Book After Book

Publication: 14th November 2019 – Hodder & Stoughton

A cold case for Captain Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido of the Hawks elite police unit – not what they were looking for. And a difficult case, too. The body of Johnson Johnson, ex-cop, has been found beside a railway line. He appears to have jumped from South Africa’s – perhaps the world’s – most luxurious train, and two suspicious characters seen with him have disappeared into thin air. The regular police have already failed to make progress and others are intent on muddying the waters.

Meanwhile in Bordeaux, Daniel Darret is settled in a new life on a different continent. A quiet life. But his skills as an international hit-man are required one more time, and Daniel is given no choice in the matter. He must hunt again – his prey the corrupt president of his homeland.

Three strands of the same story become entwined in a ferocious race against time – for the Hawks to work out what lies behind the death of Johnson, for Daniel to evade the relentless Russian agents tracking him, for Benny Griessel to survive long enough to take another huge step in his efforts to piece together again the life he nearly destroyed – and finally ask Alexa Bernard to marry him.

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Happy Monday everyone and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Last Hunt, the latest thrilling novel by Deon Meyer.

The Last Hunt is the sixth novel featuring Cape Town Captain Benny Griessel, but it’s my first book in this series and by this author. I had no problem following the story as it can easily be read as a stand-alone and, if you’ll enjoy it as much as I did, you’ll soon be reading even the previous five novels. The protagonist of the series, Captain Benny Griessel, is part of the Hawks, an elite unit of the police of Cape Town and, together with his partner Vaughan Cupido, he is called to investigate the murder of an ex bodyguard, Johnson Johnson, who disappeared during a job and whose body was found a few days later. The case is weeks old, assigned to the Hawks unit when it is clear that the local police isn’t able to solve the murder. Their job is not made easy by some powerful forces who want to stop them from finding out the truth…

In the meantime, in Bordeaux, France, Daniel Darret is leading a quiet life after leaving behind his life as a professional hit-man. However, someone from his past has found him and they need his help to save his country. From Europe to South Africa, the author takes us in a world of political corruption, blackmail, and murder that kept me completely captivated.

The Last Hunt is quite a rollercoaster of a read. With a fast-paced and gripping storyline, it is a bit spy-story a bit thriller and I loved how the detectives’ personal lives mixed with the story. Will Benny find the courage to propose to his girlfriend? Will Daniel have the quiet life he dreams of? With the tension high from the first to the last page and fantastic and engaging characters, The Last Hunt is a thriller not to miss!!!

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

Deon Meyer is the award winning and bestseller of both series and standalone crime thrillers. He has won the Deutsche Krimi Preis Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique for DEAD AT DAYBREAK, which was adapted for an Afrikaans M Net TV series. He has
also received the Barry Award in the Best Thriller and was shortlisted for the Macavity Best Mystery Novel Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA
International Dagger three times. Rights in his titles are sold in 30 territories and 28 languages and many of his books have been optioned for film. DEAD BEFORE DYING was filmed for a 6 part TV series, titled CAPE TOWN. He is much in demand for appearances at festivals and tours around the world.

Publication: 15th August 2019 (eBook); 14th November 2019 (paperback) – Zaffre

For fans of J. P. Delaney’s The Girl Before comes a thriller that makes us question the lengths we would go to, to keep our family safe.

Three years ago, Nikki and Ethan Rhodes suffered a devastating loss when their four-year-old daughter Grace was tragically killed in a road accident. Ethan, a radio personality, escapes into work, leaving Nikki to care for their remaining child, Bella, who hasn’t spoken since that day.

Seeking a fresh start, the family moves into a revolutionary new house designed by renowned architect, Catriona Fisher. The house features a state-of-the-art security system, along with every amenity you could dream of.

For the Rhodes’ this is a chance to finally pick up the pieces and get on with their lives in a place where they feel totally safe.

But what if 17 Church Row isn’t the safe haven that they think it is?

