Tag: RATED 5/5

The Longest Holiday by Paige Toon

165x250

My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: ‘Don’t wait for the storm to pass; learn to dance in the rain…’ Laura has been married to the man of her dreams for seven months. But a week before the wedding, Matthew made a terrible mistake. Escaping the humiliation that is now her marriage, Laura is whisked off to Florida’s Key West by her best friend Marty. A carefree holiday full of cocktails and fun, surrounded by gorgeous, tanned men, is exactly what the doctor ordered. Distraction comes in the form of sexy Cuban scuba diver Leo. Laura’s instant attraction to him knocks her flying, and she falls hard. As the end of the holiday approaches, Laura doesn’t want to go home. Is it time to face the music? Or is there more to Key West than a holiday romance?

My Review: Laura and Matthew have been happily married for 7 months until Laura learns that Matthew made a terrible mistake a week before the wedding. To help Laura deal with her marriage crisis her friend Marty takes her along on her holiday to Miami. I am actually travelling to Miami later in the year and am very excited, so figured what better way to prepare myself than by reading Paige Toon’s new release. Ever since reading Jonny Be Good by Toon I have read quite a few more of hers and was really looking forward to this one.

As soon as I started reading and realised just what Laura was escaping from I couldn’t help but feel for her. A trip to Miami seems like a good idea and as soon as Laura, Marty and another friend Bridget start their journey it seems like Matthew is out of the picture. Paige Toon does a smashing job in describing the Miami Keys and I found myself wishing my holiday would come sooner. Distraction for Laura comes in the form of Leo who helps the scuba diving courses in the Keys. Laura’s instantly attracted to him but is in complete turmoil as she is there to give herself space, not to fall for another man!

What I liked about this story from start to finish was that it really wasn’t very clear what Laura was going to do. It didn’t feel so cut and dried as some books do and you really feel for Laura as she struggles to make the right decision for both her and her marriage. It was very easy to get completely wrapped up in this book and if it’s one you plan to take on holiday, don’t plan to move from your sun lounger for too long. There wasn’t any part of the book that I didn’t enjoy with one small exception. Towards the end when I was still reeling from Laura’s initial decision, another major event takes place. What niggled me was that this happened literally a few chapters from the end and before I knew it I was reading the epilogue. Don’t get me wrong it certainly didn’t spoil the book but I couldn’t help feeling it was a bit rushed.

I know that there were some small references to characters from other books, but I have yet to read some of her older work so wouldn’t have noticed the link as I’m reading her books out of sequence. Overall, I think this was an absolutely brilliant book and would really recommend it to people. When you are making your holiday packing list, don’t forget to include The Longest Holiday at the end!

The Guest List by Melissa Hill

226x346

My Rating: 5/5

Cara is so happy when her boyfriend Shane proposes. She seems to have it all going on, a great job, a new fiancé and a great circle of friends and family. Their excitement quickly disappears whe…n they tell their respective parents and their ideas for their bog day aren’t quite what Shane and Cara had in mind. Cara was an easy character to like and as soon as I started reading about her and Shane, I couldn’t help thinking this was a lovely couple that seemed to have everything in place for them. When Cara and Shane make a stand and decide on a beach wedding on a Caribbean island, there is uproar from both families.

There were quite a lot of characters in this book but they are all introduced into the story with a little background about each of them. One thing Melissa Hill has done is create a very `real’ family. I would be surprised if there are people out there that don’t have at least one family member that behaves a certain way?!? Cara’s sister-in-law Kim was my favourite character and she brought a real calm to the storm kind of feeling right throughout the book. I loathed Shane’s parents from the outset but as the story progressed my feelings started to change.

I think was surprised me was the fact that I got so engrossed in a book that is essentially not that original. I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, just that weddings and engagements have been written about time and time again. Hill manages to get the reader that little bit more attached to all the characters, whether it to love them or loathe them. She has taken a traditional story and made it into a bit of a drama, with all the characters playing their part in it all.

