Anyone but the Boss by Sara.L.Hudson~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 18th September 2023

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Summary:

Thomas Moore, heir to the glamorous New York department store Moore’s, has everything. Everything but a sense of humor. Probably why he's so often compared to his philandering crook of a father.

Alice Truman, recently promoted from the sales floor, is determined to prove her worth. Even if that means smiling in the face of the arrogant and too-sexy-for-his-own-good Thomas Moore, who seems to think her unfit for her new position.

Avoidance works wonders until Alice's best friend plans an Elvis-themed destination wedding with Thomas’ brother—a concept the modern Mr. Darcy loathes.

Throw in a hairless cat, a calamitous bachelorette party and some questionable cocktails, and things become… complicated. And when things get complicated, anyone but the boss would be better.

Review:

Firstly thank you to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books and Sara. L. Hudson for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I loved reading this book. The interactions between Alice and Thomas were brilliant from their first kind of argumentative ones to the more easy banter that eventually emerged. The hen party shenanigans were fantastic, I was in fits of giggles at them at almost every page! I loved Chase, he was just so fun, complete and utter mischief personified at times and I loved anytime he stepped in to cause mayhem.
And the sexual tension between Alice and Thomas, you could cut it with a knife, it was brilliantly written. With romance you know they get together in the end but it was written really well so you still had that will they won't they feeling. I adored the fact that Thomas' whole family were in on his apology for Alice, it was so sweet and the apology itself was amazing! I loved how he showed her that he loved her by taking a small thing that she said and creating this massive display of his love for all to see.
It was exactly what I love in a romance, it felt like a bit of a hug in a book. ill definitely be going back to read more by Sara.

Krystina xx

The Queen of The Poor by Alan Gold~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Romaunce Books 

Publication Date: 10th August 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:

Angela Burdett-Coutts was a wealthy woman who used her money, class and prestige to make a tangible difference for those less fortunate. She would become one of the most outspoken and dedicated philanthropists of her day.

Coutts the bank was founded in 1692 but really took off when Thomas Coutts took over at the beginning of the 19th Century. He made a fortune, and left it to his second wife, 40 years younger and an actress. When she died, she left it all to Thomas' granddaughter, Angela Burdett-Coutts.

Suddenly, Angela became the second wealthiest woman in England after Queen Victoria. She had to hire bodyguards to keep fortune hunters away. But because of her wealth and also because her father was a radical politician, she moved in the most interesting circles of Victorian society, where she met and has numerous affairs with famous people, like the chemist Michael Faraday and many others including Charles Dickens and the Duke of Wellington.

She caused something of a scandal with her radical lifestyle, but because of her wealth, and the fact that she spends most of her money on charity, opening schools for impoverished children, helping Dickens with the housing for the poor, housing prostitutes and getting them off the streets she's almost beyond criticism.... until, at the age of 66, she caused absolute shock and outrage, because she chose to marry her 29-year-old secretary called William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett.

Whilst this in itself does not appear particularly shocking, as he was, like her father, a Member of Parliament, the astonishing age gap left society aghast. Whilst she was sixty-seven, he was just twenty-nine years old.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Love Books Tours, Romaunce Books and Alan Gold for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I was very excited when I got on this tour because I've loved all the books by Alan Gold that I've read so far but this is the first one of his where I had no idea who the woman that it's about is. I'd never heard of Angela Burdett-Coutts until I was on this tour and got hold of his book and I have to say she's a fascinating woman. I had no idea that she had a hand in founding the NSPCC, and all these different charities she helped either set up or fund, she sounds like an amazingly forward-thinking woman for her time. I think I may have to do more reading about her after having devoured this book in a couple of hours.

It is an eloquently written book, and was very easy to dive into, losing myself into the pages and not looking up until id finished. I enjoyed the various relationships throughout it, her Brother Dudley was an odious man constantly trying to trick her into giving away or losing her inheritance all because of his overinflated sense of entitlement, it was so well written that I got angry on her behalf at his actions.

Her friendships were lovely to read, Hannah attempting to support her and steer her in the direction that she knew Angela wanted to go in and Dickens in helping her to direct her philanthropy to the correct places. Wellington was an odd one he definitely cared and was trying to look out for her wellbeing but may have ultimately caused her emotional hurt in his heavy-handedness.
As someone who loves history and enjoys reading about it, I can't recommend Alan Gold's books enough, if you're a historical fiction fan you need to add his books to your TBR.

