Book After Book

Publication: 9th September 2021 – Penguin

The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions – including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.

As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture – by any means necessary.

With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.

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The Hawthorne Legacy is the gripping and addictive sequel to The Inheritance Games in which Avery Grambs, a seventeen-year-old living between her sister’s place and her own car following the death of her mother, finds out to be the heiress of a large fortune.

Following the events of the first book, someone is still threatening Avery’s life, while she is still getting accustomed to what it means being the heiress of one of the richest men in the world (i.e. attending parties, giving interviews, being chased by paparazzi). Also, she is trying to figure out the clues left by billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. With the help of the four Hawthorne brothers, Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander, she finds out more about the family, about her own past, and she gets closer to solving the mystery of why Tobias Hawthorne chose her as his sole heir of Tobias Hawthorne.

The Hawthorne Legacy is sooo good! A YA novel full of twists and surprises, entertaining, fast-paced, and intriguing…I couldn’t put it down! Imagine a huge mansion with its locked rooms and full of secret tunnels. Add mysteries, puzzles, secrets, and characters who are charming, witty, and very likable. There is also a love triangle that kept me completely engrossed (and I still haven’t decided if I am Team Jameson or Team Grayson). Book three can’t come soon enough… highly recommended!

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

Jennifer Lynn Barnes has written more than a dozen acclaimed young adult novels. Jen is also a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012 and is currently a professor of psychology and professional writing at the University of Oklahoma. You can find her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com or follow her on Twitter @jenlynnbarnes.

Publication: 30th August 2021

What happens when a neurotic cat rescue lady, who considers herself a magnet for bad-news men, tries to heal her PTSD with self-help books and YouTube videos? One hilarious cat and therapy adventure after another. If you’re a cat lover or an abuse survivor, be prepared to laugh your way through this wacky, fast-paced novella!  

AMAZON

21. 

I always knew I’d find him. It was just that kind of dream. Still, proof is nice. Proof that some dreams do mean what they say. Proof that sometimes we do find what we’ve been searching for.  

22. 

Sometimes. With other dreams, who knows? 

23. 

With this dream last night: The sun hovers in a clear summer sky, bathing my face in warmth. It feels good. I shift the two backpacks I’m carrying, one on each shoulder. Walking up sloped pavement, I reach the wooded area on the far side of the parking lot. Lowering my backpacks to the ground, I sit on the curb and rest my head in my hands. Not for sadness. Or weariness. But for joy. In a few minutes my best friend will arrive. We’re going on vacation. Taking three weeks to drive from one coast to the other and back again, stopping wherever we like along the way. New towns to explore. New sights to see. Two small backpacks are all we’re taking on this trip. The goal is to travel light. Nothing weighing us down. At the end of the trip she’ll return to this city. Not me. I quit my job and moved out of my apartment this morning. Everything I own is in these two backpacks. I’m ready for a change. A big one. I need to get out of here. See more of life while I can. Meet new people. See new places. If I like one of the towns we stop at along the way, I’ll stay. Live there awhile. Find a job, an apartment. Maybe adopt a cat from the local rescue. I love cats. I miss having one in my life. This is my chance. I’m taking it. A Toyota turns into the parking lot and pulls up in front of me. A woman rolls down the window, rests her elbow on the door, and smiles. “Ready?” she asks. She knows how I am. She knows what it feels like when your soul tells you this place isn’t where you’re supposed to be anymore. That it’s time to leave. To move on. After all, that’s how we met. On the road. Two years ago. “Let the adventure begin,” I say, smiling back at her. It’s time to go.     

24. 

And that’s it. End of dream. 

25. 

What did it mean? I have no idea. But I woke up this morning with a craving for a backpack. Had to have one. Not just any backpack. But a small one. Small enough to use as a purse. Drove to Target after work to buy one. Found a little backpack in the children’s department. Loved it. Bought it. Blame it on the dream. I did.   

26.  

