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

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