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of 17 Church Row, the thrilling new novel by James Carol. A huge thank you to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Bonnier Zaffre for providing me with a proof copy of the novel.

After a tragedy left one daughter dead and the other mute, Nikki and her husband Ethan are looking for a fresh start and the super technological house on 17 Church Row seems the right place to start. Thanks to Alice, the house’s virtual assistant, everything seems to run smoothly as she seems to have everything under control. However from doors locked to sudden black-outs, their new house doesn’t seem to be as safe as they thought…

I found scary the world depicted by James Carol in which people come to rely completely on technology, so much so that they start to bond with them and confide in them. In the novel, the Rhodes family relies entirely on Alice, the virtual assistant, even for the smallest things, and they seek her advice. There is a particular scene that I found very thought-provoking in which Nikki finds Alice reading a story to her daughter Grace and she realizes that it was something that she should have done herself and not a computer. I may be a bit old-fashioned, but I wouldn’t want to live in a house where doors open on their own or where there is a virtual assistant that follows my every move and anticipate my wishes.

17 Church Row is not only a novel about technology and a high suspenseful thriller. It’s also a story of loss and moving on. The author perfectly captures the grief of the Rhodes family, especially Nikki, over the death of their daughter. The descriptions of Nikki’s pain, her fear of losing her other child, her need to protect her all the time were moving and intense and I really felt for her and for her daughter Grace.

Would I recommend 17 Church Row? Of course! It is gripping and twisty and if you loved The Girl Before by JP Delaney, you are going to adore this. It’s similar in themes (the high-tech house and the mystery), but it has its own originality and twists that make it difficult to put it down!

Publication: 31st October 2019 – HarperFiction

Fearless, frank and for anyone who’s ever doubted themselves, So Lucky is the straight-talking new novel from the Sunday Times bestseller.

IS ANYONE’S LIFE . . .

Beth shows that women really can have it all.
Ruby lives life by her own rules.
And then there’s Lauren, living the dream.

AS PERFECT AS IT LOOKS?
 
Beth hasn’t had sex in a year.
Ruby feels like she’s failing.
Lauren’s happiness is fake news.

And it just takes one shocking event to make the truth come tumbling out…

The bold and brilliant new novel from Dawn O’Porter, the bestselling author of The Cows.

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I did love reading The Cows so I have been really excited to read Dawn O’Porter’s new novel, So Lucky. The protagonists are three women. Ruby feels she is failing as a mother, she is angry all the time, and she is ashamed of her own body because of a rare condition. Beth has just had a baby, but she went right back to work to organize the wedding of the year. She feels guilty not only for leaving her son at home, but also for her dreams of sleeping with other men as her husband doesn’t seem very interested in having a more intimate relationship with her. And then, there is Lauren. A model with millions of followers on Instagram and about to marry her gorgeous billionaire fiancé, but is her life as perfect as it looks on Instagram?

What I really love about Dawn O’Porter’s novels is the authenticity of her characters and her stories. With their problems, their insecurities, and their dreams, these women feel realistic and relatable and the readers feel connected to them. I liked Beth, Ruby and Lauren, even if there were times when I found them irritating or I didn’t like what they were doing. I sympathized more with Beth and Ruby because we get a complete and honest picture of them. Lauren remains more of a mystery. We meet Lauren through her Instagram posts and through Ruby and Beth’s eyes who are both involved in the organization of her wedding. The self-assurance she shows to her followers is shadowed, in real life, by her overbearing and bossy mother and her too-perfect-too-be-true fiancé. I think that my favourite character is Risky, Beth’s assistant. She is so outspoken and brazen and she often made me laugh out loud.

So Lucky is thought-provoking, compelling, and captivating and I stayed up late at night to finish it because I couldn’t stop reading about this three fantastic women!

A huge thank to HarperFiction for providing me with a proof copy of the novel.

