Monday 30 April 2018

Publication Day Review: The Weekend Spa break by Anne John-Ligali


The Weekend Spa Break by Anne John-Ligali
Published: 30th April 2018
Publisher: Book and Authors Publishing UK
Available on Kindle
Order now from Amazon
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
Friendships Online Series
Part Two
After finally meeting in person at the publishing party of the season, Constance and Estelle are determined not to let their friendship return to mere virtual champagne bottles and uploaded pictures of food.
It’s been a busy year, and Constance feels it’s time to reward herself with the spa break Estelle gave her for Christmas. Naturally, Constance wouldn’t dream of taking anyone other than Estelle, and this will provide the perfect opportunity to bond with her new chum.
As the excited pair spend some quality time together, they realise it’s not just writing books they have in common, but something that goes much deeper. After a few Jacuzzi sessions, facials, pedicures, and a massage by sexy Senior Therapist, Julio, everything seems to be peachy until an unexpected visitor turns Constance’s weekend of bliss … on its head.
A two-day spa break.

Sparkling water on tap.

And the perfect massage.

But who’s rubbing who up the wrong way?

Review
Constance Jefferies a romance writer is ready for a spa break and what better person to take than her online bestie Estelle, the very person who gave her a spa voucher for Christmas. As these two head off for a luxurious weekend at the Glitzy’s spa their friendship deepens as they confide their biggest fears to each other and Constance gets more than she bargained for when her past comes back to haunt her.
I loved this, it’s the perfect follow on to The Big Event the first story in the series where Constance and Estelle first meet. These two really highlight what true friendship is about and I loved sharing their bonding in the most fabulous place. Reading this has made me want a spa break of my own, Glitzy’s sounds the perfect place to unwind surrounded by the height of luxury.
The twist at the end was a real shocker and I can’t wait for the next instalment of this fun series to find out how it all is explained.  Anne John- Ligali has done a great job with this fast paced and fun read.
Thank you to Rachel’s Radom Resources for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

About the Author


Anne John-Ligali is a writer and the founder of Books and Authors UK, a popular website featuring author interviews and book reviews.  She loves all things books: reading, writing, going to book events, and meeting other book lovers. She has written a series of short stories and is currently writing her first novel.
Anne has always loved stories and read many books as a child, including the entire Sweet Valley High and Caitlyn series.  Her interest in writing fiction came years later, when she began writing for pleasure in 2007.
Originally from Peterborough, Anne now lives in London. After moving to London, she studied graphic design at the University of Arts and has held a number IT administration jobs in the city. Anne continues writing and aspires to write more women’s fiction books, a non-fiction book and several children’s books.
Social Media Links –
Author FB: https://www.facebook.com/annejohnligali/

Purchase from Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/2GVSnZX

To watch a book trailer for The Weekend Spa Click here.

 Giveaway

To mark the release of part two in the friendships series,
I’m giving away a Sanctuary Spa gift set and a signed printed and binded copy
of The Weekend Spa Break to one lucky winner. At present, there are no physical copies of The Weekend Spa Break
available, so this is a treat.

To enter you only have to do is visit my Twitter page https://twitter.com/AnneJohnLigali
and retweet the pinned tweet showing this GIVEAWAY.

A winner will be chosen at random by Tweet Draw
and announced on Saturday the 19th of May at 20:00hrs.

Competition is open worldwide.

Good luck!







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Friday 27 April 2018

Blog Tour Review: The Lost Children by Theresa Talbot

The Lost Children by Theresa Talbot
Published: 1st April 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 466
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Order now from Amazon
Rating: 4/5

Blurb
First in a gripping new thriller series featuring investigative journalist Oonagh O'Neil. Perfect for fans of Broadchurch.
TV journalist and media darling Oonagh O’Neil can sense a sinister coverup from the moment an elderly priest dies on the altar of his Glasgow church. Especially as his death comes as she is about to expose the shocking truth behind the closure of a Magdalene Institution. The Church has already tried to suppress what happened to decades of forgotten women. Is someone also covering their tracks?
DI Alec Davies is appointed to investigate the priest's death. He and Oonagh go way back. But what secrets lie behind the derelict Institution's doors? What sparked the infamous three-day riot that closed it? And what happened to the girls that survived the institution and vowed to stay friends forever?

From Ireland to Scotland.
From life to death.