Sponges. Any kind. Petunia has a thing for them. The cat likes to jump in the kitchen sink, perform a series of gymnastics and gyrations, lift a paw, swipe the sponge off the ledge, hug it, wrestle with it, and attack it. “Stop that,” I say, while she works herself into a frenzy, gnawing the corners of the sponge. I wrench it from her jaws and put it back on the ledge next to the bottle of dishwashing liquid where it belongs. She gives me her best impression of an innocent look. I’m not buying it. “Do you know,” I say, “according to a popular guru on YouTube, we’re all just consciousness inhabiting a body. We’re not our thoughts. We’re not our bodies. We’re consciousness.” In response, Petunia demonstrates her talent for slithering around the perimeter of the sink like a snake, claws clicking against stainless steel. “The guru said this is a life-altering revelation,” I continue. “It’s supposed to be the answer we’ve all been searching for, the key to enlightenment. He said knowing this will change everything. It’s an interesting concept. I like it. But what do you think? Does knowing this change anything for you?” Petunia flips over, grabs the pink sponge from the ledge, bites off the corner, and spits it out. “I guess not,” I say. 

27. 

But he’s right. The guru. It does make a difference. Consciousness. I am consciousness. When terrorizing thoughts from my bad-news past appear, I rule. Consciousness rules. And I am consciousness. Nothing more. Nothing less. End of story. I rule. Nice. Very nice. I like.  

28. 

This week a gibbous moon hangs from the sky. Not a full moon. Not a crescent moon. Not a new moon. Not a sliver or a full bloom. Just a bulbous blob of moonglow. Gibbous. What an odd word. Funny to see, funny to say. Gibbous. Gibbous moon. Gibbidy, gibbidy, gibbidy-goop. I stop by the hospital to visit a friend. He was a good guy until he started hanging out with a bad crowd. Adopted their bad habits. Addicts. All of them. He developed a heart condition. Takes medication for it every day. Now he’s in the hospital with a heart flutter. I’m not surprised. Those friends of his were bad news from the start. It was easy to see. But he couldn’t. He still can’t. They’re still his “buddies.” Bad company. Walking down the corridor on his floor, I pass several rooms before I reach his. In one room a man tells the doctor he sees visions. Ex-girlfriends and giant animals. Must be the gibbous moon. In the next room, a man covered in blood screams like a maniac, trying to pull out his tubes. Three nurses struggle to subdue him. By the time I reach my friend’s room, I’m done. Enough is enough. We need to talk. No matter how much you love your buddies, they aren’t worth ending up in a place like this. Now he needs extra heart medication (doesn’t work). Then shock therapy to stabilize his heart (does work). We have a nice visit. I only yell at him for an hour. Then I leave. Return to my life with cats. The ones who fill my days with laughter. Good company. It’s no wonder I prefer my buddies to have fur and purr, gibbous moon or not.   

Laura Stamps is the author of several novels, short story collections, and poetry books, including IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RIDE: CAT MANIA (Alien Buddha Press), THE YEAR OF THE CAT (Artemesia Publishing), and IN THE GARDEN (The Moon). Winner of the Muses Prize. Recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and 7 Pushcart Prize nominations. Mom of 5 cats. Twitter: @LauraStamps16. Website: www.laurastampspoetry.blogspot.com   

Publication: 10th June 2021 – Orion

Two friends. Two decades.
One big mistake…

Nat and Zoe have always shared everything.

Hopeless crushes, emergency tampons, messy sex stories, work triumphs, those days where you can’t stop crying in the loos, those days where you can’t stop dancing on the bar. They even share the same birthday, FFS. The struggle is real, but they’ll always have each other.

Except best friends forever is a hard promise to keep…

Eye-wateringly hilarious, tender and true, this a story about growing up, falling apart, and the friendships that hold us together.

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I really enjoyed Lucy Vine’s latest novel, Bad Choices. I was completely engrossed in this honest, entertaining and, at times, emotional story of two women and their twenty-year-long friendship, with its ups and downs, its secrets and revelations.