Krystina xx

Bus Rhymes and Playtime by Sue Wickstead~Blog Tour

Publisher: JayJayBooks

Publication Date: 7th July 2023

Genre:Childrens 

Summary:

Poetry and Rhymes to sing with a bus theme.

Have you got your ticket ready?

Where shall we go today?

Why not jump on board the bus – come along to sing and play.

So take your seat as off we go.

What could happen along the way?

Review:

Firstly thank you to Rachels Random Resources, JayJayBooks and Sue Wickstead for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
 I read this to my little one and it took an age because they kept interrupting to sing all the songs in the book because they learnt them at school, which I think is a brilliant recommendation for the book! It's not a very long book but it's definitely full of fun, my little one loved it and I think it works well as part of a daytime activity when you are home with little ones. I made the mistake of reading it at bedtime and my small one ended up all hyped up from singing, don't recommend it for bedtime if you want them to sleep it's too fun for bedtime lol.
The illustrations are very cute and fit so well with the songs and rhymes, the little tickets dotted about were brilliant, my little one liked pointing them out and seeing how many they could find.
Whilst my little one loved this book I'm actually going to pass it on to their preschool because I think it'll be brilliant for the age range of children that go to it and they do so much singing that this is perfect for them.
It's a brilliant little book, I definitely recommend it if you have young children.

Krystina xx

Singles Holiday by Elaine Spires~Blog Tour

 Publisher: 

Publication Date: 11th May 2020

Genre: Romantic fiction

Summary:

Antigua... the Caribbean at its most luscious, its most beautiful... silver sand, cobalt sky, warm turquoise sea... and a bunch of complete strangers, who only have one thing in common: they're single. Some are looking for romance, some for something more. But they've all chosen to spend their holiday with people they have never met before. And pretty soon, some will become good friends, some enemies and some lovers. And many of them will experience the unexpected, including their tour manager Eve, who perhaps has the biggest shock of all. A story that will make you laugh and cry with just the right number of twists to keep you turning the pages as you get to know all the members of the group as they, in turn, get to know each other.

Review:
Firstly thank you to Rachels Random Resources and Elaine Spires for having me on the tour and sending me the book.

It's been a really easy book to read, and the writing style flows well. I have struggled to get into this book though, While we have been following the group of singles on holiday, I didn't really find much of a plot to grasp onto. There were a lot of lead characters to follow and a lot of things happening but I think I would have preferred it if we had more solid MC to follow rather than having several. There were a couple of characters that constantly made me cringe when reading what they were doing and a couple of times I just skipped past them because I just really disliked or was cringing at what they were doing, mostly Murray and Geri and I suspect that's what they were there for.
As I said it is well written and the characters are well done, they wouldn't make you cringe if they weren't well written, but it just wasn't for me unfortunately.

Krystina xx

The Bridesmaid's Brother by Olivia Lockhart~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Independently published

Publication Date: 27th July 2023

Genre:Romantic Comedy

Summary:

For Penny Archer, dating after forty has proved to be less ‘silver foxes and romantic dinners’, and more ‘last chance bargain bin’. She’s met every liar and cheater in the dating pool, and after one heartbreak too many, she is officially sworn off men.

A strong, single mum, she doesn’t need a partner, and besides, the family planner is crammed with work commitments, school meetings, puppy classes, chores for her ageing parents and, of course, her beloved book club. Although a cuddle now and then wouldn’t go amiss…

Penny jumps at the chance to let her hair down at a friend’s wedding, blissfully unaware that she’s about to crash into a stranger’s life in the most mortifying manner.

Can something that begins in disaster ever end in happiness, or is it all too good to be true?

Will Penny ever turn the pages of her own book towards that happy ever after?

One wedding…

One bouquet toss…

The chance to change her story…

Review:
Firstly thank you Rachels Random Resources and Olivia Lockhart for having me on this tour and for sending me the book.
I loved it so much, read it in one sitting its that kind of romance that you can just step into. I loved Penny as an MC, she was just so relatable that it's easy to see yourself in her, the insecurities when you start new relationships and about yourself were just spot on. And Ryan was so damn sweet, I loved watching him grow in his relationship with Penny and damn it if my heart didn't break for him when was opening up about his grief.
I thought the cute little flirty messages between them were adorable and I liked the author using it later in the book for them to say things we all know are difficult to say face to face. It was a slow-burn relationship, I know they moved quicker in some areas, but I liked that they took the relationship as a whole at a slower pace it suited their personal circumstances well and it meant we got to know them better as they both opened up about their pasts.

