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I post book reviews as often as possible but at least once a week every Wednesday! I hope they help you to find some new books that you'll love as much as I did!
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for 55 by James Delargy! Thanks so much to Anne for organising the tour. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops. The Synopsis Two suspects. Two identical stories. Which one is the truth? Wilbrook in Western Australia is a sleepy, remote town that sits on the edge of miles and miles of unexplored wilderness. It is home to Police Sergeant Chandler Jenkins, who is proud to run the town’s small police station, a place used to dealing with domestic disputes and noise complaints. All that changes on a scorching day when an injured man stumbles into Chandler’s station. He’s covered in dried blood. His name is Gabriel. He tells Chandler what he remembers - he was drugged and driven to a cabin in the mountains and tied up in iron chains. The man who took him was called Heath. Heath told Gabriel he was going to be number 55. His 55th victim. Heath is a serial killer. As a manhunt is launched, a man who says he is Heath walks into the same station. He tells Chandler he was taken by a man named Gabriel. Gabriel told Heath he was going to be victim 55. Gabriel is the serial killer. Police Sergant Chandler Jenkins needs to find out who is telling the truth – and quick. is He is forced to call in Mitch, his former partner and now insufferable superior, a partnership which dissolved in acrimony years earlier. Can Mitch and Chandler uncover the truth, before the 55th victim is taken? My Review Before I say anything else, I just want to let you know that this book is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I read 55 everywhere I possibly could and I struggled to even think about stopping reading. It really kept my attention, leaving me riveted and totally engrossed so that time completely ran away from me (at one point 2 hours passed without me even noticing). I really liked the unique and cleverly written plot and how the storyline feels original the whole way through the book. You never know which of the two suspects to trust, and with the additional layer to the story regarding Chandler and Mitch’s past friendship which is seamlessly weaved in, it’s not just the two suspects you find yourself questioning. I was constantly trying to come up with theories and ideas and had thoughts and guesses flying around in my mind at all times. All this was only enhanced by the action and tension which kept me on the edge of my seat and didn’t let me rest for a minute. I felt that all of the characters were really well written but I particularly liked Chandler and found that I warmed to him and almost felt his emotions for him during some parts of the book. Overall, I’m giving 55 4.5 out of 5. It’s thrilling, perfectly paced and an absolutely addictive read. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorJames Delargy was born and raised in Ireland and lived in South Africa, Australia and Scotland, before ending up in semi-rural England where he now lives. He incorporates his diverse knowledge of towns, cities, landscape and culture picked up on his travels into his writing. 55 is his first novel, which has been sold in 19 countries so far and optioned for film by Zucker Productions in partnership with Prodigy Pictures.
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 The Synopsis BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK I WANT YOU TO KNOW THREE THINGS: 1. The police are looking to charge me with murder. 2. No one knows who I am. Or how I did it. 3. If you think you've found me. I'm coming for you next. After you've read this book, you'll know: the truth is far more twisted... My Review My word, ‘Twisted’ is certainly a very apt title for this book! It’s absolutely jam packed with twists and there were loads and loads of times where I was left with my mouth just hanging open. There are so many twists in fact, that it’s really difficult to write a review without giving any of them away!! (Apologies if my review is shorter than normal for that reason!) The opening felt really unique and I was hooked and intrigued by the very first sentence. Not only are there twists upon twists, this book is full of action too and I felt that I never knew who I could trust or what to make of each person, with the different narratives working perfectly to create this feeling. The ending really packed a punch and it’s stuck in my head even now. I think that the best way to sum up my thoughts though, is to share a photo of one of the notes I made while I was reading! (There were more, but this was the only one that didn’t contain a spoiler!)  The amount of ‘??!!’ I used really says it all I think! Overall, I’m giving Twisted 4 out of 5. It’s clever, intriguing and endlessly twisty. This e-book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. The above is an affiliate link. About the AuthorSteve Cavanagh was born and raised in Belfast before leaving for Dublin at the age of eighteen to study Law. He currently practices civil rights law and has been involved in several high profile cases; in 2010 he represented a factory worker who suffered racial abuse in the workplace and won the largest award of damages for race discrimination in Northern Ireland legal history. He holds a certificate in Advanced Advocacy and lectures on various legal subjects (but really he just likes to tell jokes). He is married with two young children.