Natalie and Zoe met when they were fourteen years old, both crying in a loo cubicle on their own birthday. From that moment, a beautiful, close, and strong friendship is born and we meet them every year as they celebrate their birthdays together, sometimes just the two of them, sometimes with friends and families. As they celebrate yet another birthday, we learn more about them, about their struggles, their hopes, and their dreams. About their love, their jobs, and their lives. Things change, but Natalie and Zoe are still best friends.

I liked the characters of Natalie and Zoe. They feel realistic and relatable, I felt for them at their lowest, I cheered for them when they succeeded. Sometimes, I found Natalie a little annoying – she is the first to admit that she is always annoying -, but I liked her enthusiasm and how she speaks without filters, her dialogue a stream of thought that it often made me laugh. On the other hand, Zoe is bit reserved and introvert, keeping things more to herself. Despite being different, despite a few betrayals and jealousies, their friendship is authentic and strong.

Bad Choices is a brilliant and beautiful story that I devoured in two days. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Orion for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Lucy Vine is a writer, editor and columnist. She’s also the best selling author of Hot Mess, What Fresh Hell and Are We Nearly There Yet? Book 4, Bad Choices is out 10 June 2021
@lecv
www.lucyvine.co.uk

Publication: 21st September 2021 – Lake Union Publishing

In this evocative tale from the bestselling author of The Dressmaker’s Gift, a strange new city offers a young girl hope. Can it also offer a lost soul a second chance?

Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca, where they await safe passage to America. Life here is as intense as the sun, every sight, smell and sound overwhelming to the senses in a city filled with extraordinary characters. It’s a world away from the trouble back home―and Josie loves it.

Seventy years later, another new arrival in the intoxicating port city, Zoe, is struggling―with her marriage, her baby daughter and her new life as an expat in an unfamiliar place. But when she discovers a small wooden box and a diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter’s bedroom, Zoe enters the inner world of young Josie, who once looked out on the same view of the Atlantic Ocean, but who knew a very different Casablanca.

It’s not long before Zoe begins to see her adopted city through Josie’s eyes. But can a new perspective help her turn tragedy into hope, and find the comfort she needs to heal her broken heart?

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Josie’s Journal – Wednesday 1^st January 1941

 I love my new journal. Papa told me it’s for me to write my life story in. He knows I want to be a writer, and he says it’s also good to write things down because then you don’t have to carry them around in your head all the time and that it might help me not to have so many bad dreams. It’s my best Christmas present. This year we got dresses made of silk because the big trunk with all our good clothes went missing somewhere in Marseille, or maybe on the way to Algeria. Anyway, it wasn’t there when we got off the boat in Oran. Maman says we’ll need something to wear when we go out now that we have a proper home again because the one thing Casablanca does have is a social life. The hotels and bars are full of people, some who live and work here and many who are just passing through like us. There are even tea dances at the Hotel Excelsior on Saturday afternoons, so those might cheer Annette up a bit. Even though my dress is nice and I know it must have cost a lot, it was a bit of a boring present. My new notebook and the little basket of sugared almonds were better.

I’m going to go to sleep now. We stayed up late last night to celebrate the arrival of the new year. I wore my new dress and I was allowed a glass of champagne. It didn’t taste as nice as lemonade really, but everyone was making a big fuss about it so I pretended to enjoy it. It’s the start of our new life too. I’m sad to have left France, but excited to be going to America to meet my cousins there. Maybe when the war is over we will go back to Paris and I’ll see my friends again. I suppose many of them will have left too. I hope they are alright and have somewhere safe to go like us. I’m sending them good wishes now. I hope I’ll sleep well tonight now that I’ve started writing things down in my journal.

Goodnight.

Fiona spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007, before returning to live in Scotland. Her love for both of these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into the books she’s written.

She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of the Second Word War, and her meticulous historical research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.

An acclaimed Number 1 bestselling author, Fiona Valpy’s books have been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide.

Publication: 16th September 2021

It’s the following Thursday.

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He’s made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can the Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?