For 90% of this book, I had a smile on my face and loved watching them together but that last 10% was heart-wrenching I could have cried for poor Penny and what happened to her. I think the way the author portrayed Penny's reaction was brilliant, the way she felt about herself and its negative impact on her was fantastically done and I genuinely could have cried at it.
I will definitely be looking out for more books by Olivia Lockhart.

Krystina xx

Facing The Enemy by DiAnn Mills~Blog Tour

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Publication Date: 5th September 2023

Genre:Crime/Thriller

Summary:

For the past five years, FBI Special Agent Risa Jacobs has worked in the violent crimes against children division of the Houston FBI. She’s never had reason to believe there’s a target on her back . . . until now.

When the long-awaited reunion between Risa and her brother, Trenton, ends in tragedy, Risa is riddled with guilt, unable to cope with the responsibility she feels over his death. On leave from the FBI, Risa returns to her former career as an English teacher at a local college, only to see her past and present collide when one of her students, Carson Mercury, turns in an assignment that reads like an eyewitness account of her brother’s murder, with details never revealed publicly.

Alarmed by Carson’s inside knowledge of Trenton’s death, Risa reaches out to her former partner at the FBI. Special Agent Gage Patterson has been working a string of baby kidnappings, but he agrees to help look into Carson’s background. Risa and Gage soon discover their cases might be connected as a string of high-value thefts have occurred at properties where security systems were installed by Carson’s stepfather and children have gone missing. There’s a far more sinister plot at play than they ever imagined, and innocent lives are in danger.

Review:

 Firstly thank you to Partners In Crime, Tyndale House Publishers and DiAnn Mills for having me on this tour and sending me the book.
I have to start by admitting that I've not quite finished the book so my review will be on what I've read so far and I will come back and edit the review when I've finished the book.
From reading the blurb I didn't realise that the book was classed as Christian crime fiction so the heavy amount of Christian religion in it from the first few pages took me by surprise and if I'm honest put me off the book a little and is why I'm still not finished reading it.
The story confuses me at times and I think it's because this feels like two separate books a romance and a crime, almost as if the author wasn't sure which she wanted to write and I'm not sure if they have been woven together as well as they could have been.
That being said I do like the crime element and the adoption/kidnapping crime ring and how Gage and Jack are trying to bring it down and aside from the religious elements I do like the writing style.
I feel like we haven't got to know Risa or Gage well enough, that this possibly feels like the midway book in a detective series rather than a stand-alone novel.
As I said I've not finished the book yet so my opinions may change but currently despite liking the writing style due to the religious elements being so heavy-handed I don't think I would pick up another book by this author.

Krystina xx

The Trail by M.A Hunter~Blog Tour

 Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 8th September 2023

Genre:Crime

Summary:

Sometimes it's best to let the past stay buried...

Thirty years ago, Jess's mother, Nora, disappeared while on a charity hike in the US. The devastating loss has afflicted Jess well into her adult life and even inspired her decision to become an investigative journalist.

So when Jess receives an anonymous tip telling her that remains have been recovered in the spot her mother disappeared, she wastes no time in jumping on a plane.

They say the Appalachian Mountains have secrets, but as she begins to ask around, she learns that the locals do too. But no matter how much they lie, she is determined to find the truth - even if it will irrevocably change her future.

Someone wants to keep the past buried. And they will stop at nothing to keep Jess as quiet as the tranquil mountain trail itself...

Review:
Firstly thank you to Racehls Random Resources, Boldwood Books and M.A Hunter for having me on this tour and for sending me the book.
Now as this is a crime book I'm going to give as little away as possible in this review, you know I like to try not to spoil it so you all go buy and read the book!
This was such an easy-to-read book, I read it in a day because it kept me hooked I really wanted to know what happened to Nora and I had various ideas of what it could have been, but what did happen was not on my list.
 I enjoyed the alternating chapters but I have to say I enjoyed the Nora chapters far more than the Jess ones, I'm not sure I could say why but I think it's because I found Jess a tad annoying at times. Jess came across as very selfish and quite irresponsible from the off and whilst I can definitely understand her need to find out what happened to her mum her attitude left a lot to be desired.
Every Nora entry made me feel like the AT trail was getting creepier and I actually worried for her I knew she had gone missing from the off so it felt odd to worry. But I think that's just the mark of good writing.
I so enjoyed reading this but I didn't like the ending, it felt too neat and I don't know I think expected more drama to the ending.
I do know I'll be picking up more books by M.A. Hunter though, I very much enjoyed the writing style and it kept me reading even though I didn't like the MC most of the time.

Krystina xx