The thing that also surprised me with this book was the ending. Well, what can I say I did NOT see that coming! Normally I pick up on things like that, and although I had suspicions about what the past held, I was way off the mark. I absolutely love it when a story does that and genuinely takes you by surprise. I can honestly say that I loved this book and as a person that has actually done the whole “wedding abroad” thing, I could actually relate to some of the stuff going on in Cara and Shane’s lives. I really would recommend this to people; it was a fantastic read and one that I finished in a matter of hours rather than days

Cold Killing by Luke Delaney (Sean Corrigan #1)

Cold Killing

My Rating: 5/5

Well, the only thing I can say is if you havem’t read this debut novel by Luke Delaney, you should certainly give it a go, absolutely brilliant. Here’s my review…

I read the synopsis about this book and thought it sounded great. I mean w…ho better to write a book about the murky worlds of killers that an ex-copper turned CID with experience of extreme violence. When I looked at the bio of Luke Delaney I wasn’t surprised to see that this was a pseudonym, as I can’t imagine many coppers would want their real name and picture plastered about on books! This is the first in a series of books featuring DI Sean Corrigan. The difference between DI Corrigan and others is that Sean has an ability to take his thoughts to the dark side of a killer. His upbringing has left him with deep scars and emotions that haunt him; thankfully they also make him a great copper.

When I started reading this book I didn’t realise that within the first couple of chapters I would be so completely absorbed. DI Sean Corrigan is an absolutely fantastic character. He is a normal guy with a wife and kids, working a job that has unsociable hours. However when the first crime scene turns up in the book you see the other side to him. I really can’t explain just how dark this side of his character is, but just reading him processing his thoughts like a killer made me shiver. What also pulled me in with this book were the chapters that were written from the killer’s point of view. It shows just how much experience Delaney must have as it’s realistic to the point of it being terrifying.

Sean is on the trail of a killer who is frighteningly smart. He knows about forensics and every scene he shows up at is free of any DNA evidence. What struck me when reading this book was the fact that you get to see coppers work a case the real way, not like an episode of CSI. It had me horrified and intrigued in equal measures. The pace was pretty good but this was certainly secondary for me as the storyline and characters were brilliant. This was a book I didn’t want to put down and is best described as a meaty police thriller. Literally as soon as the last page was turned I was straight onto Amazon to find out when the next one is due. I was extremely pleased to see that the second book in the series `The Keeper’ is due out in September 2013.

All I can say is that Delany has clearly found his calling following a career in the police. Being an author is now clearly what he is meant to do and I for one will be keeping a close eye on all future Delaney related news. Highly recommended; especially for fans of Peter James and Mark Billingham.

When Good Men Do Nothing by Paul Grzegorzek

41AGScbKVaL

My Rating: 5/5

Paul Grzegorzek self-published his first book The Follow which I recently read and absolutely loved. It was a brilliant debut and I was really looking forward to getting stuck into book 2. In this book we meet Detective Sergeant Rob Steele who is the only bloke in Sussex who is a specialist in Firearms Positioning. He’s called into an investigation where a body is found and it looks like a professional job. The first few chapters waste no time in throwing you straight into the deep end of the crime scene and we meet his two colleagues on the case with him, Karl and Nat.

Pretty soon the standard murder investigation jumps up a notch when MI6 get involved. An MI6 agent Merrington becomes part of the team and the standard murder case starts to become a lot more serious when they try to hunt down terrorists. With Paul’s first book I really liked the lead main character Gareth Bell and was disappointed that I wouldn’t see him again in this book. Well, that was until I started reading about Rob Steele. He’s a brilliant character and although the book is really fast paced and the storyline brilliant, the lead character is what made it for me. Although the book has a serious theme and there are many tense moments where you start to edge towards the end of your seat (well I do anyway), Rob Steele has these genius flashes of dark humour which pop up throughout the book. There is a particular part in the book where Rob Steel has a bit of a wind up with his colleague Nat where he mentions the Peter James ‘Dead’ books. If you have read Peter James and this series in particular it will make you laugh, I thought it was legendary!