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The gang is back! There is never a dull moment at Cooper’s Chase, Britain’s First Luxury Retirement Village, as the Thursday Murder Club finds itself, once again, in the middle of an investigation. This time, it involves spies, stolen diamonds, and, of course, murder.

Elizabeth’s past resurfaces as an old friend and colleague asks for her help to protect him. And then, there is a murder and Elizabeth and her friends need to stop a killer and find some stolen diamonds.

The Man Who Died Twice is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series and it is as brilliant and engrossing as the first novel. It can easily be read as a stand-alone, but, if you still haven’t read it, I highly recommend you read The Thursday Murder Club first for a fantastic introduction to these incredible characters: Elizabeth, a former spy full of surprises and tricks; Joyce, a former nurse who is not as innocent as she looks; Ron, a former Labour Unionist who is not afraid to go under cover; Ibrahim, a retired psychologist who is also very good with technology; and let’s not forget police detectives Donna De Frietas and Chris Hudson who, somehow and sometimes against their will, find themselves involved in the cases of the Thursday Murder Club.

The Man Who Died Twice is a thrilling, immersive, and very well-written novel. It is told from many perspectives and I especially adore Joyce’s diary which is always a fun and entertaining read. We learn more about Elizabeth’s secret past and we get a more insightful glimpse into the personal lives of the two police detectives. Full of surprises and twists, this is a book I won’t stop recommending while waiting to see what’s up next for these fantastic characters!

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

Richard Osman is an author, producer and television presenter. His first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, was a million-copy bestseller. Critics have already described The Man Who Died Twice as ‘his second novel’.

This review was featured on Twinkl as part of their Literary Lovers campaign.

Publication: 7th October 2021 – Hodder & Stoughton

The magical and exciting sequel to The Prison Healer from Australia’s #1 YA author Lynette Noni.

Kiva Meridan is a survivor.

She survived not only Zalindov prison, but also the deadly Trial by Ordeal. Now Kiva’s purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. For the past ten years, her only goal has been to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever.

As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers she wasn’t the only one who suffered while she was in Zalindov-her siblings and their beliefs have changed too. Soon it’s not just her enemies she’s keeping secrets from, but her own family as well.

Outside the city walls, tensions are brewing from the rebels, along with whispers of a growing threat from the northern kingdoms. Kiva’s allegiances are more important than ever, but she’s beginning to question where they truly lie. To survive this time, she’ll have to navigate a complicated web of lies before both sides of the battle turn against her and she loses everything.

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I read The Prison Healer twice in a few months, completely addicted to the story of Kiva Meridan, how she ended up, at seven years of age, in the prison of Zalandov, how she became the prison healer, how she met Tipp, Jaren, and Naari and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. So when Hodder & Stoughton accepted my request for the proof of The Gilded Cage (thank you so much!) I read it straight away. After reading the reactions of those who have already read The Gilded Cage, I went into it both excited and scared and, after finishing reading it, I can say I was right and to say that I ADORED The Gilded Cage is to say little.

Kiva is torn between her loyalty towards her own family and her mixed feelings for the family she’s hated for the last ten years and who she blames for the death of some members of her family. However, she slowly starts realizing that the truth is not at all what she thought, and she feels more and more guilty for the lies and secrets that she keeps both from Jaren and from her siblings.

The Gilded Cage is brilliantly written and once I started reading it was very difficult to put it down. I love the characters: Kiva, the heroine torn between her loyalty to her family and her growing feelings toward her enemy; Jaren, the handsome prince who, I have to say, is too good to be true; the adorable Tipp, who’s become like a younger brother to Kiva; Caldon, the funny and smarter-than-he-looks cousin of the prince; and Naari, the loyal guard who’s become friend to Kiva.

I am dying to get my hands on the third book, The Blood Traitor, especially after yet another shocking ending, full of surprises and revelations that I didn’t see coming and that kept me on the edge of my seat. The Gilded Cage is an immersive, intriguing, and superb story of revenge, loyalties, and magic and, together with its prequel The Prison Healer, is at the top of my list of favourite books of the year.

