stephanie’s writing style. Since then, I started reading more and more fantasy books, often because of Stephanie Garber’s recommendations on Instagram.

Once Upon A Broken Heart is her new novel after the Caraval series, set in the same world (although, you can still easily read it if you haven’t read Caraval), with new characters and a couple of old acquaintances, most notably Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

“He looked like a bad decision some unfortunate person was about to make. His midnight-blue hair was unruly, and his sable half cape was rakishly crooked, hanging over one shoulder to reveal a partially buttoned, smoke-gray doublet.”

The protagonist of Once Upon A Broken Heart is Evangeline Fox. She and Luc are in love, about to announce their engagement when, instead, he announces his wedding to another woman. She knows that Luc loves her, but he refuses to see her. The only way to stop the wedding is to make a bargain with the Prince of Hearts, even though she knows that you should never make a bargain with a Fate, especially when that Fate is Jacks.

“Even if you never want to see Jacks again, you’ll gravitate toward him until you fulfill the deal you’ve made with him. But if you desire a chance to happiness, fight the pull – Jacks will only lead to your destruction.”

Evangeline stops the wedding, but at a cost, and then she travels to the mysterious and magnificent North her mother used to tell her about as the ambassador for the Meridian Empire where, once again, her life becomes entangled with Jacks.

We had to wait two years for a new novel by Stephanie Garber, but it was worth it. Addictive, intriguing, and hard to put down, Once Upon A Broken Heart proves, once again, that Stephanie Garber is a master storyteller. The characters are incredible and engaging and I am delighted that Jacks finally got his own story to tell. Evangeline is a fantastic, smart, and witty heroine and I can’t wait to see what is coming up next for her in the sequel.

Once Upon A Broken Heart is a must-read, an enchanting and riveting story set in a fantastic world of fairytales, curses, bargains, elixirs, and romance that I couldn’t put down!

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

P. S.: how beautiful is the UK edition with its secret covers???

Stephanie Garber wanted to be an explorer until she realised most of the world had already been discovered. So she started creating her own worlds, which is why she now writes imaginative fiction. When she’s not writing, Stephanie teaches creative writing at a private college in northern California.

Publication: 12th October 2021 – Titan Books

A stunningly written, lush dark fantasy perfect for fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely and Uprooted.

There are monsters in the world.

Violeta Graceling has spent her life in an isolated cottage, trying to protect herself and her beloved younger brother Arien from their adoptive mother’s twisted cruelty. A cruelty driven by the mysterious shadows that unwillingly spill from Arien’s hands, spelling dark magic and an even darker underworld.

To escape means taking a position at the haunted estate of Rowan Sylvanan―the so-called “Monster of Lakesedge”―who comes seeking Arien’s dark magic. The monster who, it is whispered, stalks the halls of his manor and the shores of the blackened, cursed lake. Yet as Violeta investigates Lakesedge’s tragic history, she discovers that its prickly, standoffish lord is far from a monster, but an orphaned boy not much older than she is. As their friendship blossoms, Violeta learns the tragic truth of Rowan’s curse and his fateful bargain with the Lord Under. To save Lakesedge, she must make a bargain of her own with the fiendish being who rules over the world Below.

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Lakesedge is an engrossing and dark fantasy novel, the first book in what promises to be a brilliant duology, about a young woman who would do anything to protect her younger brother, even allying with a monster.

Violeta “Leta” Graceling has always taken care of her brother Arien. They live in an isolated cottage with the cruel woman who adopted them after the death of their parents. Dark shadows live inside Arien’s body and Leta lives in fear that someone is going to find out and kill Arien.

One day, in their village, Lord Rowan Sylvanan – also known as the Monster of Lakesedge – comes to collect tithes. Everyone knows what he did to his family, and when he discovers Arien’s secret and wants to take him back with him to Lakesedge Estate, Leta has no choice but to go with them to his big and solemn house. Here, Leta discovers that Rowan is not the monster everyone believes and that there is a powerful curse that haunts them all.

Lakesedge is such an intriguing and thrilling story. There is magic and alchemy, family curses and gods of death, and, of course, fantastic chemistry and romance between the heroine and the villain(-who-is-not-a-monster-after-all). The characters are all captivating and engaging, especially Leta. She is a brave, strong, and determined protagonist, ready to sacrifice herself to the darkness and death to save the people she loves.

Lakesedge is a well-written, compelling, and dark gothic novel that ends with a cliffhanger that makes me impatient to read the sequel! Highly recommended!!!

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

Lyndall Clipstone writes about monsters and the girls who like to kiss them. A former youth librarian who grew up running wild in the Barossa Ranges of South Australia, she currently lives in Adelaide, where she tends her own indoor secret garden. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram @lkclipstone and at lyndallclipstone.com

Publication: 5th October 2021 – Lake Union Publishing

The highly-anticipated new novel from bestselling author Hannah Beckerman, The Impossible Truths of Love slips between past and present, mother and daughter, to explore the secrets we keep to protect those we love.