 

Publication: 24th October 2019 – Orbit

Kate Collins has been ghosted.

She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty flat. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.

Except for his mobile phone.

Kate knows she shouldn’t hack into Scott’s phone. She shouldn’t look at his Tinder, his texts, his social media. But she can’t quite help herself.

That’s when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls from numbers she doesn’t recognise. Scratch marks on the door that she can’t explain.

And the growing feeling that she’s being watched . . .

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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Ghoster, the gripping new novel by Jason Arnopp. A huge thank you to Tracy for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Orbit for providing me with a copy of this novel.

Kate is really excited to move in with her boyfriend of four months, Scott. She’s already given up her apartment and her job in Leeds and all her things are packed up for her move to Brighton. There is only one problem: where is Scott? He hasn’t responded to any of her calls or texts and when she arrives to his apartment in Brighton, she finds it completely empty. The only thing left is his phone. In her search of Scott and the truth, Kate becomes completely obsessed with his phone and uncovers a truth that it is much darker and creepier than she may have imagined.

Ghoster was quite a ride of a read!!! It was nothing at all what I expected! It’s chilling, mysterious, highly suspenseful, and original. The author masterly mixes supernatural elements, thriller and our obsession with technology and social media creating a story that it is original and unpredictable. I loved how the author used different timelines and different perspectives. The story is told from Kate’s perspective, but thanks to her snooping inside Scott’s phone, we also get a deep knowledge of this character. Also, I enjoyed switching between the present, as Kate tries to figure out the truth, and the past, how Kate and Scott met and their first few months together.

The characters are multi-layered and well-developed. I liked Kate. She has conversations with her brain who tries to show her the rational side of things, while she is very impulsive, something that gets her often in trouble. We meet Scott only through Kate’s eyes and his phone that seems to hold all his life inside, and he is very difficult to figure out and very complex.

Ghoster is thought-provoking, weird, and engrossing with its unique plot and combination of different genres and I enjoyed every single page of it until the very shocking and twisty ending!

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

Publication: 7th November 2019 – Boldwood Books

In an Instagram world, can you find love just by being yourself…

Popular lifestyle blogger, Libby Cartwright, is being boggled by business when help shows up in the shape of gorgeous but shy, Charlie Richmond. Libby’s determined to keep it at ‘just good friends’ – she’s dated someone from ‘Corporate Land’ before and it didn’t end well. As she and Charlie begin spending more time together, Libby is starting to waver  – until she discovers something which makes her question if she’s ready for love.

Still reeling, she suffers another blow as her blog is attacked in a national newspaper, for promoting unachievable perfection. Libby knows it’s not true – but the only way to prove that is to strip off the armour she’s been wearing for years.

Is she brave enough to show the world she’s far from perfect? And will Charlie be by her side if she does…

A gloriously funny, wise, heart-warming and romantic read for all fans of Lindsey Kelk and Mhairi Macfarlane, from the author of the bestselling Winter’s Fairytale

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I am delighted to welcome you on my stop for #No Filter, the engaging new novel by Maxine Morrey. The protagonist of the novel is Libby Cartwright, a lifestyle blogger who lives in Brighton. In need of help with her taxes, thanks to her best friend, she meets Charlie who not only helps her figure out her taxes, but who also becomes a very close friend. The more time they spend together, the more it is clear that between them there is something more than friendship, but, being very different people, are they mean to be together?

I really enjoyed reading this novel. I thought that it would be a lot about blogging and social media, but I was pleasantly surprised how the author focuses on friendship, mostly, and then love and romance. I loved seeing how Libby and Charlie started as friends and reading how their friendship developed. I really liked these two characters. Libby is full of life and she has “no filters” when she talks. Charlie is more reserved and very shy and it was fun watching him blush every time a woman hit on him.