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.

Publication: 2nd September 2021 – DelRey

Welcome to the Winter Garden. Open only at 13 o’clock.

You are invited to enter an unusual competition.

I am looking for the most magical, spectacular, remarkable pleasure garden this world has to offer.

On the night her mother dies, 8-year-old Beatrice receives an invitation to the mysterious Winter Garden. A place of wonder and magic, filled with all manner of strange and spectacular flora and fauna, the garden is her solace every night for seven days. But when the garden disappears, and no one believes her story, Beatrice is left to wonder if it were truly real.

Eighteen years later, on the eve of her wedding to a man her late father approved of but she does not love, Beatrice makes the decision to throw off the expectations of Victorian English society and search for the garden. But when both she and her closest friend, Rosa, receive invitations to compete to create spectacular pleasure gardens – with the prize being one wish from the last of the Winter Garden’s magic – she realises she may be closer to finding it than she ever imagined.

Now all she has to do is win.

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of The Winter Garden, the fantastic new novel by Alex Bell which is out today (happy pubblication day!)

“You’ll never find it in one place for long. It goes where it is needed, appearing from nothing and vanishing just as quickly.”

Who wouldn’t want to visit the Winter Garden? “A place of wonder and magic”, full of impossible flowers, mushrooms that dance, strange birds, fairies, and trees that whisper secrets. The Winter Garden belongs to the Spider Queen and it appears to people during their darkest and bleakest moments. It first appeared to Beatrice Sitwell when she was eight years old and, since then, she’s been obsessed with finding it again. Her friend Rosa is also looking for the Winter Garden to wish back the thing that she loves most in the world.

Beatrice and Rosa are best friend and yet, they couldn’t be more different. Daughter of Lord Sitwell and owner of Half Moon House, Beatrice is expected to marry well and become the obedient wife of a man who will take everything she owns. However, against society’s expectations and much to her aunt’s dismay, Beatrice wants to be independent, free to travel around the world and discover strange and magical plants and animals. On the other hand, Rosa is an American heiress. She dreams to marry an Englishman and acquire a title and a family while she builds incredible clockwork. Both women realize their dreams, but their friendship is tested when they are invited to take part in a competition to create a magnificent garden that will win one of them a wish.

I really enjoyed The Winter Garden and I liked the characters of Beatrice and Rosa. The author describes an accurate Victorian England in which women are expected to marry and take care of their husband, without having any ambition or independence. However, Beatrice and Rosa are different. Beatrice shocks society be traveling around the world (or also on the streets of London) alone and without a chaperone (which was unheard of!). And, when she is refused entrance to a renowned scientific society to present her unique findings because of her gender, she doesn’t give up. Rosa is forced to turn her fortune to her husband at their wedding, but she cleverly manages to keep control of their relationship and to defend herself when necessary.

The Winter Garden is a fantastic, entertaining, and engrossing novel full of magical elements and emotional and compelling storylines and it’s out now, so don’t miss it!

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

Alexandra Bell was born in 1986. She studied Law at university and signed her first book deal at nineteen. Since then, she has written books for both adults and young people, including the Zoella Bookclub pick, Frozen Charlotte, and The Polar Bear Explorer’s Club series, under the name Alex Bell. She lives in Hampshire in a house ruled by Siamese cats.

Publication: 2nd September 2021 – Moonflower Books

Assassins are hunting the daughter of the Prime Minister… How long will she hide before it’s time to fight back? The thrilling sequel to Number 10, which was named a YA Book of the Year by the Independent and FT.

Gray Langtry is on the run. As the only child of the British Prime Minister, Gray’s life has been in turmoil ever since her mother was chosen to lead the country. Both she and her mother are targets of a Russian assassination plot. And what’s worse, members of her mother’s own cabinet are involved. A team of bodyguards never leaves her side. The press attention is relentless. And then there are the death threats.

