Consuming Fire

Author – Catherine Fearns is from Liverpool, UK. In previous incarnations she was a financial analyst, a cocktail pianist and a breastfeeding counsellor, but nowadays she likes to write. Her first novel, Reprobation, was published by Crooked Cat Books in October 2018 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller in several categories. The follow-up, Consuming Fire, is currently on pre-order and will be available in early 2019.
Catherine writes for music website Pure Grain Audio, and her music journalism has also appeared in Broken Amp and Noisey. Her short fiction and non-fiction pieces have been published in Here Comes Everyone, Toasted Cheese, Offshoots & Metal Music Studies. She holds a degree in History from Oxford University, a Masters from the London School of Economics, and is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association.
When Catherine is not writing, she plays guitar in a heavy metal band, mainly to annoy her four children.

Catherine Fearns

Social Media Links –

Twitter: @metalmamawrites

Publisher – Crooked Cat Books

Pages – 203

The Blurb –

What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen…

Liverpool is in the grip of an intense heatwave, and strange things are happening.

A woman dies in an apparent case of Spontaneous Human Combustion; a truck explodes on the dock road; the charred corpses of pets litter the city; forest fires ravage the pinewoods…and there are birds everywhere, silent flocks drawing in ominously.

Detective Inspector Darren Swift thinks there are connections, and his investigation delves into the worlds of football, nightclubs and organised crime. But is he imagining things?

Dr. Helen Hope doesn’t think so. And she believes the key lies in a mysterious seventeenth-century occult book which has gone missing from Liverpool Library.

In the blistering sequel to Reprobation, DI Swift is forced to confront some inconvenient ghosts from his past, as a terrifying shadow lies over his city’s reality….

Today is my stop on the Consuming Fear blog tour.  Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – I really enjoyed this book and although it follows on from Reprobation it can easily be read as a standalone.  I hadn’t read the first book and I followed it without a problem.

Darren Swift is given the case when a woman suddenly bursts into flames, however he is presented with more questions than answers.  He is also dealing with with issues in his personal life as his wedding day approaches.

Puzzled by the case he consults his old friend, Helen, and she finds a disturbing element of the case.  Combined can they solve the puzzle?

An excellent read that is extremely well written, with interesting characters and engrossing story.

Enter this giveaway –

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Consuming Fire, Consuming Fire stationery, and a cuddly peacock! (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Click here to enter

Purchase Links –

https://mybook.to/consumingfire

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The Ghostly Father

Author – Sue Barnard.

Sue Barnard is a British novelist, editor and award-winning poet.  She was born in North Wales some time during the last millennium, but has spent most of her life in and around Manchester.  After graduating from Durham University she had a variety of office jobs before becoming a full-time parent.  If she had her way, the phrase “Non-Working Mother” would be banned from the English language.

Her mind is so warped that she has appeared on BBC TV’s Only Connect quiz show, and she has also compiled questions for BBC Radio 4’s fiendishly difficult Round Britain Quiz. This once caused one of her sons to describe her as “professionally weird.” The label has stuck.

Sue speaks French like a Belgian, German like a schoolgirl, and Italian and Portuguese like an Englishwoman abroad.  She is also very interested in family history.  Her own background is far stranger than any work of fiction; she would write a book about it if she thought anybody would believe her.

Sue now lives in Cheshire, UK, with her extremely patient husband and a large collection of unfinished scribblings.

Sue Barnard

Social Media Links –

Blog   Facebook   G+   Twitter   Instagram   Amazon  Goodreads  RNA

Publisher – Ocelot Press

Pages – 281

The Blurb –

Was this what really happened to Romeo & Juliet?

Think you know the world’s most famous love story?  Think again.  What if the story of Romeo & Juliet really happened – but not quite in the way we’ve all been told?

This part-prequel, part-sequel to the original tale, told from the point of view of the Friar, tells how an ancient Italian manuscript reveals secrets and lies which have remained hidden for hundreds of years, and casts new doubts on the official story of Shakespeare’s famous star-crossed lovers.

If you love the Romeo & Juliet story but are disappointed with the way it ended, this is the book for you.

Today is my stop on The Ghostly Father blog tour.  Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – What a great read and a clever idea.  The author has taken a classic and reworked in a fresh and unique way.

The story starts long before Romeo and Juliet were born, with a man forced into the monastery by his father, unaware that his son had met the love of his life and she was pregnant.  Unable to be together, they secretly wed, she then flees to Verona.

Bound by duty he throws himself into the monastery and spends many happy years doing the Lord’s work, but never forgets his wife and child.  He is thought well of in the monastery and asked to help setting up a new monastery in Verona.

Once there, he meets his wife and is made aware of his son who is none other than Romeo..

A very interesting and satisfying read, and well done for tackling a classic that most would leave alone and creating a new story around it.

 

Enter this giveaway –

Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Ghostly Father (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Click here to enter

Purchase Links –

Kindle (universal link): mybook.to/the-ghostly-father

Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1999314409

The Four of Us

Author – Àine Toner.  Award winning editor Áine Toner has been at the helm of Ireland’s Woman’s Way magazine since 2008 and is also editorial director of Irish Tatler Man magazine. A Belfast native who lives in Dublin, her previous jobs included working for BBC Northern Ireland and a host of daily and local newspapers and magazines.

