Shattered Steel: The Olden Chronicles by Shauna Richmond ~ Book Tour

 Publisher: Independently published

Publication Date: 10th April 2022

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Summary:

In a world plagued with demons, bandits and shapeshifters, Catherine finds herself straying from her pack as they escape the hunters that stumbled across their camp. Finding herself in Oakwood, the land of the gentry, the brazen peasant finds herself attracting all sorts of attention. Catherine must find a way to survive in the world of the nobles even if that means being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Her world turns on its head as a chance encounter with a man known as the Highland Reaper turns into a secret love affair. How will this notorious killer react when he finds out what she truly is? Will his unsavoury past come back to bite them both?

Too many choices, too many expectations and two questions.

How do you tame a wolf?

How can you love a monster?

Review:
Thank you too Hygge Book Tours and Shauna Richard for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
Ok, so I was given the audio and EPub of this book and I'm so grateful that I was. I started off with the audiobook(Im pretty new to audiobooks I only started reading them in the last 6 months so I like to try them first) and ill be honest I did not get on with it. The narrator I felt didn't fit with the book, maybe I was just expecting a female narrator because the MC is female, or at least as we get mixed points of view more than one narrator. He also read it in quite a dull way, sort of monotone for most of it so I had to switch to the EPub.
And that is far from dull, I really loved reading the book all the MC's had their own quirks and I enjoyed learning all their characters. Catherine is our main female MC and she's so full of fire I just loved her whole character and attitude and her being this beautiful red wolf when she shifts was a great image. It's got all you want in a fantasy romance I think, mythical creatures, shifters, steamy sex scenes, laugh-out-loud moments( yes I actually did and yes my OH gave me an odd look) and I really enjoyed the world-building Shauna has done. Without adding too much of a spoiler I so love the budding relationship between Catherine and Tristen and I really can't wait to read more of its development.
In short, if you love a romance fantasy this needs to be on your 2023 reading list. And now I'm off to go find book two to see what happens!

Krystina xx

When You're Dying by M Q Webb~ Book Tour

 

Publisher:  TBR Press

Publication Date: 21 Jan. 2023

Genre: Thriller

Summary:

When there's nothing left to lose...

would you risk everything to find out the truth?

A shock diagnosis forces Verity Casmere to consider how she wants to spend the time she has left.

The one question haunting Verity is what happened to her missing sister, Ashlee. Was she murdered, like the police suspect?

How far will Verity go to learn the truth?

Moved by her situation, Forensic Psychiatrist, Oscar de la Nuit, agrees to help Verity learn what happened, but he quickly finds himself in deeper than he intended, placing himself and the people closest to him in danger.

Can they resurface before a dark secret consumes them both?

Review:

Thank you to ZooLoos Book Tours for having me on this book tour and to  MQ Webb for sending me a copy of her fab book! I have to start by saying I pretty much read this in a day, it had a dramatic start that drew you in and kept you hooked from start to finish. It's really well written; the characters are complex, and I love it.
I really enjoyed the formatting of the book too, it flips between what's currently happening and the events that happened a few days or weeks ago and I liked that as a way for us to know what happened rather than having a character monologue. And I really didn't know who had done it until a few pages before it was revealed and even then I had no idea why so I was still gripped until that was explained.
Oscar was an interesting character and one I can't wait to find out more about hopefully in the next book( and the first one which I plan to go back and read soon), which I hope will be soon because it ended on a little cliffhanger about Oscar's personal life (trying really hard not to write any spoilers).

In short, highly recommend this book and it's definitely something you should add to your tbr if you enjoy a thriller.

Krystina xx

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite ~ May's Book Club Choice

Publisher: Penguin Random House USA 

Publication Date: 20th  November  2018

Genre: Womens Fiction/ Humour

Summary:

"Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer."

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola's third boyfriend in a row is dead.

Korede's practicality is the sisters' saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her "missing" boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she's exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola's phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she's willing to go to protect her.

Review:

So this month's theme is comedy and this book was on a list of comedy reads, but if I'm honest I'm not sure why? It was a really easy-to-read book( I read it in 2 and half hours) and it's well written but I didn't get the funny (could just be me).
Korede had so many opportunities to stop her sister and save the man she's in love with from being ruined but she just sat back and let her sister continue with her whatever her plan was, and it kind of annoyed me if I'm honest. And whilst she never killed anyone, she's just as bad as her sister I feel for covering it all up and helping her not get caught.
I liked the coma patient Muhtar and the fact that he remembered all her ramblings while he was unconscious but still wanted to stay in contact and I would have liked her to keep that contact and maybe break away from her unhealthy relationship with her sister. 

Now for what the book club ladies thought, well they all really liked it safe to say I gave it the lowest score of the night! They all found it easy to read, hard to put down but like me, they expected more from the ending. My favourite quote to sum it up in 3 words was " Definalty not comedy" because none of us could understand how it made it onto a list of comedy books, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Book Club Score ~ 8/10

Krystina xx

 

Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson with Susan DiLallo and James Patterson ~ Blog Tour

 Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 27 April 2023

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary: 

Liz and Laurie are mother and daughter, but they couldn't be more different.

Laurie is a free spirit whose creative career is about to reach new heights. Her mother Liz is a world-renowned doctor, and everything in her life has always been just so.

But when Laurie gets an unexpected call, she decides to take her mother away on a trip to Paris and Norway.

As they explore Europe together, Laurie finally starts opening up to her mother. Will unburdening themselves of the secrets that have kept them apart bring them closer together?

Review:

So first off thank you to the publisher and Love Books Tours for having me on this book tour and I'm so sorry it's late! 
If I'm honest it's late because I did struggle with reading this book. It's very well written, so well written that the characters are very relatable and unfortunately remind me of people I have cut out of my life which made reading it a difficult task. But I did push on with reading it which is why my review is a little late, I didn't want to review half the book.
I disliked the mother (Liz) a hell of a lot, and couldn't see why Laurie bothered with her considering all she did was put her down and criticise her. I was suspicious of Richard from early on, following her from one country to another gave me stalker vibes! And he just seemed off, something wasn't right.
It's got a stunning cover though, how beautiful will that look on your shelf!
Whilst the book wasn't for me, it's defiantly a well-written piece of fiction and I think a lot of people will enjoy it immensely.

Krystina xx

The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh

Publisher:  Orion

Publication Date: 13th April 2023

Genre: Thriller

Summary:

Daniel Miller murdered fourteen people before he vanished. His wife, Carrie, now faces trial as his accomplice. The FBI, the District Attorney, the media and everyone in America believe she knew and helped cover up her husband's crimes.

Eddie Flynn won't take a case unless his client is innocent. Now, he has to prove to a jury, and the entire world, that Carrie Miller didn't know her husband's dark side. But so far, Eddie and his team are the only ones who believe that she had no part in the murders.

With his wife on trial, Daniel Miller is forced to come out of hiding to save her from a life sentence. He will kill to protect her and everyone involved in the case is a target.

Even Eddie Flynn...

Review:

So I was given this book as part of the Tandem Collective read-along, and until then id never actually read a book by Steve Cavanagh. Which is odd considering I do enjoy a good Crime/Thiller book! So I have to say thank you to Tandem and Orion for sending me a copy of this book to read, I have seriously enjoyed it.
OK so because this is a thriller I really am going to do my best to give it the glowing review it so thoroughly deserves but without telling you anything about the plot so I don't spoil it!
It's a fantastically written book, and it had me hooked from very early on. In fact, about 8 chapters in I'd already gone and ordered the first in the series (this is the 7th Eddie Flynn book but thankfully they can be read as stand-alones) so that I could read all the ones I missed. My plan is to read them in order and then read this again( yep folks it's a rereader) and I can't wait to do that. By chapter 12 id recommended it to two crime book-loving friends, it's safe to say this book is a high scorer.
It's full of characters that you can get invested in and when they end up in less-than-ideal situations you really feel scared/ worried for them and if they will make it out.
I did not see the ending coming at all, it shocked and surprised me so much that I actually put the book down and went WTF out loud, it's so brilliantly done.
I'm now hooked on Eddie Flynn novels, I'm defiantly buying them going forward because they are just fantastic and Steve Cavanagh is a brilliant writer.
Hopefully that has given you an idea of how good it is without spoiling a single thing (its not easy to review without spoilers lol)

Leave a comment and let me know if you've read this series and what you think of them :)

Krystina xx