Follow Steve on Facebook at facebook.com/SSCav1 and Twitter @SSCav  Today is my stop on the blog tour for She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge! Thank you so much to Jenny for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops!    The Synopsis Six friends. One killer. Who do you trust? Seven friends went down to the woods, but one of them never came home. 30 years later, a body is discovered. DCI Sheens already knows what's waiting for him - Aurora Jackson, found at last. They all claim to be innocent, but one of them must be lying. Because she was found somewhere only they knew about. Now everyone's a suspect. My Review Wow, She Lies in Wait sure is one impressive debut! This book is deftly plotted and so well written that I was hanging on to every word and couldn’t stop reading. I thoroughly enjoyed how the narrative flicks backwards and forwards between the present investigation and 30 years earlier, before the tragedy happened. I found it really easy to follow and keep up with these shifts in narrative and I felt that Aurora’s POV was particularly gripping. The characters are all really well developed and I found DCI Jonah Sheens and Jojo especially interesting to read. The book is packed with fantastic unexpected twists and gets more and more tense and intriguing as it progresses, keeping you guessing right until the end. I honestly think I suspected everyone at some point! I absolutely recommend picking a copy of this book up! Overall, I’m giving She Lies in Wait 4.5 out of 5. It’s tightly plotted, totally gripping and packed with unexpected twists. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Gytha Lodge! This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. The above is an affiliate link. About the AuthorGytha Lodge is a writer and multi-award-winning playwright who lives in Cambridge. After studying creative writing at UEA, she was shortlisted for the Yeovil Literary Prize and the Arts' Council England fiction awards, and developed a large online following for her young adult and children's writing, with over five million reads accrued on platform Wattpad. She Lies in Wait is her debut novel.
The Synopsis Birmingham, 1885. Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her. Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood. Here, Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment. But is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora...? My Review The Conviction of Cora Burns is a mesmerising story of a young girl and her fascinating journey to understand her past. The exploration of the nature vs nurture theme is eloquently and insightfully done and I thought it was really quite powerful. I was totally transported to the 1800’s and the feeling that I was really there didn’t falter once, it was excellently written. Looking back at the notes I made as I was reading, I noticed that the words ‘intriguing’ and ‘unsettling’ came up an awful lot and I think this really encapsulates how I felt during this book. Parts of it were really unsettling and the sense of foreboding grows throughout. At times it was uncomfortable to read, but the intrigue keeps you gripped. Things unfold gradually with tantalising clues dropped in exactly where they’re needed and I was engrossed the whole way through. Where I really fell in love with this book though, was the ending. I absolutely adored it, it was so beautiful and stunningly written. I don’t want to give anything away about it, but it really moved me. Overall I’m giving The Conviction of Cora Burns 4.5 out of 5. It’s intriguing, powerful and excellently written. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorOriginally from Sunderland, Carolyn Kirby studied history at St Hilda's College, Oxford before working for social housing and then as a teacher of English as a foreign language. Her novel The Conviction of Cora Burns was begun in 2013 on a writing course at Faber Academy in London. The novel has achieved success in several competitions including as finalist in the 2017 Mslexia Novel Competition and as winner of the inaugural Bluepencilagency Award. Carolyn has two grown-up daughters and lives with her husband in rural Oxfordshire.
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for Welcome to the Heady Heights by David F. Ross! Thanks so much to Anne for organising the tour. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis It’s the year punk rock was born, Concorde entered commercial service and a tiny Romanian gymnast changed the sport forever... Archie Blunt is a man with big ideas. He just needs a break for them to be realised. In a bizarre brush with the light- entertainment business, Archie unwittingly saves the life of the UK’s top showbiz star, Hank ‘Heady’ Hendricks, and immediately seizes the opportunity to aim for the big time. With dreams of becoming a musical impresario, he creates a new singing group called The High Five with five unruly working-class kids from Glasgow’s East End. The plan? Make it to the final of Heady’s Saturday night talent show, where fame and fortune awaits... But there’s a complication. Archie’s made a fairly major misstep in his pursuit of fame and fortune, and now a trail of irate Glaswegian bookies, corrupt politicians and a determined Scottish WPC are all on his tail... My Review When I first got the email through inviting me to join the Welcome to the Heady Heights blog tour I thought it sounded brilliant, but I wasn’t sure how much it fitted into what I usually read (and therefore how much I would enjoy it). However, I’ve learned to trust that anything from Orenda Books will be a fantastic read, so I said yes, and once again Orenda hasn’t let me down! Welcome to the Heady Heights has everything in it that you could possibly hope for. It’s funny, exciting, thrilling, moving, heartbreaking and poignant. And all of this is topped off by the strong sense of place which weaves throughout the book, with the written Glaswegian dialect making me feel as though I could hear the voices coming from the page. You can’t help but have a soft spot for Archie, even when his decisions are questionable, and this made him a brilliant protagonist in my opinion, as I felt myself rooting for him and willing him on throughout the book. I really enjoyed how Ross uses dark comedy to explore much more serious themes and I thought that it was really effectively and intelligently done. Each page is more and more compelling, especially as the pace picks up, and I was quite honestly left breathless at times. Overall, I’m giving Welcome to the Heady Heights 4 out of 5. It’s gritty, poignant and darkly funny. Yet another cracker from Orenda Books. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review The above is an affiliate link About the AuthorDavid F. Ross was born in Glasgow in 1964 and has lived in Kilmarnock for over thirty years. He is a graduate of the Mackintosh School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art, an architect by day, and a hilarious social media commentator, author and enabler by night. His most prized possession is a signed Joe Strummer LP. Since the publication of his debut novel The Last Days of Disco, he’s become something of a media celebrity in Scotland, with a signed copy of his book going for £500 at auction, and the German edition has not left the bestseller list since it was published.
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