#No Filter is a fun and entertaining read, an enjoyable romcom that I devoured in two days and introduced me to a new author that I am looking forward to read in the future.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for inviting me to join the blog tour and for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Maxine Morrey is a bestselling romantic comedy author with eight books to her name including Winter’s Fairytale and the top ten hit The Christmas Project. She lives in West Sussex. Her first novel for Boldwood, #No Filter, will be published in November 2019.

Maxine’s Twitter: @Scribbler_Maxi

Maxine’s profile on our website: https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/contributor/maxine-morrey/

Maxine’s Instagram: @Scribbler_Maxi

Amazon link to #No Filter: https://amzn.to/2KArY2M

 

Publication: 31st October 2019 – Quercus

It’s nearly Christmas in York, but it seems the season of goodwill hasn’t touched everyone…

When DS Charlotte Banks is suspended from the police on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop, librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes refuse to believe she is guilty. But why is she being framed?

With Charlotte’s boss DI Malcolm Halloran unable to help, Evie decides to take matters into her own hands. Kitt takes little persuading to get involved too – after all, as well as Charlotte’s career to save, there are missing books to be found!

From the tightknit community of York’s booksellers, to the most gossipy bus route in the country, Kitt and Evie leave no stone unturned to get at the truth behind the burglary.

Then the discovery of a body raises the stakes even higher. For Evie, and now Kitt, this case is as personal as it gets. Can they catch the murderer in time to turn a bleak midwinter into something merry and bright?

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A few weeks ago I was invited to join the media blast for the first novel in the Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery series and I enjoyed reading about this librarian turned investigator. So, when I found out that the second book in the series, A Body in the Bookshop, was coming out on 31st October I knew I had to read it right away. Not only because I really love the title (it’s great, isn’t it?!?), but because I fell in love with the characters, the setting of the books, and I enjoy the author’s clear and flowing writing style.

So, in A Body in the Bookshop, we find the three funniest and smartest amateur detectives back for another case. It all starts with the robbery of some valuable first editions at Kitt’s favourite bookshop and the suspension of DS Charlotte Banks for assaulting a suspect. Feeling protective and grateful to DS Banks following the case in Murder by the Minster, Evie convinces Kitt, once again, to do their own investigation in the case. This case gives Kitt the excuse to visit all bookshops in town in search of clues, while Evie is determined to find out the truth and help DS Charley Banks. Helping them are the always loyal assistant librarian and online genius Grace and the 85-year-old psychic Ruby who reads tarots and gets her info on the bus 59.

While Murder by the Minster was more Kitt’s story, A Body in the Bookshop focuses more on Evie. She is still processing the events of the first book and its consequences. On the romantic side, she is struggling with her unexpected feelings for someone and we get to read more about her friendship with Kitt. I wish there had been more about Kitt and detective Halloran’s new romance (I love this couple!), but I enjoyed getting to know Evie better. Once again, Kitt is full of literary references that make me like her more and more (and increase my TBR pile) and I love the character of Grace. She is such a fun character, so smart, resourceful, and full of life and she always makes me laugh.

With good pacing and a few twists, the author addresses themes of police corruption, blackmail, secrets, and, of course, murder. Even though it is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend you read the first book, too, not only because it’s a fantastic read, but to better understand the characters and their story. A Body in the Bookshop is an engaging, thrilling, and addictive cosy mystery and I am already looking forward to the third book in the series which is out next March!

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

Publication: 31st October 2019 (eBook); 12th December 2019 (paperback) – Headline Review

Do you need to find out where you’ve come from before you can know what the
future holds?

Ruby’s singing career is on the verge of hitting the big time, when her voice breaks.
Fearing her career is over, she signs up for a retreat in Tenerife to recover.

But an unexpected call from a stranger on a remote Scottish island takes her on a short
trip to sort out some family business. It’s time to go and see the grandfather she’s never met.

City girl Ruby knows she will be happy to leave the windswept beaches behind as quickly as she can, especially as a years-old family rift means she knows she won’t be welcome at Teach Mhor.

