The Rules by Kerry Barnes

Do you live by the rules, or die by them?

Holed up in prison, Mike Regan is offered a deal – his freedom in exchange for his firm taking down the gang that is supplying a new dangerous drug that has hit the streets. What starts as a game soon becomes a shocking revelation with devastating consequences.

Meanwhile, Mike’s fiancé, Zara Ezra, has her own firm to run. But when the so-called Governor is out to take her down, she has her own decision to make – either fight, run, or write her own rule book…

My Rating: 5/5  Continue reading “The Rules by Kerry Barnes”

BLOG TOUR: The Serial Dater’s Shopping List by Morgen Bailey

51T8Bv73XEL Synopsis: Izzy is a journalist who usually writes a technology column for a local newspaper. Her somewhat-intimidating boss William sets her the task of dating thirty-one men, via an internet dating site, all within a month, and writing about it for the paper.

Having an active, though fruitless, social life with her friend Donna, Izzy knows what she wants in a man, so creates a shopping list of dos and don’ts and starts ticking them off as she meets the men.

Follow the ups and downs of the dating process including Tim ‘the Weeble’, whose date leads Izzy to see banoffee pie in a whole new light, Lawrence the super-skinny social worker, Felix with his bizarre penchant for Persian Piranhas, and ‘the music maestro but don’t talk about dead pets’ Jake.

By the end of the month, will Izzy have met Mr Right?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: Isabel our leading lady is a journalist who has been set a mission by her boss. 31 days in a month so she needs to have 31 dates via INternet Dating Sites all for her column! I think Izzy is somebody as a character I had to warm up to but once I did I found her quite funny. This was almost like reading snippets from hilarious stories either you have had or your friends have had in the past with all of her dates she goes on.

I did initially think this would be a little reminiscent of the film How To Lost A Guy in 10 Days, but it wasn’t however it does give you a real insight into the idea behind the theory. There were some moments in the story which had me laughing out loud and as time went on I felt Izzy’s pain of wanting the month to be over.

This is certainly a fun and light-hearted take on dating and was an enjoyable read. If you want something to make you giggle and something not too serious then this may well be the book for you.

The Hunted by Kerry Barnes

Synopsis: Having spent her life watching her father run his East London firm, Zara Ezra has learnt a thing or two about being a gangster, and she’s ready to take over when the time comes.

Mike Regan, a blast from Zara’s past, is the head of his own firm, but when his son is kidnapped in the middle of a gangland feud, Mike has no choice but to accept help from the Ezras to get his little boy back alive.

With a rival firm playing increasingly dirty, murder moves to the top of the agenda and Zara has some big choices to make. It seems that the only way to come out on top is to play them at their own game…

But will she become The Hunter or The Hunted?

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “The Hunted by Kerry Barnes”

Kiss of Death by Paul Finch (Mark Heckenburg #7)

Synopsis: A Deadly Hunt
DS ‘Heck’ Heckenburg has been tasked with retrieving one of the UK’s most wanted men. But the trail runs cold when Heck discovers a video tape showing the fugitive in a fight for his life. A fight he has no chance of winning.

A Dangerous Game
Heck realises that there’s another player in this game of cat and mouse, and this time, they’ve not just caught the prize: they’ve made sure no one else ever does.

A Man Who Plays With Fire
How far will Heck and his team go to protect some of the UK’s most brutal killers? And what price is he willing to pay?

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Kiss of Death by Paul Finch (Mark Heckenburg #7)”

The Holiday Cottage by The Sea by Holly Martin (Sandcastle Bay #1)

51QGCvQEccL Synopsis: Tori Graham is in need of a holiday. Trying to piece her heart back together after losing the love of her life, she escapes to Blossom Cottage, with its picturesque views of the sea. And plans to spend the summer in gorgeous Sandcastle Bay, where her best friend Melody Rosewood lives.

Tori’s not expecting her summer by the beach to be eventful, until she meets handsome and mysterious Aidan Jackson…

Aidan looks after the holiday cottage Tori is staying in. Healing from past hurts, he wants to avoid any further chance of heartache. But could this newcomer be the breath of fresh air he needs?

Finding herself embracing life in the coastal community, Tori starts to fall in love with Sandcastle Bay and its welcoming cast of residents. But that’s not all she begins to fall for, as Tori is swept away by Aidan’s genuine heart and mischievous sense of humour. The attraction between them is undeniable, but will a simple holiday romance be enough?

As Tori’s stay in Sandcastle Bay comes to an end she has a tough decision to make…. Has her heart found a new place to call home?

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “The Holiday Cottage by The Sea by Holly Martin (Sandcastle Bay #1)”

BLOG TOUR: Dead Memories by Angie Marsons (Kim Stone #10)

bt Synopsis: On the fourth floor of Chaucer House, two teenagers are found chained to a radiator. The boy is dead but the girl is alive. For Detective Kim Stone every detail of the scene mirrors her own terrifying experience with her brother Mikey, when they lived in the same tower block thirty years ago.

When the bodies of a middle-aged couple are discovered in a burnt-out car, Kim can’t ignore the chilling similarity to the death of Erica and Keith – the only loving parents Kim had ever known.

Faced with a killer who is recreating traumatic events from her past, Kim must face the brutal truth that someone wants to hurt her in the worst way possible. Desperate to stay on the case, she is forced to work with profiler Alison Lowe who has been called in to observe and monitor Kim’s behaviour.

