Way Points:My Scottish Journey by Sam Heughan~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Octopus Books

Publication Date: 22nd June 2023

Genre: Biography

Summary:

Waypoints is a memoir with a difference! I wanted to tell the stories and share the experiences that have shaped me, but to do that I needed to challenge myself and spend some time in my own company, away from the distractions of everyday life. And for me there's no better place to reflect than in the wild Scottish Highlands.'

In this journey of self-discovery, Sam Heughan sets out along the West Highland Way to explore his heritage and reflect on the personal waypoints that define him. The result is a love letter to the wild Scottish landscape that means so much to Sam, and a charming, funny, wise and searching insight to the world through his eyes.

The walk itself is the backdrop for this narrative, which tells the story of Sam's life while exploring his outlook, values and interests. Sam is a figure of fascinating contrasts, a Hollywood star with deep roots in rural Scotland, he's both outgoing and content in his own company. He has strong connections with his fans while recognising the fragility and value of anonymity, and in My Peak Challenge he has created a network that brings people together as they chase individual goals. In his new book, while charting a path through a stunning wilderness, Sam maps out the moments that shaped his views on dreams and ambition, family, friendships, love and life.

Waypoints is a deeply personal journey that reveals as much to Sam about himself as it does to his readers.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Random Things Book Tours, San Heughan and Radar for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I haven't to admit when I got the book I knew nothing much about Sam other than he was in Outlander(which I don't watch, sorry Sam!) but the blurb sounded fantastic and I wanted to read about the West Highland Way, which I didn't even know about.
I love that it started with a quote from Lord of The Rings, It is my favourite fantasy book and that quote just started me off in a brilliant frame of mind and that stayed throughout the book. I've enjoyed the way it's been written, It kind of feels like you sat having a cuppa with Sam as he's telling you this brilliant yarn about his adventure along the WHW, it's a really easy writing style to connect with.
And the way it's laid out, sections of the WHW split between bits of Sam's childhood and how he got into acting flowed really well and I enjoyed getting to know him a bit through it, as I said when I picked this book up what I knew about him was minimal so it made it a very interesting read.
Now I'm not much of a hiker but the descriptions of everything that he encountered along the walk, the beautiful views and sights, I mean Scotland is stunning that I already knew but his descriptions made even me feel tempted to give it a try. It's very unlikely I will, so instead I've enjoyed it through Sam's writing.
This is a book I'm definitely going to recommend to a few people, I know they'll love it, and I'm hoping Sam has a few more books like this in him.

Krystina xx

The Forgotten God by Andrew Rylands ~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Andrew Rylands

Publication Date: 30th May 2023

Genre: Myths and Fairytales

Summary:

An exiled immortal.

A stolen lover.

A mystical world on the brink of war.

Apollo was once a powerful deity. Now, he lives among the ruins of Delphi, trapped in a feline body with his memories magically repressed.

When his lover Olympia is kidnapped, Apollo is forced to break his life of blissful seclusion and take a perilous journey to Athens, where cat life is cheap and enemies with old grudges conspire to destroy him and his kind.

Plunged into the brewing conflict between the city’s feline tribes, he finds himself on a collision course with two immortal-led gangs and another deity seeking a mysterious artefact that could restore the gods’ ancient power. Or destroy it completely.

Can Apollo reclaim his almighty glory and save Olympia? Or will he ignite a conflict that risks bringing down the whole of Olympus?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Love Books Tours and Andrew Rylands for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
When I first read the blurb for this book I wasn't sure about the Greek gods being cats( being more of a dog person probably didn't help) and how that would really work but I very quickly got rid of that unease about it once I started reading it.
It's actually a really clever concept, I've enjoyed reading all the little quirks that cats have played out by gods, it was fun to see the gods not always knowing who they were/not remembering that they are in fact, gods. I do enjoy reading Greek mythology (I've had a fair few retellings on my reading pile over the last few years)  so I loved all the wider mythology than just the gods that were thrown in and the gang rivalry between the gods and titans was a fun addition. The descriptions of the setting are really well done, Despite not having been to Greece I can clearly picture the scenes he's describing which is always good when the setting plays a major role in the book. 
I haven't quite finished the book(I'm very close to the end) but I am enjoying reading and I'm very glad I stepped into the world Andrew created after being unsure of the whole concept, to begin with, in fact, I've actually already got book two lined up for when I do finish.
If you like your mythology retellings with that added hint of weirdness, you'll enjoy this.

Krystina xx

Nothing Becoming by Ros Barber~Blog Tour

 

Publisher: Phoebus Books

Publication Date: 11th June 2023

Genre: Biographical Fiction

Summary:

She’s a tomboy.

Her brother’s missing.

Now she has to pretend to be him.

Six-year-old Tyke is the spit of her half-brother, Mark, but there’s one crucial difference: Tyke is the result of rape. When her father sails into their Devon fishing village in 1695, Mark, to protect their Ma, decides to kill him. But the plan goes wrong and Mark goes missing.

Tyke’s mother dresses her daughter as her son to get money from Mark’s grandmother. Tyke moves into Mrs Read’s London home and gets the education of a ‘young gentleman’. When a one-armed pirate arrives, her world up-ends. She is forced to become a servant, but at least she can take comfort in her new friend Jim.

Then puberty hits, and even her body seems to turn against her, threatening to reveal her secret. If she stops being ‘Mark’, she could lose everything. But how far will she go to stay free?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Insta Book Tours, Phoebus Books and Ros Barber for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
I was drawn to this book once I read it was the Origin story of Mary Read, I have a fascination with female pirates her and Anne Bonny being the most famous do I really wanted to read this!
I really got on with the writing style, I enjoyed getting snippets of what clearly points her towards becoming a pirate and the clever ways she just tries to survive. I did actually chuckle at the bits where she was trying to decide if it was time to become a woman again, and if she might find work easier that way. And her deciding to try to disguise herself as a boy dressing up as a girl did amuse me somewhat, her getting Jim to help her with acquiring female clothing etc was brilliant
The ways she tried to keep her disguise as a boy, using socks down her trousers, to begin with, and then upgrading it in time to make it more believable was cleverly done and the snippet of the next book hints at her taking it a step further to protect her disguise.
I was disappointed in the ending when I first read it because we don't even get to her becoming a pirate, she's barely left London. But then I read that this was the beginning of a trilogy so the ending makes much more sense now and I'm eagerly awaiting Nothing But Trouble coming out so I can read the next chapter in her journey to becoming part of Calico Jacks crew.
Now I need to get some more books on female pirates to fill the time til book two, if you have any recommendations comment and let me know!

Krystina xx

Gods Galore by Rupert Stanbury~Blog Tour

 

Publisher: Matador

Publication Date: 19th October. 2021

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Summary:

The Olympian Gods have made it to the 21st century AD. We may not have heard much about them in the last two thousand years, but they’re still controlling what we humans are up to – or at least they think they are.

The reality is that the Gods are like us – they’ve got problems!

Zeus is still Top God on Mount Olympus, but he’s got issues with many of the younger gods. His brothers, Hades and Poseidon, have issues with themselves – they’re getting too set in their ways ruling the Underworld and the Seas; they probably need a job change.

But help is at hand from an unexpected source – we humans.

It’s surprising what a dose of good common sense can do for even the most powerful of the gods, especially when it comes from a couple of teenagers!

Review:
Firstly thank you to Random Things Book Tours, Matador and Rupert Stanbury for having me on the tour and sending me the book.
Now if you remember not that long ago I reviewed The Four Horsemen, the second book in this series, and I may have ever so slightly gone on about how much I loved it. Well, prepare for more of the same because this is another amazing book.
The cover is again that slight Pratchett cartoon style which really suits the writing style, as I said last time it's very much reminiscent of the late great Terry Pratchett. Fantastically clever with very witty things thrown in that you take a minute to register. One of those made me stop and think for a moment, we had the very brilliant Vesta being shown around the torturing department by Mr Atilla ( yes the Hun) and in Vlad's area they come across two men being impaled called Harold and William and I stopped for a moment before carrying on to see if I could figure out which historical figures they were before I found out by reading. And I loved that I did that throughout the book and I lost count of the amount of times these little things made me laugh out loud, I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book.
And for once I actually found myself tabbing a book so I could remember things I wanted to tell you all in the review(I've never understood tabbing a book before now) because we start with a list of Principal Characters and the detail added into their little one-line explanation is fantastic. Some of my favourites are Homer-Once a writer, now head librarian ( ok so not so much detail there but it made me really giggle) and Mr Wong- Works in the kitchens, having once run a Chinese restaurant in Alderley Edge, England.
Once again I loved reading this book, and I'm off to go re-read The Four Horsemen now because I do so love this series and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book, with the hopes that we have many more to come.
Btw if you think you know who Harold and William were, comment and let me know!

Krystina xx

Brittle by Beth Overmyer~Blog Tour

 Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS

Publication Date: 15th August 2023

Genre: New Adult Romance

Summary:

After the murder of her father – which no one but her believes happened – Verve just wants to hold her family together and take on the role of provider. Unfortunately, a cruel fae lord believes she knows the location of an ancient magical weapon and steals her away to Letorheas, realm of the fairies. The fae lord seems to want something from Verve that goes beyond the weapon, something that many doubt she can provide. Verve must find a way to navigate the strangeness of Letorheas and embrace a destiny more intertwined with the fae than she would like to believe.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Random Things Book Tours, Flame Tree Press and Beth Overmyer for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I've really enjoyed this book, I absolutely love Verve. She is a brilliantly feisty young woman who very much won't let anyone control her if she can have any say in it. I've loved watching how she's developed throughout the book, and look forward to reading more of the series.
I liked learning about the Fae and all the different little bits of world-building that I got to discover as I read. I'm really glad that she did end up with Fenn, the speed with which she trusted him was a little quick (especially after just having another Fae attempt to drown her) and the whole Fae fall-in-love fast thing was a little too fast for me. But I did like their banter with each other and the way he dealt with her temper made me smile at times.
I defiantly enjoyed the writing style, I practically lost hours reading this book, barely noticing the time and I have no regrets about that. I will be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series and I think I may just investigate more books by this author, I have a feeling I will most defiantly enjoy them. Oh, and that cover is just so beautiful!

Krystina xx

Love Deleted Audio book by Paul Indigo~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Random Word Media

Publication Date: 31st May 2023

Genre:Literary Romance fiction

Summary:

This is an impossible love story…

Cooper came home unexpectedly early that day. The day her world collapsed. The day she heard things she shouldn’t have. Saw things she shouldn’t have.

Now Cooper is running away. Driving recklessly. Blindly. A broken heart spiralling out of control after witnessing an earth-shattering scene.

Then Cooper discovers the website. Speaks to the doctors. Can they help her? Can they give her the treatment she desperately wants? Yes they can. They can do something mind-blowing.

They can surgically erase her love for her husband Jethro.

Only what appears to be the perfect solution sets off a devastating chain of events not only for Jethro and herself. But one also involving their teenage son Daniel in ways she can’t imagine.

A life-shattering moment. A rash decision. An easy solution. This isn’t just a love story. Not when a heart isn’t just broken, it is irreversibly silenced.

This is an impossible love story.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Love Books Tours, Paul Indigo and Random World Media for having me on the tour and sending me a copy of the book to review. For once there will be spoilers in my review! You have been warned!
Well, I have yet to listen to too many audiobooks and I do love giving them a try because often it's not the story that makes or breaks it but the narrator. And I have to say I did really like the narrator for this one, she had a really easygoing way of reading the book and it made it easy to get lost in.
I really enjoyed hearing the majority of the book from Cooper's point of view, it meant that we were with her finding out about Jethro and how he didn't cheat and the ripple effects of what she chose to do and so then it was good to switch to Jetheros POV and carry the fallout that way. I can't believe Daniel thought it was acceptable to have sex in his parent's bed, i mean his own bedroom was next door for Christ's sake!
I loved that we got the 12 years later jump forward in Cooper and Jethro's story and i really didn't see him having the treatment because of how he was so against it but I love that he did because it gave them that chance to start anew.
Eddsy and Harriets' story was a nice interlude popping in and out just at the right times and i really liked that they ended up adopting and how they ended up wanting the same thing but through lack of communication weren't on the same page about their feelings. It was another good example of lack of communication in marriage but without the extreme outcome that Cooper and Jethro ended up with to start.
If I'm honest i could have done without the podcast/interview sections, i didn't like them and i get that they were meant to give background to the process but i really didn't feel they were needed.
Overall it was a good book to listen too, i really enjoyed it.

Krystina xx

The Killer's Wife by Susan Furlong~ Blog Tour

 

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Publication Date: 18th July 2023

Genre:Crime/Thriller

Summary:

When a severed finger was found in her car four years ago, Kerry Grey was arrested as an accomplice to the brutal slayings of three young women. Unbeknownst to Kerry, her husband Lucas was not only missing, but a deranged serial killer. Finally out on parole, she is ready to start anew and reunite with her young son. However, when a vigilante group inflamed by fear and motivated by reward money sparks a fevered hunt for Lucas, the nightmares of her past return. Only one person can help Kerry evade the hysteria of the media her parole officer, Adam Nash. But can she trust him? Was his move to the backwoods town of Joy, Montana coincidental or does Nash have his own obsessive hidden agenda involving the Hatchet Killer mystery, her husband and sweet justice? It is not long before Kerry's new life turns dark when she discovers that Lucas has been secretly giving their son carvings made of bone. And when a freshly dismembered victim is uncovered in the forest, the law is after her once again. Left with nowhere else to run, Kerry escapes up a mountainous trail to find Lucas and, one way or another, put an end to the real-life nightmare. In a final twist of lies and betrayal, Kerry finds Lucas and the truth that will change everything.

Review:

Firstly thank you to Partners In Crime, Seventh Street Books and Susan Furlong for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
Now I'm going to do my best to not give a single thing away about this book if I can because of the twist at the end I did not see coming at all! I literally read this book in a day, picked it up when my small one was napping and couldn't bare to put it down. There was so much I really enjoyed about the way the book is set out, hearing from both Kerry and Adam's points of view was brilliant, especially as we often got to hear the same situation from both points of view but I have to say one of my favourite parts of the book was the transcripts. I loved reading them and getting to "watch" the episode that means so much to Adam and then how it switched to an upcoming episode about the Hatchet Killer, meaning we got to hear from other characters we've met in the book without having whole chapters devoted to essentially talking to the whole town.
I really didn't like Miranda, I thought she was quite the piece of work and the way she was with Adam made me feel so sorry for him but then we got little pockets of crazy appearing which I couldn't tell if they were because of the way his wife is with him or how his mother raised him. The way the characters were written was fantastic, you gradually got to see different sides of their personalities as we went through the book, and get teased with "what ifs". I did start to think I knew who the killer was around the halfway point, I was right but there was an extra twist that I did not see coming and I really loved that about the book.
I defiantly now need to go and find some more of Susan Furlongs' books, because if they are half as good as this one I've found a new auto-buy author.
I've popped the purchase links below in case you'd like to find the twist out for yourself, if you do read it let me know because id love to hear what you thought about it!

Krystina xx

The Purchase links;
Amazon
Waterstones
Barnes& Noble

Dear Lottie by Mel Higgins~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Mel Higgins

Publication Date: 26th May 2023

Genre:Romance

Summary:

Three Decades,

Two Hearts,

One wish...to be together.

Lottie used to be a dreamer, but never did she see herself as a housewife to a controlling husband.

When Lottie's Nan unexpectedly passed away in the late 50s, her dreams died alongside her. Blinded by grief, her actions changed the course of her life and that of Henry Hollister, her first love.

With Henry haunting her dreams and a burden of regrets, Lottie and Henry wish for nothing more than to turn back the clock to a time of innocence. a time when no on was no one was in the way to stop their plans.

Is it ever too late to follow your dreams?

Is it ever too late to be with the one you truly love?

Review:
Firstly thank you to Love Books Tours and Mel Higgins for having me on this tour and sending me a copy of the book.
I liked the blurb and I was looking forward to reading it but then I opened it and found it was a diary format, which is a format I've never really gotten along with. But because I liked the sound of the book I went on and read it despite the format it was written in. It's a really well-written book, but I'm not sure it was for me.
I spent the first half of the book really disliking Lottie, she was constantly making stupid choices that ended her in situations that were so bad for her, and I didn't like the way she just dismissed Henry and Mr Flint when something more exciting came along. When I stopped disliking her it was because I felt sorry for her and all the crap that she had to go through. Her parents were cruel to her when they stole Betty and her sister was no better just taking her as her own and taking her out of the country.
Danny was a complete arsehole, and I can't believe how manipulative he was of Lottie to get her when she had no interest in him, it was an almost unbelievable situation he put her in and I'm glad she managed to escape eventually.
I wasn't keen on the ending at all and I know that the author made it that way because she has another book planned but it felt very abrupt.
Not really for me in the end but I think a lot of romantic saga fans will enjoy it.

Krystina xx