But as she arrives at the big house overlooking the bay, she finds things are not as
straightforward as she might have thought.

There’s an unexpected guest in the house and he’s not planning on going anywhere any
time soon…

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It’s my pleasure to welcome you on my stop for the blog tour of Coming Home to Winter Island, the new festive novel by Jo Thomas. A huge thank you to Anne Cater for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Headline for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Ruby is having the chance of her lifetime: singing in front of a music producer to get a record deal and become a famous singer. This is what Ruby, her band, and her boyfriend Joe have been waiting for. The only problem is that Ruby’s voice doesn’t come out. The doctor recommends her to rest, so she books herself to a retreat in Tenerife to get her voice back. But first she has to make a stop to Winter Island, a small island off the Scottish coast to visit a grandfather she never met. As his only living relative, Ruby is responsible for him and while she would like to send him to a nursing home where he will be well taken care of, there is someone in her grandfather’s house who doesn’t agree with her. So Ruby’s stop will be longer than she expected.

Coming Home to Winter Island is heart-warming and entertaining story: there are regrets, new beginnings, the importance of family, friends, and love, and  coming to term with one’s past while figuring out the future, regrets, new beginnings. The emotional moments don’t lack, but there is also some fun. I liked the characters, especially Ruby who, at the beginning, I found a bit annoying and self-centered but I liked how she develops. And I loved the setting and the evocating and close-community atmosphere of the island that makes you understand why the residents love it so much and wouldn’t want to leave it.

Jo Thomas did it again and created a beautiful and uplifting novel that will keep you glued to the pages.

Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, first for BBC Radio 5, before moving on to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show. In 2013 Jo won the RNA Katie Fforde Bursary. Her debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller in ebook and was awarded the 2014 RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the 2014 Festival of Romance Best Ebook Award. Jo lives in the Vale of Glamorgan with her husband and three children.

 

 

 

Publication: 1st July 2019 – Panther Publishing

Two victims. Brutally murdered in their own home. Body parts taken.

D.I. Graves is back on the case to face his toughest challenge yet. A case with no motive and no suspect, nothing at all that could explain why someone would kill innocent people in such a way.

Then the next victims are discovered. Another pair of bodies. New body parts taken. Again in their own home.

Someone is breaking into houses across the city at night, leaving horror in their wake. It seems to Graves that this could be two serial killers, working together. But how are they choosing their victims? Is any house in London a target? Is anyone safe?

To make matters worse, a journalist is threatening to cause more harm than good with her obsessive push in covering the story to further her career, and someone is targeting Graves personally, seeking revenge against him in relation to an old case.

Can Graves keep himself safe long enough to stop the serial killers before they strike again?

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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for From Inside The House, the latest twisty novel by W.D. Jackson-Smart. A huge thank you to Emma for inviting me to join the blog tour and to Panther Publishing for providing me with a copy of the novel.

Our houses are supposed to be a safe place where we can relax and we should feel secure. However, someone is somehow getting inside people’s houses in London and brutally murdering its residents. D. I. Daniel Graves and his partner Charlie work hard to find the killer before he murders someone else, but it’s not easy when the murderer leaves no traces and it doesn’t seem there is a connection between the victims. In the meantime, Kelly is a journalist who is ready to do anything to have her articles on the front page, even if it means to risk her own life.

From Inside The House is the second novel featuring D.I Daniel Graves and, even though it is easy to read it as a stand-alone if you haven’t read the first novel, I recommend you do read The Demons Beneath as some of the storyline follows what happened in that first book. D.I. Daniel Graves is still facing the demons from his past and a killer who is haunting him. I loved reading about his relationship with his partner Charlie. Even though they have been working together just for a few months, they are like old friends and I enjoyed their banter. Let me tell you that the murders are very gruesome and detailed so this novel is not for everyone. The plot is dark, claustrophobic, and chilling and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters are multi-layered and complex and the story ends with a cliff-hanger that leaves you holding your breath and eager to see what happens next.