Review
Oonagh O’Neil is a TV journalist who is on the verge of exposing the secrets behind the Magdalene Institute when her prime link to the place Father Kennedy, mysteriously dies in front of his congregation. Sensing there is more to the priest’s death than just old age Oonagh teams up with fellow priest Father Thomas Findley and DI Alec Davies to uncover the truth behind the priest’s death and what really happened to the poor girls in the Magdalene Institute all those years ago.

Right from the start this book was gripping in the way it portrayed the distressing situation those poor young girls at the Magdalene Institute faced, but this drew me into the very well written story. A story which did get to me emotionally and I’m not ashamed to say a few tears were shed while reading this book.  It’s not all completely distressing as there are some lighter moments which break-up the sensitive nature of this story. This mostly comes from the dialogues between Oonagh, Alec and Tom which was like banter between old school friends.
I loved Oonagh as a character, she may come across as fragile and feminine especially when she is on TV but underneath she’s a tough cookie. Throughout the book she relentlessly goes after her story and seeking justice for the lost girls, despite getting herself in some very difficult situations which don’t end well for her. I loved the relationships she built up with both Father Tom and DI Alec Davies, it was refreshing and honest and I really hope these three characters come tighter again in Theresa Talbot’s next book.

 In The Lost Children Theresa Talbot has written a gripping and realistic story surrounding this sensitive subject and I think she has pulled it off very well. I highly recommend it if your looking for a gritty and emotional crime fix. I’m really looking forward to where she takes us next with Oonagh O’Neil.

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.


About the Author


Theresa Talbot is a BBC broadcaster and freelance producer. A former radio news editor, she also hosted The Beechgrove Potting Shed on BBC Radio Scotland, but for many she will be most familiar as the voice of the station's Traffic & Travel. Late 2014 saw the publication of her first book, This Is What I Look Like, a humorous memoir covering everything from working with Andy Williams to rescuing chickens and discovering nuns hidden in gardens. She's much in demand at book festivals, both as an author and as a chairperson.


Links to buy



Google Play: http://bit.ly/2IUYsmE




Follow Theresa Talbot


Twitter: @Theresa_Talbot

Facebook: Theresa Talbot



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Facebook: @ariafiction

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Instagram: @ariafiction


Sign up to the Aria newsletter: http://bit.ly/2jQxVtV

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Monday 23 April 2018

Blog Tour Review: Her Greatest Mistake by Sarah Simpson


Her Greatest Mistake by Sarah Simpson
Published: April 1st 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 486
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Order now from Amazon
Rating: 4/5

Blurb
Do we ever know what goes on behind closed doors?

Eve and Gregg were the perfect couple, with the perfect marriage...which has become the perfect lie. Gone is the charming, attentive Gregg - instead Eve wakes up each morning beside a manipulative and sinister man who controls his wife’s every move.

So Eve flees her immaculate marital home to keep herself, and young son Jack safe. Yet no matter how careful she has been, she knows Gregg will be relentless in his pursuit of his missing family. And that one day, when she's least expecting it, he will find them...

 What was Eve’s greatest mistake?

 Marrying Gregg? Leaving him? Or leaving him alive…?

Review

Her Greatest Mistake is the story of Eve and Greg and the demise of their seemingly perfect relationship. When psychology student Eve meets Greg suave and sophisticated Greg she’s literally swept off her feet and fails to recognise any of the warning signs that Greg might not be as perfect as he makes out. Before too long Eve finds herself married to Greg and sincerely wishing she wasn’t as he becomes controlling and abusive. But can she play him at his own game?

This wasn’t the easiest of books to get into and I admit had I not been on the blog tour then I probably would have given up as for the first few chapters I was so confused. But I’m so glad I kept going with this book as what unfolds is a sinister and addictive read about a perfect marriage gone bad which had me holding my breathe waiting for what would happen next.

Written from both 2016 when Eve has managed to escape Greg’s clutches and through Eve’s flashbacks we learn about her early relationship with Greg and how things slowly went wrong. I think this is what initially threw me but once I was absorbed in the story this method of writing really worked well and added to the gritty unease which develops throughout the book.

As a debut novel I think Sarah Simpson has done a great job of creating a book with bags of unsettling atmosphere and a dark uneasiness.  I’m really looking forward to what she writes next. So what was Eve’s greatest mistake? Well I highly recommend you read this book and find out for yourself.

