Thursday 16 April 2015

The Lie by C.L. Taylor

Published : 23rd April 2015 by Avon UK

Get your copy HERE

Description : I know your name's not really Jane Hughes...

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.

Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.

Jane has tried to put her past behind her but someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed Jane and everything she loves...


First of all I would like to say a huge thanks to the publishers for sending me a review copy of The Lie via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thought's :
I started this book late one evening, I'd got myself all snuggled up in bed and thought I'll read a couple of chapters before I go to sleep and the next thing I knew I was half way through the book and I didn't want to stop reading.
The story alternates seamlessly between the past (5 years ago) and the present day and at the end of a lot of the chapters your left hanging, desperately wanting to find out what happens next and it usually jumps from past to present and vice versa so you have to keep reading on. It's such a gripper and so well written.

The friendship or lack of between the 4 main characters really get's you thinking. We've all had a friend who we thought we could trust but can't, I'm sure. Thankfully I've never been stuck at a retreat with any not like Jane who has went on the holiday of a life time to Nepal with her closest friends who she's known since University. Their true friendship is shown in the trauma's that unravel in the retreat and it becomes a race against time to escape. Each of the friends have flaws and troubles from their past and each one is very different from the other and the author paints a brilliant picture of each character.

Each page brings more twists and turns and this really isn't a book you want to read while you're alone. My heart was beating ten to the dozen most of the way through this book. The scenes set in Nepal are frightening and written so realistically I can still picture them in my head.

C.L. Taylor has a remarkable way of describing scenes and characters and this gripping edge of your seat psychological thriller is a must read. I highly recommend it and I'm looking forward to more reads from this author.





  

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Close to home by Lisa Jackson


 
 
 
 
Release Date : 26th March 2015

Publisher : Mulholland books

Pages : 432

Buy your copy HERE


Description :

HOME IS WHERE THE FEAR IS...

The house where Sarah McAdams grew up has always terrified her. But now she's moved back with her daughters, determined to put her childhood fears behind her.

It's harder than she thought. Increasingly haunted by the past, Sarah soon realises that the present has its own threats. One by one, teenage girls are disappearing...

Frantic for her daughters' safety, Sarah feels the house's walls closing in on her once more. Somewhere deep in her memory is the key to a very real danger.

And only by confronting the terrifying truth can she protect her children from a nightmare that is roaring back to life...

My Thoughts : First off I'd like to say I received this book Via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review and I'm honoured to be part of Lisa Jackson's blog tour.


To be honest this is the first book I've read by Lisa Jackson but what a thrill it was and I really look forward to reading more. Close to Home has a bit of everything in it, we have ghost's, family secrets, romance, kidnapping and after reading a few reviews before I started this book I thought maybe there was just too much going on but the book flows really well and everything is combined for an easy but thrilling read.

The suspense starts on page one and continues right through to the end and keeps you guessing and needing to read "just one more chapter" before you go to sleep to find out what happens next. I didn't figure out who the kidnapper was up until it was revealed which was fab.

The characters are described well and realistic and I liked Sarah, mum to Gracie and Jade. Sarah's trying to do what's best for her family but is also trying to put her fears behind her. Jade's your typical teenage girl who needs a good kick up the bum and Gracie who's 12 is a smart girl who like's the paranormal and isn't afraid to go snooping in dark scary places.
I loved how we were taken back to the past in Blue Peacock Manor and how Sarah and Gracie researched the family genealogy and put it in order and how family secrets are revealed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who like's a good, can't put down book.
I give this book 5 hearts.
 
About the Author

Lisa Jackson and her sister, Nancy Bush, grew up in a small timber town in Oregon. She attended Oregon State University and later worked in the banking industry.
In 1983, Jackson's first novel, A Twist of Fate, was published by Silhouette Books. Currently, Jackson writes contemporary romantic suspense novels for Kensington Books and medieval romantic suspense novels for Onyx Books. Her books regularly place high on the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly best seller lists.
Her novel Shiver won the Rendevous Rosebud Award, and If She Only Knew was a finalist for the Reviewer's International Organization Dorothy Parker Award for Excellence for Best Suspense Novel.
Jackson has been nominated twice for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, winning in 2005 in the Best Medieval Romance category for Temptress.

You can visit Lisa Jackson's webpage here

Sunday 12 April 2015

Nobody's Angel (A Willow Park romance) by Sarah Hegger

Release Date : March 31st 2015
Publisher : Zebra
Pages : 352
To buy this book click for Kindle Edition

Description : In this evocative new series from author Sarah Hegger, a woman returns home after a long absence--and wonders if two wrongs really can make a right. . .

Nine years ago Lucy Flint ran away to Seattle, taking her friend's boyfriend and leaving her high school sweetheart without a word of explanation. Now she's back in Willow Park, Illinois, to help care for her ailing father--and it's no surprise that her ex, Dr. Richard Hunter, is still angry.

Still, she's a different Lucy now. Sober, wiser, ready to make amends to the long--make that very long--list of those she mistreated during her wild younger days. Falling for Richard all over again would mean wreaking havoc in both their lives and possibly squandering her opportunity for redemption. But here, in the place where everything went wrong, is the one person who always felt right, and a second-chance that could be the best mistake she ever made. . .

My Thoughts :
This is the first of Sarah Hegger's books I've read and I'd like to thank NetGalley for sending me a copy to review.
From page 1 I was hooked on this little treasure of a book. Lucy's character is likeable and she's come home to face her past.
The story is very well written and not just your typical romance. Lucy's a recovering alcoholic and she's come back home to Willow Park after 9 years to help out her Mum with her ailing Father. Both her parents aren't very likeable characters but Lucy see's this chance to move forward with her life and with support from her sponsor taking these steps to right her wrongs she will be able to move forward with her life and put her troubles behind her, hopefully.

Through the story we find out why Lucy has stayed away for so long, why she left and what she has to try to put right. One being the handsome Richard who was once the love of her life and now lives next door to her parents and is her Fathers Dr.

Lucy's a strong character who doesn't blame anyone else for her past. She's the one who has done wrong and I think anyone who reads this book will be able to take something away from this fact. Reading this story I got quite attached to Lucy and felt her emotions within me as I went along. I love when you can connect with a character and feel their frustration, anger, hurt, joy etc. It makes you feel like you've slipped into the book beside them.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next book in the series Nobody's Fool.

I'm giving this book a fabulous 4 hearts
Nobody's Fool (Willow Park romance) Release date 25th August 2015
In Sarah Hegger's latest Willow Park Romance, long-held crushes and past frenemies reunite--and wonder if there's ever a second chance to make a good first impression. . .

Holly Partridge had no plans to return to Willow Park, Illinois, until her troubled younger sister Portia fled her home and aimed herself straight at Holly's high school nemesis--too-gorgeous-to-be-true Josh Hunter. Riding a manic bipolar high, Portia's only a danger to herself, but Holly needs to find her before she crashes. That means asking Josh for help.

The ultimate love 'em and leave 'em lothario, Josh was never good for anything but a broken heart. But now he's lending a hand when Holly needs it most--and revealing surprising generosity and compassion. Has Josh shed his bad boy ways? Or is Holly suddenly grown up enough to acknowledge her own mistakes? Trusting Josh could be a disaster--or the first step in banishing the past to make way for a future happier than Holly ever imagined. . .
To pre-order click HERE