Follow the rest of the blog tour

 

WD Jackson-Smart, 35, is a London-based horror and crime fiction author who has been writing crime and horror fiction since 2011. His novel Red Light was self published on Amazon and charted in the top twenty best selling Suspense / Thriller Kindle books on release.

His horror short story, What’s Yours Is Mine, was shortlisted for the Horror For Good anthology.

His first crime thriller Slasher, about a serial killer targeting slasher movie actresses in Hollywood, is out now, and he has launched a brand new crime series set in London and starring D.I. Graves. The Demons Beneath is the first in the series, and the sequel From Inside The House was published on July 1st 2019.

As well as his passion for horror and crime thrillers in all forms, WD Jackson-Smart also loves art and design, having studied Fine Art and Art History in Leeds and Toronto and working as a graphic designer for the majority of his career.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdejackson

Website: https://www.wdjacksonauthor.co.uk/

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-House-Thriller-British-Hardboiled-ebook/dp/B07QFBGJ9R/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1571859152&refinements=p_27%3AWD+Jackson-Smart&s=digital-text&sr=1-2&text=WD+Jackson-Smart

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-House-Thriller-British-Hardboiled-ebook/dp/B07QFBGJ9R/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=from+inside+the+house+wd+jackson-smart&qid=1571859372&sr=8-1

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/from-inside-the-house/w-d-jackson-smart/9781527243378

Foyles: https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/from-inside-the-house-a-di-graves-har,wd-jacksonsmart-9781527243378

Publication: 12th September 2019 (eBook); 7th November 2019 (hardcover) – Hodder & Stoughton

From the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Memory Book, Rowan Coleman, comes a special new series featuring the Brontë sisters, written under the name Bella Ellis

Yorkshire, 1845

A young woman has gone missing from her home, Chester Grange, leaving no trace, save a large pool of blood in her bedroom and a slew of dark rumours about her marriage. A few miles away across the moors, the daughters of a humble parson, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified, yet intrigued.

Desperate to find out more, the sisters visit Chester Grange, where they notice several unsettling details about the crime scene: not least the absence of an investigation. Together, the young women realise that their resourcefulness, energy and boundless imaginations could help solve the mystery – and that if they don’t attempt to find out what happened to Elizabeth Chester, no one else will.

The path to the truth is not an easy one, especially in a society which believes a woman’s place to be in the home, not wandering the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril…

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A crime to solve and my favourite writers turning detectives? Count me in! When I heard that The Vanished Bride, written by Bella Ellis (a brilliant pseudonym for author Rowan Coleman) featured Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë together with their brother Branwell investigating a gruesome crime I knew I had to read it and I couldn’t put it down.

It’s the year 1845, and it’s the first time that all Brontë siblings are together at Haworth. Following the Robinson scandal, Branwell and Anne had to resign their posts and move back home, while Charlotte is back from Belgium and away from her feelings for Monsieur Heger. They still haven’t published their novels under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, when they become involved in a mysterious case.  Their school friend Mattie is a governess at Chester Grange. Following the suspicious death of his wife Imogen, Robert Chester remarried, but now his second wife, Elizabeth, has disappeared and in her room is found a worrying quantity of blood. Is she still alive? Curious and determined to find out the truth, the Brontë sisters start investigating even if it means putting their own lives at risk…

I am a huge fan of the Brontë’s novels. I have read all Anne, Charlotte and Emily’s novels and it was fun to see the famous novelists turn into detectives to solve a dark and creepy mystery. I loved how the author mixed well-researched real life events with fiction: Charlotte’s feelings for her professor, Branwell’s love for a married woman and his downfall, Anne’s resentment at being forced to leave her post as a governess following her brother’s scandal blend well with the mystery of the story. Emily is described as curious and impulsive, while Charlotte is more cautious and a leader of the family. Within Anne’s chest beats “the heart of a fierce warrior” and Branwell is fun and witty, although, following the scandal of his affair with Mrs. Robinson, he spends his nights drinking and gambling and his sisters are worried about him.

The plot is gripping, suspenseful and gothic and there are a few twists that will take you by surprise. Although, The Vanished Bride is mostly a mystery novel, the author perfectly manages to insert social themes in the story. Through the female characters in the novel, the author captures the frustration of the women who don’t have any status in society and are expected to obey their husbands or their father, to have no education or job.

I loved the surprising and well-executed ending, the bleak atmosphere and the slow pace of the story and now I am looking forward to read the next book in the series!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I took part in the blog tour for The Christmas Calendar Girls, the latest novel by Samantha Tonge. I really enjoyed reading about this group of women coming together to save the local food bank and TODAY this entertaining and festive novel is at only 99p in eBook! So don’t miss the chance to read an uplifting and amazing novel that will make you look forward to the Christmas season.

This Christmas fall in love with the town of Chesterwood…

Christmas is meant to be a time of giving, so with Chesterwood food bank under risk of closure Fern knows just what to do to save it. She’s going to get the town to create a living advent calendar.

Fern, and her best friends, call for help from the local community to bring this calendar to life. When Kit, the new man in town, offers his assistance Fern’s heart can’t help but skip a beat (or two).

As they grow ever closer, Fern must admit that Kit’s breaking down the barriers she built after the death of her husband. But his past is holding him back and Fern doesn’t know how to reach him. No matter how hard she tries.

In this town, Kit’s not the only one with secrets. Domestic goddess Cara is behaving oddly, burning meals in the oven and clothes whilst ironing, and Davina’s perfect children are causing trouble at school leaving her son, Jasper, desperately unhappy.

Can the Christmas Calendar Girls find a way to bring the community together in time to save the food bank, while still supporting their families and each other? Can Fern find love again with Kit?

This is a story about kindness and letting go of the past. It’s about looking out for your neighbours and about making every day feel like Christmas.

Heart-warming, cosy and charming, get The Christmas Calendar Girls for just 99p for a limited period!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2YAAmUI

Google Play: https://bit.ly/2YBNoBH

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2SUjoPS

iBooks: https://apple.co/2YwUjfd

In case you need more convincing to read this fantastic novel, here is my review of The Christmas Calendar Girls:

The protagonist of the novel is Fern. A freelance journalist with a young daughter, she moved to Chesterwood three years earlier after the premature death of her husband. Although part of her is still grieving, she thinks it is time to move on, especially as her friendship with Kit seems to become something more. However, Fern has other things to worry about besides her love life. The local food bank is about to be closed because the rent is too high. To try and save the place that is so important for many people around the area, Fern organize a living calendar event around town to raise money. Also, she is worried about her two best friends. Perfect wife and mother Cara who has always everything under control has become very forgetful and distracted while Davina is worried about her children’s strange behaviour. Will Fern be able to make it to Christmas without much drama? (Don’t count on it!)

October is the month of Christmas reads and I lost count of how many Christmas books I have read so far, but I enjoyed each one of them including The Christmas Calendar Girls. The author created a protagonist that feels authentic and relatable from the very beginning. You can feel her pain as she remembers her husband, but you also cheer her on as she tries to build a new life without him. She is compassionate and caring, working hard to help the homeless of the village. She is always ready to help others and, in the meantime, she has a job to do and a daughter to raise.

I loved the community feeling and the Christmas atmosphere that together make a fantastic Christmas novel. An enjoyable and uplifting novel about friendship, family, love, loss, and new beginnings, The Christmas Calendar Girls is one not to miss this Christmas season!

Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK with her husband and children. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.
She is represented by the Darley Anderson literary agency. In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category. In 2018 Forgive Me Not, heralded a new direction into darker women’s fiction with publisher Canelo. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association romantic comedy award.

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