I’d like to thank Aria for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.


About the Author


Sarah Simpson has a first-class honours degree in Psychology and has worked in a neuro-psychology department at a Brain Rehabilitation Hospital. When she first graduated she formed a mental health consultancy and worked as a psychologist within the family court system of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. Three years ago she moved to Cornwall with her husband and three children, and runs her own practice in Truro. Her Greatest Mistake is her first novel, and she is currently working on the second.


Links to buy





Google Play: http://bit.ly/2G7ZFtd




Follow Sarah Simpson



Twitter: @sarahrsimpson

Facebook: @sarahsimpsoncornwall



Follow Aria


Facebook: @ariafiction

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Instagram: @ariafiction


Sign up to the Aria newsletter: http://bit.ly/2jQxVtV


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Sunday 22 April 2018

Blog Tour Review: Summer in a Cornish Cove by Kate Ryder

Summer in a Cornish Cove by Kate Ryder
Published: 1st April 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 512
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Order now from Amazon
Rating: 5/5

Blurb
Set against a gloriously rugged Cornish backdrop, two lives are about to be changed for ever... The book to fall in love with this summer - perfect for fans of Fern Britton, Liz Fenwick and Veronica Henry.
Oliver Foxley is an acclaimed movie star and global heartthrob. But under the glare of the spotlight his ‘perfect’ life - and marriage -is slowly starting to crumble.
Cara Penhaligon is a struggling young Cornish artist, and widowed mother of two children. Life has been unbearably harsh to Cara, but meeting Oliver might just give her a second chance at the happiness she deserves. As each begins to heal the other, the pieces of Oliver's frustrating jigsaw puzzle effortlessly fall into place. But as the Cornish summer draws to a close, Oliver faces the toughest of choices, and no one emerges quite as they were at the start.

Review
Oliver Foxley and Cara Penhaligon are two lost souls searching for something to make them feel whole again. World-famous heart-throb actor Oliver Foxley is used to the limelight and lives the movie star life with his wife Deanna and their four children, but underneath all of this he struggles with a grey mist of depression which seems unable to leave him, what he’s longing for is someone who really understands him.
Cara Penhaligon is a young widow who has been left with two young children. After two years Cara is still mourning the lost of husband Christo and shelters herself away from life in her remote cliff-top house. Apart from her children the only thing which seems to make Cara happy is her painting, for which she has a real talent.
When these two meet the attraction is instant and they find being together helps to ease their pains and as the summer progresses both are left changed forever.
Summer in a Cornish Cove is one of those books which draws you in and thanks to Kate Ryder’s enthralling writing style you feel every emotion along with the characters, which in this book is everything from heartbreak, lust and even fear. It’s a book which after the first couple of chapters had me lost in Cornwall as Cara and Oliver’s story unfolded.  
The first couple of chapters did leave me a little confused, Oliver’s trip to the retreat with the Monks had me questioning what on earth was going on and how this related to Cara and Cornwall. It does however make more sense the further you get into the story and adds a thrilling element to this emotional story.
Along with the great characters in this book I loved the setting, anything to do with Cornwall makes me happy and Kate Ryder has chosen the perfect location to base her book. I loved that the homes of both of these characters seemed to mirror their inner feelings. Both houses are down remote tracks, away from prying eyes keeping their inhabitants safe and sheltered just like Oliver and Cara long to be.
I would love a sequel to this book as honestly the book didn’t end the way I wanted it to and I’m still curious about Greg and wife Marietta and exactly what they were up to with Cara’s artwork.
For me this was a perfect read, I just wish I’d been on a Cornish beach while I read it. Cara and Oliver’s story has the perfect blend of romance, heartache and suspense and I adored it.
Thank you so much to Aria and Netgalley for sending me a copy to review and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author

Kate Ryder has worked in a number of industries including publishing, mainly as a proof-reader/copy editor and writer for a national newspaper, magazines and publishing houses. A member of the New Writers Scheme with the Romantic Novelists Association, in 2013 she published her debut novel, 'The Forgotten Promise', a timeslip romance and mysterious ghost story, which was shortlisted for Choc Lit's 2016 "Search for a Star" and also honoured with a Chill with a Book "Book of the Month" Award. Kate lives in a renovated 200-year-old sawmill in the beautiful Tamar Valley with her husband and a collection of animals.