The second half of the book I had to do in one sitting as I couldn’t bear to wait and see what happened. Plenty of action, last minute plot twists and enough danger to shake a stick at. How Paul Grzegorzek has not been snapped up by a Publisher is beyond me. This is his second book and it’s and absolute blinder. His books are like a cross between a Peter James and a Simon Kernick, if you get where I’m going with that description. The fact that this book is available on Amazon Kindle for less than £2/$3 means it would be a crime not to buy yourself a copy. Once again I was blown away by how good this book was. I can only hope that next time I read one of his books it’s because his publisher has sent me an early review copy. A highly recommended read!

With All My Love by Patricia Scanlan

163x250

My Rating: 5/5

Briony McAllistair spends the day with her four year old daughter Katie in Southern Spain. She is on a visit to her mother Valerie, who has recently brought herself a place there. As Katie plays, Briony pulls out an old photo album that contains a letter that will change everything for her. The letter begins My Darling Briony. After many years, Briony discovers that her beloved Grandmother Tessa is alive and well, and has spent many years harbouring after contact with her first born Granddaughter. The first couple of chapters were interesting enough to pull me into the book without a hesitation. What at first seemed like an ordinary story very quickly turns into a complicated plot.

Patricia Scanlan’s latest book grabbed me from the early stages and quite frankly didn’t let go until the very end. This is one of Patricia’s best books I have read. When Briony makes her discovery her instinct is to up and leave, but after a conversation with her Godmother, and Valerie’s best friend as well as her husband she decides to wait and see what her mother has to say. This is the very beginning of the story and we are taken back to the past by Valerie herself. I thought this book would be sectioned out between past and present, and although it is to a degree, the majority of the story takes us through Valerie’s life and how she has got to where she is today.

I very quickly got drawn back to when Valerie met Briony’s father Jeff and her relationship with his parents Tessa and Lorcan. Times were very different when Valerie was young and Patricia Scanlan does a sterling job in transporting you back to a time when unmarried mothers and abortion were deeply frowned upon. I fell in love with the fiery and young Valerie and as the story progressed lots of things are revealed about the sorry state of affairs the present day has ended in. Before long I was shocked to discover I was three quarters of the way through the book in one sitting! What I really loved about this latest book is the layers within it that are ordinary (if that makes sense). Just the lives of ordinary people, who make mistakes, say things they don’t mean and the consequences because of it.

I initially found myself disliking Tessa, however as the story went on it was easy to turn that around and sympathise. I think that by the time I got to the end of the book I was truly sad to have finished it, but found myself thinking this was by far and a mile one of the best Patricia Scanlan books I have read in a while. It was utterly absorbing and one that I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended.

The Trap by Kimberley Chambers (Butlers #1)

228x350

My Rating: 5/5

In KC’s latest book we get to meet the wonderfully nutty family The Butlers. Having read all of Chambers books you get to the stage where you wonder what she is going to come up with next. Thankfully she still has a head full of ideas and crazy characters that had me both laughing and gasping in shock at the same time. Vinny and Roy Butler are the apple of their Mum Queenie’s eye. They can do no wrong, even if they do operate outside the law. IN the early part of the book we get introduced to a lot of characters. At first I felt like I couldn’t keep up as there were so many, but luckily I got to grips with everybody well before the first quarter of the book. By the second half of the book I could see why Kim had created so many characters as it makes for a very interesting read!!! Continue reading “The Trap by Kimberley Chambers (Butlers #1)”

Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Jill Mansell

215x346

My Rating: 5/5

Meet Molly Hayes who lives in the dreamy village of Briarwood in the Cotswolds. She works drawing a cartoon strip for a paper and helps out at her friend’s café in the Village. Her love life is something of a shambles and she always making the wrong decisions. Meanwhile Dexter Yates is a handsome bachelor who is living the party lifestyle in London. Surrounded by women who fall at his feet and partying with his friends his life is just as it should be. Overnight, Dexter’s life changes when his sister dies tragically in an accident. When he discovers that his sister has left him as the sole guardian of her 8 month old daughter Delphi he has no idea where to start.