Now, after an attempt on Gray’s life, she has been moved to an elite boarding school in the British countryside. Shielded by high walls and locked gates, Gray finally feels safe, but the plotters are still hunting, and soon they will find her. Gray’s personal bodyguard, Julia, and the school’s young headmistress are determined to protect her. They both know how dangerous things are. The assassins searching for Gray are highly trained. And when they arrive they will aim to kill. Dylan, a mysterious American student, seems to know more than he should – but he’s always there when Gray needs him. Can she trust him? Can she trust anyone?

As winter closes in and darkness falls, Gray will have to think fast.

The hunters are coming.

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of Codename Firefly, the brand new novel by C. J. Daughterty.

Unless it’s fantasy, I don’t usually read much YA novels, but last year I took part in the blog tour for Number 10, the first book of this wonderful series, initially simply because I love the author’s adult novels (written under the name Christi Daugherty). As I expected, I also enjoyed her YA novel, so when I was asked if I wanted to take part in the blog tour for the sequel, Codename Firefly, I didn’t think twice before gladly accepting.

The protagonist of this series is Gray Langtry. She is a sixteen-year-old girl, but she is not any normal girl. She is the only daughter of England’s Prime Minister. In Number 10, she barely survived a terrorist attack so now she is attending Cimmeria Academy where it is believed she will be safe. However, a terrorist group is still after her to get to her mother and they are ready to do anything to get their hands on her. The security at the school is high and Gray’s own bodyguards are more than capable, so how do intruders keep getting into the school?

Gray is a fantastic well-drawn character and I really like her. She wishes for a normal life of school and going out with friends, but, as the Prime Minister’s daughter, she knows she will never have one. She is struggling with her fears following the events in Number 10, however she’s is determined to not let the bad guys win. So, after a slightly rough beginning at Cimmeria Academy, we see Gray make a few friends, make an enemy out of the most popular student, growing a crush on another student, sneak out of the school in the middle of the night for a small adventure… essentially trying to have a kind of regular life, even if this means having a team of bodyguards around her.

The story is intriguing and suspenseful, and I love the English college life with which I fell in love when I was younger and reading Harry Potter (although here there are dangerous men with guns and knives and not wands). I really enjoyed Codename Firefly and I am already looking forward to the sequel to see what happens next.

A huge thank you to Sofia and Midas PR for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of this captivating novel.

A former crime reporter and accidental civil servant, C.J. Daugherty began writing the Night School series while working as a communications consultant for the Home Office. The young adult series was published by Little Brown and went on to sell over a million and a half copies worldwide. A web series inspired by the books clocked up well over a million views. In 2020, the books were optioned for television. She later wrote The Echo Killing series, published by St Martin’s Press, and co-wrote the fantasy series, The Secret Fire, with French author Carina Rosenfeld.

While working as a civil servant, she had meetings at Number 10 Downing Street, and saw people disappearing through a small door leading to a staircase heading below ground level. This visit became the inspiration for Number 10.  FYI: She still doesn’t know if there are tunnels below Number 10. But she hopes there are.

Her books have been translated into 24 languages and been bestsellers in multiple countries. She lives with her husband, the BAFTA nominated filmmaker, Jack Jewers. 

Publication: 19th August 2021 – Michael Joseph

Teddy Crutcher has just won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, home exclusively to the brightest and the best.

He says his wife couldn’t be more proud – though no-one has seen her in a while.

He’s deeply committed to improving his students. And well aware which ones need improving.

And all he wants is for his colleagues – and the endlessly interfering parents – to stay out of his way.

Oddly, not everyone agrees that Teddy has their best interests at heart.

But will that change when someone receives a lesson to die for…?

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Good morning and welcome on my stop for the blog tour for For Your Own Good, the thrilling new novel by Samantha Downing.