As Nell’s father is dying, he makes a final declaration that hints at a long-held family secret. Feelings of isolation that have plagued Nell for years resurface, and suspicions about her past are raised.

Thirty-five years earlier, Annie was devastated by a series of traumas: one shock after another that she buried deep in her heart. The decisions she made were motivated by love, but she feared even then that nobody could ever understand her actions, let alone forgive her.

As their stories unravel, a generation apart, Nell finally discovers the devastating truth about her mother’s past, and her own.

A gripping, emotionally charged novel, The Impossible Truths of Love is a moving story about identity, secrets, and what it really means to feel that you’re one of the family.

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of The Impossible Truths of Love, the incredible new novel by Hannah Beckerman.

The Impossible Truths of Love is out today so go and buy a copy and also grab a few tissues because this is an emotional novel that it will make you shed a few tears. It is the heart-breaking and thought-provoking story of a family, a mother overwhelmed by a series of traumas and grief and with a huge secret to keep, and a daughter in search of the truth.

Nell has always known how much her parents love her, but her dying father’s last words and her mother’s odd comments, not caused by her dementia, make her think that her parents have been keeping a huge secret from her and she starts questioning everything she knows about her past and her family.

The story is told in two timelines. In the present, Nell’s need to figure out the secret her parents have been keeping make her question old friends, go through family photos, and revisit her memories in search of the truth. Her mother’s deteriorating mental health make her unreliable, so the author takes the reader back in the past when a younger Annie goes through a series of traumas that lead her to make a life-changing decision.

Nell and Annie’s stories are told in parallel. I sympathized with Nell in her search of the truth, in her shock at its discovery and the way she handled it. I found Annie’s narrative heart-breaking and thought-provoking and I really felt for her. A series of devastating traumas and a deep love for her child led her to make a choice and keep a secret for more than thirty years. Did she do right? Did she do wrong? What would you have done in her place?

Beautifully-written, gripping, and moving, The Impossible Truths of Love is one of these novels that you can’t stop thinking about it days after finishing reading it proving that Hannah Beckerman is an amazing storyteller! Highly recommended!!!

A huge thank you to Rhiannon and FMcM Associates for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.

Hannah Beckerman is a novelist and journalist. She is a book critic and features writer for The Observer and FT Weekend Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of publications from The Guardian to Red magazine. As a regular chair at literary festivals and corporate events she has interviewed a host of authors and celebrities, as well as appearing as a book critic on BBC Radio 2 and Times Radio. Prior to becoming a
full-time writer, Hannah worked in television as a producer and commissioning editor for the BBC, Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel USA. She lives in London. The Impossible Truths of Love is her third novel.

Publication: 2nd September 2021 – Corvus

The perfect getaway – to get away with murder…

Georgie, Lissa and Bronwyn have been best friends since they met on their college swimming team. Now Lissa is dead – drowned off the coast of the remote island where her second husband owns a luxury resort. But could a star open-water swimmer really have drowned? Or is something more sinister going on?

Brought together for Lissa’s memorial, Georgie, Bron, Lissa’s grieving husband and their friends find themselves questioning the circumstances around Lissa’s death – and each other. As the weather turns ominous, trapping the guests on the island, it slowly dawns on them that Lissa’s death was only the beginning. Nobody knows who they can trust. Or if they’ll make it off the island alive…

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For me, Lexie Elliott is a must-buy author, one of those authors whose new book I pick up without hesitation ever since I first read her debut novel, The French Girl. I love her writing style, the suspenseful plots full of twists, and the multi-layered and intriguing characters.

How To Kill Your Best Friend is set on a small island where Georgie has just arrived for a short stay. Georgie is not on holiday, she is there for the memorial of her best friend Lissa who is believed to have drown during a night swim, her body never found. At the memorial, there are Georgie and Lissa’s closest friends, Bronwyn, Adam, Duncan, and Jem, Lissa’s husband and owner of the luxury hotel on the island. While the others reminisce about old times, Georgie is convinced that Lissa’s death was not an accident. She was an excellent swimmer and why would she be swimming in the middle of the night? In the meantime, Bron is receiving threats, someone is attacked, and a storm could prevent them from leaving the island.

I really enjoyed How To Kill Your Best Friend. It is chilling, twisty, and intense, a story full of secrets, lies, revenge, and guilt. There is murder, there is a storm that isolates the characters, there is a mysterious creature swimming deep into the ocean, and there is a curse that haunts the cove… everything to make this a gripping psychological thriller! The story is told from the point of view of Georgie and Bron, but Lissa, through the many stories of her friends, is the protagonist and probably the most complex character.

How To Kill Your Best Friend is a brilliant and addictive thriller featuring a group of friends on a remote island with their secrets, hidden truths, and dysfunctional relationships. And when these threaten to come to light, everyone is in danger and who can they trust?

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

Lexie Elliott grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. She graduated from Oxford University where she obtained a doctorate in theoretical physics. A keen sportswoman, she works in fund management in London, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport.