Her Last Chance by HJ Reed -Book Tour

Publisher: Inkubator Books

Publication Date: 29th March 2023

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Summary:

 A bullet to the brain. An estranged daughter. And a spate of brutal murders.

A bullet lodged in the frontal lobe is bound to cause a few health issues. For DI Al Crow, it's just the beginning.

When his estranged daughter Rosie is accused of being involved in a grisly murder, Crow becomes her only hope of being acquitted.

Desperate to save his daughter, Crow goes all out to solve the case. He knows this is a chance to repair a rift that has torn his family apart and to prove to his bosses that he's still up to the job.

The stakes are high, but things are complicated.

To solve the murder, Crow must reckon with his ex-wife’s connection to a seasoned, ruthless conman and Rosie's relationship with a dangerously unstable psychologist. Can he crack the case and save his family and his career?

Review:

I have to start by saying thank you to Zoo Loos Book Tours for inviting me on this book tour and to HJ Reed and Inkubator for providing a copy of the book. 

Ok, so I was hooked within the first 6 chapters, and I couldn't put it down. Now I got information to go along with the book tour but I never read it until I've actually read the book( after once accidentally spoiling the end of a book for myself that way) so I went into this book thinking it was the most recent in a series of DI Crow books and that the first 6 or so chapters were gently filling me in on what had happened in the last book, which I thought was really well done. I got everything I needed to know without an obvious "here's a flashback to last book's events" and I really liked the character of DI Crow, he's defiantly someone ill be going back to read more about when the next books come out!
It was so well written, I actually thought I had the killer figured out by chapter 7 and then by chapter 11 I wasn't sure and thought that id been fed a red herring, then I went back to being sure I knew! But I was so wrong, and I loved that! (not something you'll hear often from me lol) 
This is HJ Reeds' first Crime novel and I so hope it won't be her last because she's created characters that you can invest in, that you want more books about so you can keep following them and they are all so beautifully tied up with the murder/crime. I don't give books scores( unless it's a book club read) but if I did this is defiantly a 5-star read. 
If you love crime books I highly recommend you pick this one up and prepare to add HJ Reed to your auto-buy authors list!


Krystina xx

 

The Backup Plan by Jill Shalvis - Blog Tour!

 

Publisher: Headline Eternal

Publication Date: 17th January 2023

Genre: Romantic Fiction

Summary:

Could an unexpected windfall be the gift of a lifetime?

Alice never expected to inherit the falling-apart-at-the-seams old Wild West B&B she once considered home, nor did she expect that she'd have to share it with two strangers.

Except they weren't always strangers. Once upon a time, they were friends.

One is her ex-BFF Lauren. The other is Knox, the only guy to ever break her heart.

Years ago, each of them independently helped the same woman, never expecting that it would link them together forever. And now Alice, Lauren, and Knox, all broken in their own ways, must find a way to get along with each other. According to the woman's will, they must renovate the inn as a team for one year, or else lose their inheritance.

Stuck together, they make a list of rules to keep the peace. The rules may not be that effective, but if they can weather the storm, they might find something they didn't even know they were looking for - acceptance, real friendship, and maybe even true love.

Review:

So I have to start off by saying thank you to Headline Eternal and Jill Shalvis for having me on this blog tour and sending me a beautiful copy of the book to review! 
And now it's a matter of where to start....because I loved this book! I read it in two sittings, and I actually got up early because I wanted to be able to read in peace before the small ones got up because I was so drawn into it!
The Three main protagonists Lauren, Alice and Knox are just really enjoyable people to read about, and I so enjoyed (and occasionally laughed out loud at) the banter between them! Jill Shalvis created them so well and made them so rounded it was fantastic to read.
One of the best parts for me was the emails! I thought it was a really clever way to fill us in on their backstories (which are quite important to what's going on) without having to do chapters that jump back in time.
The friendship between Lauren and Alice is so damn sweet at times, the way that despite not really being friends anymore they still make sure to look out for each other is lovely. And the way that they gradually repaired their relationship was nice, I think if they'd done a forgive-and-forget at the start it wouldn't have felt right.
Now the sparks between Alice and Knox, combined with the banter was a really lovely slow-grow romance! And that ended perfectly for me. Sometimes with romance books, the author wraps everything up too quickly in a neat bow and it feels forced but not so here. It felt like a really lovely organic ending, there were still loose ends and I really liked that. I hope eventually somewhere in the series they come back into play, but you can bet ill keep reading to find out!

Krystina xx

The Way Back Almanac 2023 by Melinda Sailsbury

 

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 9 Aug. 2022

Genre: Stars & Interstellar Matter

Summary:

The Way Back Almanac, the first almanac designed for modern city-dwellers, returns in 2023!

The traditional almanac is a month-by-month prompt to the transformations of nature that offer a magical and poetic way to celebrate the year. The Way Back Almanac is a modern twist on the conventional almanac, an accessible and truly contemporary guide back to natural rhythms, designed for those who feel most removed from the old ways and cycles.

Beautifully illustrated throughout, each month includes sections on stargazing, gardening tips, seasonal vegan recipes, home organization or crafting ideas, digital wellbeing practices, rituals, book club reads, folklore or ancient wisdom as told by modern people from different walks of life, and free space for your own writing, notes or recipes.
- Harvest your own home-grown micro greens, windowsill radishes or rooftop carrots.
- Celebrate seasonal citrus with Piña Colada Bars or relieve the heat of midsummer with Lithuanian beetroot gazpacho.
- Sew your own foraging pouch for May-time foraging or make a bee bath for thirsty July bees.
- Create a phone photo journal of your favourite patch of local green.
- Make your own Wake-Up Shower Fizzers or May Day Dew Face Wash.
- Watch the 120-meteor-per-hour Geminid Shower to see out the year in Way Back style.
This interactive and treasured item will gently encourage creativity, fulfillment and ultimately a way back to yourself.

Review:

I have to start off by thanking Watkins Publishing because they sent me a physical copy of this book, and what a beautiful book it is! I fell in love with the cover, it's a beautiful hardback book and I love the blue and pink illustrations on it, and the lovely images don't just stop at the front cover it had fabulous little black and white illustrations peppered throughout the pages. Now I've only read to April, but hear me out, it's not because I don't like the book(spoiler alert I love the book) it's because I actually want to read it month by month next year.

I really love each chapter/month and the way she's laid it out, from the little monthly intro to what's happening in the skies, in the soil etc it all being broken into sections meant that I took a little more time to go through it and genuinely made me reconnect with nature. I think my favourite part is the "What's happening in the skies", past there being stars, the moon and planets my knowledge of the night sky is limited at best, so I loved that I could learn a little more about it month by month and it's encouraged me to find more out and maybe try and learn the constellations with my little one.

Now as you know I run a book club, so you'd think id have my fill of having set reads each month, but I'm actually planning to read along with the Way Back Almanac book club! I'm always keen to expand my reading so having these books that are from a wide range of authors and genres appeals to me, ill let you know how I get on!

Krystina x

Book club choice August 2022- The Shadowing by Rhiannon Ward

Publisher: Trapeze

Publication Date: 16 Sept. 2021

Genre: Historical Fantasy Fiction

Summary:

When well-to-do Hester learns of her sister Mercy's death at a Nottinghamshire workhouse, she travels to Southwell to find out how her sister ended up at such a place.

Haunted by her sister's ghost, Hester sets out to uncover the truth, when the official story reported by the workhouse master proves to be untrue. Mercy was pregnant - both her and the baby are said to be dead of cholera, but the workhouse hasn't had an outbreak for years.

Hester discovers a strange trend in the workhouse of children going missing. One woman tells her about the Pale Lady, a ghostly figure that steals babies in the night. Is this lady a myth or is something more sinister afoot at the Southwell poorhouse?

As Hester investigates, she uncovers a conspiracy, one that someone is determined to keep a secret, no matter the cost...

Review:

So August was our local author event month and we were very lucky that the fabulous Rhiannon Ward agreed to come to our meeting! Safe to say we were all more than a little excited about it before we'd read the book, and the excitement increased after we had (spoiler alert, we loved it). Now Rhiannon ward is the name crime writer Sarah ward uses to write her gothic horror books and when we were choosing this month's book we had all the books she'd written as a choice but this one came out on top(obviously).

What made it even better was she writes about the local area and The Shadowing was set in Southwell! 
Now I don't want to give too much of the book away, you know I try not to spoil books because I really want you to go read it yourselves, but it was fantastically written and I really loved Hester the main character.

I personally devoured it in a couple of days, if I didn't have a small child it probably would have been a one-sitting kind of book because I just got so pulled into the story. I loved that the main character was a quaker and that I actually learned a little bit more about them through the story. I don't know much about Quakers, aside from the fact that all the main chocolate brands we know and love were started by Quaker families and that they set really good working practices for how to look after your workers. So finding out that there were different sort of levels of religion, some were more strict than others was really interesting. I can't wait to read her next gothic horror, or go dip into her crime for that matter because she is a great writer, and quite frankly a lovely human being!

The rest of the ladies loved it as well, as you'll see from the score! But here are a few quotes from the evening after I asked them to give me one sentence about why they enjoyed it.

"So many beautiful elements in it that I can't sum it up in one sentence!"

"I like the way it covered the poverty of the time"

In conclusion, Thank you Rhiannon Ward for taking the time to come to our meeting and answer our questions, you are always welcome back we loved chatting with you and we loved your book!

Krystina x

Book Club Score -8/10

 

Burn a Black Candle by Dee Norman

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 13 Sept. 2022

Genre: Wicca, Occult Magic

Summary:

This is a beautifully illustrated introduction to a topic that has rarely been written about before: Italian American magic. Tarot and magic expert Dee Norman shares never-before-disclosed practices and rituals for personal well-being. The Italian folklore tradition is one of the most ancient unbroken chains of wisdom on earth. Discover the previously unwritten secrets of an Italian American family's magical tradition passed down from generation to generation. This book provides easy, step-by-step introductions to the basics of authentic Italian American magical practice. 

Discover how to:

- Run a magical household, including creating a family altar and connecting with your ancestors

- Enhance your well-being for self and family through Buona Fortuna

- Perform transformative candle magic

- Diagnose, cure and ward away malocchio

- Learn time-tested health remedies from relieving symptoms of viruses to maintaining healthy skin and sleep routines

- Develop your most important magical tool - your mind

- Master divination through cartomancy, dreams, pendulums and more With Tarot and folk Italian magic expert Dee Norman as your guide, build your magical toolkit and discover one of humanity's longest-lasting traditions for good fortune, a happy home and self-care.

Review:

First off I need to say that I was sent a proof copy of this by the publisher Watkins, which I am ever so grateful for! And I do love the proof, its a whole different colour to the final print, and I'm weird in that I like the fact that mine is a little special, but it does mean it has little errors like an X instead of a page number but they don't make a big difference in the grand scheme.

This is such a beautiful book, the illustrations are so fabulous, they are just little black and white pencil-style drawings but they fit the book and its content perfectly. It has a number of exercises throughout the book for various things and I love that you can find those pages without having to flick through because they are edged in grey. It starts you off with ones to sharpen your attention and build your magical toolkit and goes right through to house blessing ones and celebrating your ancestors. Dee Norman starts you off at the beginning with the building blocks you need to know and never at any point makes you feel "you should know this why don't you". With the exercises, she makes it clear that even "Failures" are learning opportunities and help build your knowledge just not in the way you were expecting. I recommend it as a perfect book for anyone at the beginning of their journey, but that's not to say old hats won't learn something too! I've already recommended it to two fellow pagans!

From the moment I opened the book, it felt like I was sitting at Dee's kitchen table, with a cuppa having a good natter about all things practical magic. I love the way shes written it and I'm definitely on the lookout for more from her.

Now I'm off back to read through those exercises again!

Krystina x

 

The Modern Craft: Powerful Voices on Witchcraft Ethics Edited by Claire Askew and Alice Tarbuck

 

Publisher: Watkins Publishing

Publication Date: 14 Jun. 2022

Genre: New Age/ Occult

Summary: 

In a world that often feels like it makes no sense, many people have begun to reach out to the numinous for a sense of understanding and connection. Looking back to ancient wisdom, folklore and classic texts for answers can be helpful, but sometimes without the context of the contemporary it can be hard to see how these old ways apply to the here and now. Too often, depictions of witches – and indeed some contemporary witchcraft practices – perpetuate harmful racist, colonialist and culturally appropriative narratives. Gender essentialism crops up often in witchcraft circles, and  #witchgoals trends proliferated by large companies and mass media raises troubling questions about the relationship between witchcraft and capitalism. The Modern Craft is an eclectic and radical collection of essays on witchcraft practice and the ethics of magic, which gives that much-needed modern context to timeless wisdom. This is a fascinating snapshot of contemporary occult practice viewed through an intersectional lens. Essays include poets on the magic inherent in language, working-class witches on the reclamation of agency through practical spellwork, and gender fluid practitioners on the necessity of breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolism. Poetic, inspiring and electrifying glimpses from the brink of contemporary craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter where they live or who they are, can find positivity and the force for powerful change in the subversive unknown.

Review:

I have to start by thanking Watkins publishing because they sent me a beautiful physical copy of this book and it's a lovely thing to be able to hold and flick through.
It took me a while to finish reading this book, far longer than I normally take to read. And I think that's because it's a series of essays and each one very much give you the author's voice, which I loved, but that made it difficult to sit and read in one sitting. Each essay also gave you plenty to think about, and I didn't like moving on to the next one straight away without letting what the last author said sink in.
As it's a collection of essays with a variety of people contributing some obviously you connect with more than others but again that's the beauty of this book. It gives you the opportunity to hear other points of view and opinions but also with the ones you really do connect with it makes you feel like you're not on your own with this and there is someone who thinks or feels the same. 
For me I felt like I connnected with the Mental health and magic essay a heck of a lot, it was one I really had to sit back after reading and think about.
I loved that this book made me sit and think after each essay, and yes it took so much longer to read(i received this book before publication so I really have been slow to review) but I think that it was better to take the time and thought than just skim read and review in a rush for publication.
Not only did I come away from this book having, I feel, learned a lot I came away with a huge reading list! Some of the authors mention other authors or books that I've ended up putting on my tbr pile.
It's defiantly a book id recommend to others in the community because we lack books on the subject of witchcraft ethics and this is defiantly a good one to start that section off with.

Krystina x

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 30 Aug. 2022

Genre: Young Adult

Summary:

For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars . . .

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her wellbeing - and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.

Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family's waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother's restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

Signa's best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he's made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful - and more irresistible - than she ever dared imagine.

Review:

I have to start by saying I absolutely loved this book! I loved the sound of it when I read the blurb on NetGalley and I was so happy when I got approved for it. Unusually for me I requested the Audiobook, this was only about the 3rd audiobook I've listened to and this was fabulous. The narrator was brilliant her pacing was spot on and her voices for the different characters were great I really hope they get her to do the rest of the series. I think I started saying how brilliant the book was about 3 chapters in and I ended up convincing two other fabulous bloggers at Reads must and Reading the year away to join me in reading it as a mini read-along/bookclub( ill pop links to their blogs/ Instagram at the end so you can see what they thought). By the time they requested it the audiobook wasn't available so they both read instead of listening to it, which meant that they finished way before me and I think we perceived things differently because of that. For example, I wasn't surprised that Death and Silas were the same person, I think early on I clocked onto that and I'm not sure if that was because the voices being used were quite similar or the way they used certain phrases were similar or that I just saw that plot hook coming. But both of my fellow bloggers were surprised by it.
I have to say my absolute favorite parts of this book were the interactions between Signa and Death and watching their relationship blossom, I just couldn't get enough of those parts they were so well written. And I really can't wait for book 2 for more of it!
I honestly didn't see Percy being the killer, that was a surprise to me. And his level of planning to try and see though what he wanted to happen was impressive.

I think I've given enough spoilers, for now, if you want them all you'll have to go buy the book! (i pre-ordered it right after I finished the audiobook)
I don't usually score my none book club reviews... but this was 5-star!

Krystina x

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