Belmont Academy is an exclusive school where wealthy parents send their children in the hope they can get in the best universities and where teachers seem eager for their students to succeed. Teddy Crutcher has been named Teacher of the Year and he has a plaque on the wall of his class that reminds it to everyone. Teddy thinks he deserves the plaque even though he is not like the other teachers who are mostly former students of the academy. He wasn’t a spoiled and entitled student like the children at Belmont so he enjoys punishing them with extra work. He dislikes the students, their parents, and the other teachers, he is jealous and vindictive and arrogant, so, of course, something bad is bound to happen… and then another, and then another. Is anyone safe at Belmont Academy?

After reading a few fantasy books, I needed a change of genre and a good thriller was the right fit. Slow-burning and engrossing, I read For Your Own Good in one night, in one sitting, staying up late to finish it because I needed to see how it would end (thankfully I was off work so I didn’t need to get up early in the morning).

The plot is clever and intriguing with a constant sense of dread that something bad is about to happen – and it usually does. The story is told from different narrators, starting from Teddy who, in an arrogant and narcissistic way, tries to justify to the reader his behaviour. There are other characters who play a part in Teddy’s twisted narrative: the teacher who befriends the students, the student who is pressured by his parents to be the best, the former student on a revenge path, the math teacher on the verge of a mental breakdown… quite a cast of complex characters!

I found For Your Own Good impossible to put down: lies, revenge, obsession, and murder, multi-layered characters, twists and turns every few pages… what more do you want?

A huge thank you to Kallie and Michael Joseph for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a copy of this incredible novel.

Samantha Downing lives in New Orleans. Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and has been published in thirty languages. It won a Dead Good Reader Award, and was shortlisted for four other major awards: The CWA John Creasey Dagger, The Edgar Award for Best First Novel, The ITW Thriller Award for Best First Novel and The Macavity Award for Best First Mystery. There will also be a forthcoming film adaptation, produced by Nicole Kidman. Her second novel, He Started It, was also a Sunday Times bestseller.

Publication: 19th August 2021 – Hodder & Stoughton

ONE DEAD BODY
TWELVE SUSPECTS
TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR DARKNESS

In the most inhospitable environment – cut off from the rest of the world – there’s a killer on the loose.
A&E doctor Kate North has been knocked out of her orbit by a personal tragedy. So when she’s offered the chance to be an emergency replacement at the UN research station in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. The previous doctor, Jean-Luc, died in a tragic accident out on the ice.

The move seems an ideal solution for Kate: no one knows about her past; no one is checking up on her. But as total darkness descends for the winter, she begins to suspect that Jean-Luc’s death wasn’t accidental at all. And the more questions she asks, the more dangerous it becomes for them all…

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

I am delighted to welcome you on my stop on the blog tour for The Dark, the thrilling new novel by Emma Haughton.

A&E doctor Kate North thought that accepting the position of doctor in a research station in the Antarctica would mean a fresh start, a way to forget about her problems and the past few months of her life. However, imagine finding yourself in one of the coldest places on the planet, living together with a group of strangers, a place where your daily and familiar comforts are missing, with little communications to the outside world, and, when winter comes, complete darkness 24/7. It’s certainly not an easy living situation. Tempers run high, paranoia starts spreading, trust is tested, and Kate starts to suspect that the death of the former doctor of the base was not an accident.

The story is told from Kate North’s perspective. This character feels realistic and she is also flawed and unreliable. She took the job to leave her old life behind and try to forget the tragic accident that changed her life. However, she can’t control her addiction to painkillers and she can’t shake the feeling that something suspicious is going on at the base. Is there really a killer on the loose at the base? Who can she trust?

I think that the author made a clever and original choice choosing Antarctica as the setting for this gripping and engrossing thriller. Antarctica is a dangerous and unforgiving place, the constant darkness, cold, and isolation can affect even the strongest minds.

The Dark is intense and suspenseful and very well-written. The darkness surrounding the base, the sense of dread and suspicion that increased as I turned each page gave me the chills despite the heat wave. A must-read thriller!!!

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

Emma Haughton grew up in Sussex, studied English at Oxford, and worked as a freelance journalist for a number of national newspapers, including the Times Travel section. She has written several non-fiction books for schools, as well as three young adult thrillers. The Dark is her first crime novel.