It took me a mere three chapters to fall in love with the calm but bad decision maker Molly. Easy to like, she is the sort of girl that you instantly warm to. I also loved the village she lived in and the characters that made it up. Dexter was also an easy to love character which makes a book so much more enjoyable. One of the more interesting themes to the book was the childcare aspect of it. A young, free and single man attempting to look after a young child, is both sad and at time hilarious. Jill Mansell has a way with words which is why she is still writing such successful books 20 years on. The writing flows easily and you are drawn into the story and see both characters progress. There are certainly some serious moments in the book, but along side that is balanced nicely with some characters that are so colourful they made me chuckle to see what they get up to. In addition to Molly and Dexter, the reader meets lots of other villagers that are drawn into the story in one way or another. Each person added another layer to the book and although my focus was firmly on Molly and Dexter, I loved the sideline stories going on in the background.

I have been reading Jill Mansell books since my teenage years and don’t get me wrong I haven’t thought every book was 5 stars, but I have never felt let down with one of her books. This newest release was a wonderful read that had me absorbed from start to finish. Many will say that the storyline is predictable, but to be honest if the story didn’t have the predictability and threw me a horrible curveball, maybe I wouldn’t like it as much 🙂 This was an absolutely wonderful read and I think that Jill Mansell’s fans will as usual be thrilled with it. As usual, I will be waiting patiently for her next book and would highly recommend this one!

The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

222x346

My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: One single mum

With two jobs and two children, Jess Thomas does her best day after day. But it’s hard on your own. And sometimes you take risks you shouldn’t. Because you have to . . .

One chaotic family

Jess’s gifted, quirky daughter Tanzie is brilliant with numbers, but without a helping hand she’ll never get the chance to shine. And Nicky, Jess’s teenage stepson, can’t fight the bullies alone. 

Sometimes Jess feels like they’re sinking . . .

One handsome stranger

Into their lives comes Ed Nicholls, a man whose life is in chaos, and who is running from a deeply uncertain future. But he has time on his hands. He knows what it’s like to be lonely. And he wants to help . . .

One unexpected love story

The One Plus One is a captivating and unconventional romance from Jojo Moyes about two lost souls meeting in the most unlikely circumstances

My Review: I have to say that I started reading this one lunchtime and by the end of my hour, had managed to plough through the first quarter of the book. I also finished it that very night and was left feeling like Jojo Moyes seems to be an author I really should be reading more of! Jess was a character that I instantly liked, and as a single Mum struggling to make ends meets it was a familiar story. Her two kids Tanzie and her Stepson Nicky were also instantly likeable. We read a few chapters from each persons perspective which really helped you understand what they were going through.

Tanzie was such a sweetheart and as a maths genius, when Jess gets the opportunity to give her a head start she decides to take a chance. At this point Jess life seems to unravel pretty quickly and before she knows it she is in deep water. On the other side of the coin we meet Ed Nicholls whose own life seems to be falling apart and as he battles to sort his own issues out, he and Jess have a chance meeting.

What follows this chance meeting is a brilliant story about this unusual foursome and the journey they take (to say any more would spoil it). We see various plot lines covered such as bullying and I really liked the way it was dealt with in the story (genius), unemployment, romance, chaos, and most of all what real life is all about! We see the highs and lows for both Jess and Ed and we see two kids with their own issues deal with them in their own way. What I will tell you is that I loved all the characters, loved the storyline, loved the writing and was so gutted when I finished the book. It had everything a book should have and kept me reading to the very last page. An absolute joy to read and a book I would highly recommend!