Kim has spent years catching dangerous criminals and protecting the innocent. But with a killer firmly fixed on destroying Kim, can she solve this complex case and save her own life or will she become the final victim? Continue reading “BLOG TOUR: Dead Memories by Angie Marsons (Kim Stone #10)”

It Started With Christmas by Jenny Hale

51mjtH8lfdL._SY346_  Synopsis: Holly McAdams loves spending the Christmas holidays at her family’s cozy cabin, with its little red door and twinkling lights, tucked in the snowy hills outside Nashville. But this year will be different. Someone unexpected is joining them…

After Holly and her beloved Nana struggle through a snow storm to reach the cabin, they discover gorgeous and wealthy Joseph Barnes, who has been renting the cabin for the last few weeks, is now snowed in. And it looks like he’ll be staying for the holidays.

Determined to make the best of the surprise situation, Holly tries to bring everyone together by baking delicious treats and decorating the cabin with plenty of festive sparkle. She finds herself growing close to handsome Joseph, who is unlike anyone she’s ever met before, even if Nana isn’t so keen on the dashing stranger with the mysterious past.

But charming and irresistible musician Rhett Burton is also back in town. Thrown into close proximity with the person who used to be her best friend and the man who broke her heart, Holly realizes it’s time to face her feelings and figure out what she really wants from her life. But to complicate things, both Joseph and Rhett have secrets to reveal…

Will Holly be able to find herself and the love she’s always dreamed of this Christmas?

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “It Started With Christmas by Jenny Hale”

Publication List – Jenny Colgan

  1. Amanda’s Wedding (1999)
  2. Talking to Addison (2000) aka My Very ’90s Romance
  3. Looking for Andrew McCarthy (2001)
  4. Working Wonders (2003) aka Arthur Project
  5. Do You Remember the First Time? (2004) aka The Boy I Loved Before
  6. Where Have All the Boys Gone? (2005)
  7. West End Girls (2006)
  8. Operation Sunshine (2007)
  9. Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (2008)
  10. The Good, the Bad and the Dumped (2009)
  11. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe (2011) Cupcake Cafe #1
  12. Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe (2012) Cupcake Cafe #2
  13. Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams (2012) aka Sweetshop of Dreams Rosie Hopkins #1
  14. Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop (2013) Rosie Hopkins #2
  15. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris (2013)
  16. The Little Beach Street Bakery (2014) Beach Street Bakery #1
  17. The Christmas Surprise (2014) Rosie Hopkins #3
  18. Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery (2015) Beach Street Bakery #2
  19. Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery (2016) Beach Street Bakery #3
  20. The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After (2016) aka The Bookshop on the Corner
  21. The Summer Seaside Kitchen (2017) aka The Cafe by the Sea Mure #1
  22. A Very Distant Shore (2017) Mure #2
  23. The Endless Beach (2018) Mure #3
  24. Christmas on The Island (2018) aka An Island Christmas Mure #4 
  25. The Bookshop on the Shore (2019)
  26. 500 Miles From You (Due June 2020)
  27. The Christmas Bookshop (2021)
  28. Sunrise By The Sea (2021) Beach Street Bakery #4
  29. An Island Wedding (2022) Mure #5
  30. Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop (2023)
  31. The Summer Skies (2023) Mure #6
  32. Close Knit (2024) Mure #7
  33. The Secret Christmas Library (2025)
  34. Meet Me At The Seaside Cottages (2025) Mure #8
  35. The Late Bloomer (2027)

She Saw What He Did by Lynda Renham

41t6ncB+AlL._SY346_ Synopsis: Abby Miller thought she had the perfect family; a good looking, loving husband and a beautiful daughter. Her life was complete. The shock discovery that her husband, Jared, had been having an affair rocked her world. So when Jared suggested a short break to the Cannard Islands, to heal their fractured marriage, Abby agreed. An idyllic holiday turns into a nightmare when Abby sees something through the telephoto lens of her camera. Suddenly her life and the life of her daughter are in serious danger and no one seems able to help them.

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “She Saw What He Did by Lynda Renham”

Lucy in The Sky by Paige Toon

51+K42IHzmL._SY346_Synopsis: Settling down for a 24-hour flight to Australia, Lucy finds a text message on her phone – not from her boyfriend James, as she fondly hopes, but from a woman claiming to have slept with him four times in the past month. Trapped on the plane, she questions everything about her relationship with James. She finally calls him and he reassures her: it was only his mates playing a silly joke.

James is a lawyer, persuasive and gorgeous and Lucy adores him. So why, at the wedding in Sydney of her best friend Molly, does she have niggling doubts, and find herself attracted to Molly’s brother-in-law Nathan? The sooner she gets back to her regular life in London, the flat she shares with James, her job in PR, the better. Nathan is a happy-go-lucky surfer boy, with no prospects, no place to live, an almost-girlfriend in tow. And the other side of the world…

Lucy – a girl caught between two distant continents – and two very different men…

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: Having read Paige Toon’s newer books I was keen to go back and read her debut novel. This was originally published over 10 years ago back in 2007. This book concentrate’s on Lucy and the opening few chapters were brilliant. Lucy is on a flight to that is going to last 24 hours and all she can think of is a text message claiming her boyfriend James has been unfaithful to her. Soon enough she has landed and is spending time with her friends and is introduced to Nathan.

Now normally I am quite constructive (or try to be) but this book just felt ‘blah’.  Yeah Lucy was an okay character, but there were way too many cliches and it felt a little bit contrived. That sounds like I am being super critical, but I think this is due to the fact that her more recent books are brilliant and this is a sure sign that sometimes going back to read debut’s isn’t the best idea. I know for a fact that I have changed over the course of 10 years, and I am pretty sure Paige Toon has too. I think this clearly shows in her writing.

This was what I would consider a fluff book. Easy enough to read, nothing too horrible about it, but overall largely unremarkable and unmemorable. I am just thrilled that I picked up Paige’s more recent books.