Follow Kate Ryder
Twitter: @KateRyder_Books

Follow Aria
Facebook: @ariafiction
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
Sign up to the Aria newsletter: http://bit.ly/2jQxVtV

 Links to buy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2I7acRB



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Monday 16 April 2018

Blog Tour Review: Together Forever by Sian O' Gorman


Together Forever by Sian O'Gorman
Published: 1st April 2018
Publisher: Aria
Pages: 444
Available in Paperback and on Kindle
Order now from Amazon
Rating: 4/5 


Blurb
When life demands that you make a choice, how do you know yo
u are making the
right one? A beautiful family drama, full of love, life and d
estiny. Perfect for the fans
of Alice Peterson and Dani Atkins. 
Tabitha Thomas gave up on a happy family life with Michael her
absent, high-flying
husband long ago. Instead she concentrated her energies on the
ir daughter, Rosie,
and her career as head teacher at a local primary school. However
trouble looms on
the horizon
...
While Rosie struggles with the most important exams of her lif
e, Tabitha
’
s eco
–
warrior mother is protesting outside the school gates to
save some trees from the
bulldozer. And best friend, Clodagh, a top TV news broadcast
er, is self-soothing with
Baileys, as she
’
s edged out of a job by an ambitious flame-haired weathergirl.
Finally,
with the return of an old flame and a political expose to dea
l with, Tabitha is forced
to confront a decision she made a long time ago and e li
fe-changing
consequences she has lived with ever since.
When life demands that you make a choice, how do you know you are making the right one? A beautiful family drama, full of love, life and destiny. Perfect for the fans of Alice Peterson and Dani Atkins.

Tabitha Thomas gave up on a happy family life with Michael her absent, high-flying husband long ago. Instead she concentrated her energies on their daughter, Rosie, and her career as head teacher at a local primary school. However trouble looms on the horizon…

While Rosie struggles with the most important exams of her life, Tabitha’s eco –warrior mother is protesting outside the school gates to save some trees from the bulldozer. And best friend, Clodagh, a top TV news broadcaster, is self-soothing with Baileys, as she’s edged out of a job by an ambitious flame-haired weathergirl. Finally, with the return of an old flame and a political expose to deal with, Tabitha is forced to confront a decision she made a long time ago and face the life-changing consequences she has lived with ever since.

Review

Together Forever is a lovely heart-warming novel which highlights the strength of female relationships and the importance of following our hearts.

Tabitha Thomas has been married to politician Michael for eighteen years and has long since given up any hope of affection from him, instead she pours her love into daughter Rosie and the children at her primary school Star of the Sea.  She’s happy enough with her life until her old flame Redford Power returns to Dalkey. Memories of how happy she used to be make Tabitha question if she really did make the right decision all those years ago.

Tabitha was a lovely character, totally dependable and willing to help anyone she’s the perfect example of a headmistress and politicians wife. Her love and concern for daughter Rosie shines throughout the novel. Quite how she put up with Michael for so many years is beyond me, he was just awful. He had no idea what was going on in Rosie’s life or how she felt about her looming exams and college life. His use of the word “Mammy” was also incredibly disturbing.

I loved the obvious chemistry between Tabitha and Red, especially when reading the short flashbacks throughout the novel and felt sorry that their relationship had not worked out as its quite clear to anyone reading this that he’s far more suitable for her than Michael.  

I really loved that there was such a mix of characters in this book which added to the community feel of the novel. Some of my favourites were Bridgit, Flinty and Mary as well as gorgeous Red.

This is a novel which covers a variety of themes from romance, family relationships, exam pressure, environmental activism, politics and journalism all of which have been portrayed in a realistic way to make this a very enjoyable read which is relatable. It’s a book which despite its more serious themes also has moments of comedy which add to the enjoyment, Michael and his milk obsession being a big part of this for me.

Together Forever is a wonderful novel which celebrates the true bonds between families and teaches us to be true to our own principles and to follow your heart.

Thank you so much to Aria and Netgalley for sending me a copy to review honestly and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.



About the Author


Sian was born in Ireland, is an RTÉ radio producer and lives in the seaside suburb of Dalkey, Dublin with her seven nearly-eight-year-old daughter, Ruby.


Follow Siân O’Gorman


Twitter: @msogorman

Facebook:



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Facebook: @ariafiction

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Instagram: @ariafiction


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Links to buy



Google Play: http://bit.ly/2pLAKkb




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