Lock and Load by Sean Black (Ryan Lock Short Story)

51mrOzFymvL._SY346_

Fresh from a stint undercover in Pelican Bay Supermax prison in Northern California, close protection operative Ryan Lock and his business partner, Ty Johnson, are in Los Angeles, tasked with protecting a young Hollywood actress from an abusive movie star boyfriend who refuses to accept that their relationship is over. But as Lock knows only too well, and Ty is about to learn, keeping someone safe from harm can be harder than it looks, and damage can come in unexpected forms.

My Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: People who have read my previous reviews will know that I have a bit of a character crush with Ryan Lock the man featured in the series of books written by Sean Black. I discovered his books from the first release and have not been let down once since then. His series of books featuring Ryan Lock and his partner Ty are absolutely brilliant. Sean Black has managed to integrate himself with the other major Crime players out there such as Coben, Lee Child etc. When I realised that he had released a short story in the Lock series I immediately downloaded it onto my Kindle.

Yesterday lunchtime I settled with my lunch and began to read. It took me less than a chapter to be thrown back with Lock and Ty. This short story features them protecting a young Hollywood actress from her rather violent and abusive Movie star boyfriend. As usual Lock and Ty fall into their usual banter and it was like seeing old friends again. This book does however (I am almost positive) go back in time a little bit to just before Gridlock. People who have been reading the series will probably have noticed this too. Don’t get me wrong it didn’t make the story any less enjoyable, it just threw me slightly!

The only problem I had with this, and it’s a major problem for me, is that it was finished by the time my lunch break came to an end! For this reason alone I was not a happy bunny. I do believe Sean that you are a bit of a tease! How dare you flaunt my favourite lead male character and then whip him away again!?!? All I can do is console myself with the fact that a new book in the series should be due next year. For all those Lock fans this is a little teaser, and people that haven’t read the series, a cheaper way to try before you buy if you like. I don’t think you will be disappointed! <sighs heavily> I guess I will wait with baited breath until the next release before I get too excited again.

Losing You by Susan Lewis

download (3)

My Rating: 5/5

I have read the majority of Susan Lewis’ books and there aren’t many that I don’t enjoy. She varies the topic but generally isn’t frightened of dealing with sensitive topics. This book is no different and I knew from the synopsis that this may well be a sad story. This story introduces us to Lauren Scott who is a bright and talented young girl with the world at her feet, and her mother Emma who is very close with her daughter. The beginning of the book is a bit of a slow burner as we learn about Emma and Lauren’s lives in more detail. It turns out that Lauren is musically talented and is a well behaved and thoughtful daughter. Susan Lewis writing style is very easy to get along with although I must say even I began to wonder when the story was going to start moving along at the early stage of the book.

Thankfully, as soon as the story slipped up a gear it engaged me right until the very end. On the other side of this story we meet Oliver Lomax and his brother and father, each of whom are struggling with various aspects of their life mainly brought about by Oliver’s mother who is an alcoholic. The story builds up to a point where both families are brought together following a tragic accident. At this point I don’t think I stopped reading until I was finished. Lauren initially seems like the perfect daughter and it was easy reading seeing how much Emma trusted her. However, before long the reader begins to realise that all is not as it seems. Oliver and his family are also very easy to read about and I couldn’t help feeling such empathy for a family that have to deal with the day to day troubles of alcoholism. Susan Lewis tackles this subject with startling clarity but also sensitivity.

The second half of the book was outstanding and was a real testament to why Susan Lewis is so successful. I am not a particularly emotional person but must say that I can see why some people will find this book to be a bit of a tear jerker. The events that go on I think are just a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of times this sort of thing happens in real life I would imagine. I think this was what made it such a compelling read. I certainly think Susan Lewis fans won’t be disappointed, but be warned please don’t give up on this book. Give it a chance, because once it gets going it’s a brilliant book!