She grew up in a house where books were very important and it was no surprise her academic life and career led to be constantly surrounded by words. She loves how the right phrasing can make a story come alive on a page.

Áine has significant TV and radio experience, regularly contributing as a panellist on topics such as health, fashion, beauty, books and the soaps. She can be found on Twitter at @aineltoner where she uploads musings on television, stationery, books and cake.

Outside of journalism, she has been published in short story anthologies. Let’s Talk About Six is her first novel.

Aine Toner

Publisher – Manatee Books

Pages – 344

Social Media Links –

Twitter – Aine Toner

The Blurb –

Four Friends. Four Secrets.

When Lucy tells her friends they need break a from each other, Pippa, Colette and Christine are stunned – after all, Lucy is the quiet one, isn’t she?

As the four girls try to adjust to life without each other, none of them could have foreseen the consequences of mousy Lucy’s announcement that day in a swanky Belfast hotel…and as secrets start to come to light, the girls are all asking the same question: How well do you really know your friends?

Today is my stop on The Four Of Us Blog tour.  Many thanks to Tracy Fenton for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This is a really interesting read, and makes you think about the friends you have and also the secrets you keep.

Lucy has three friends, Christine, Pippa and Collette.  Only Lucy has had enough, she is the quiet, put upon one in the group.  The one that won’t stick up for herself, so it is with some surprise that she announces during a catch up, that she wants a break from all of them.  Even her best and longest friend Christine.

Some what stunned, they all agree, although not amicably to meet again in six months, all convinced that none of them need the others.  What transpires in that six months, shows that no matter how well you think you know someone you never really do, not even your spouse.

The story works well as it told from all four perspectives during that six months, and shows how friendship and relationships can change through time.

Purchase Links –

Amazon – The Four Of Us

An Impossible Thing Called Love

Author – Belinda Missen is an award-winning and best-selling author, screenwriter, and freelance writer from Geelong, Australia. She lives with her car-obsessed, but wonderful husband, two loopy cats, and more books than she cares to count.

In late 2017, Belinda signed a six-book contract with HQDigitalUK (HarperCollins). A Recipe for Disaster was released in August 2018. An Impossible Thing Called Love appeared by magic in November 2018.

Belinda Missen

Social Media Links –

www.belindamissen.com

facebook.com/BelindaMissen

twitter.com/belinda_missen

Instagram @belinda_missen

Publisher – HQ Digital Uk

The Blurb –

Don’t miss the new delightfully uplifting book from the author of A Recipe for Disaster!

A second chance at love…

When globe-trotting Emmy first fell for first-aider William on a freezing New Year’s Eve, she really believed that their love would go the distance.

But when she returns to Australia, her letters start to go unanswered and her emails bounce back unread, Emmy decides it’s time to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and start afresh in London.

So she’s shocked when William walks in on her very first day at her new job! Even worse, he’s hotter than ever. But why did he disappear for so long? What has he been hiding? And could this really be their second chance at falling in love…?

Perfect for fans of Carole Mathews, Mhairi McFarlane and Carrie Hope Fletcher.

Today is my stop on the An Impossible Thing Called Love blog tour. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review.

My thoughts – I really enjoyed this book.  The characters are really likeable and I found myself rooting for the relationship to work.

The books starts with Emmy who is Australian spending her gap year travelling with friends.  New Years Eve sees her in Edinburgh celebrating Hogmanay, where she ends up assaulted and being treated for her injuries by William.  Instantly smitten with each other, she spends the rest of her time in Edinburgh with him.  But reality hits when she has to return home, but they promise to keep in touch.

Months pass and like they promise, they keep in touch via letters, until William disappears and just like that Emmy’s dreams fade.

Years pass and she is offered a job back in the UK, now settled with Craig, surely her holiday infatuation with William is a thing of the past…?

The book also contains the first chapter of her next book A Recipe For Disaster.

Enter this giveaway –

Giveaway to Win 2 x PB copies of An Impossible Thing Called Love (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Click here to enter

Purchase Links –

PAPERBACK: http://bit.ly/2wCYmKS

AmazonUK: https://amzn.to/2otrlxi

AmazonUS: https://amzn.to/2MHzAEj

AmazonAU: https://amzn.to/2Pk2jvQ

BookDepository: http://bit.ly/2wCYmKS

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2BXdvv3

iTunes: https://apple.co/2Ptnsnu

Karma Never Loses An Address

Author – K.J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that’s what New Yorker’s do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing.

K. J. McGillick

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/KJMcGillickauthor/

Kathleen McGillick

@KJMcGillickAuth

http://www.kjmcgillick.com/

https://twitter.com/KJMcGillickAuth

Pages – 214

The Blurb –

Betrayal on Every Level

Marley Bennington had brutally murdered her older sister Samantha in a drug fueled rage. Only two people know that fact as true. One of those two people, was sitting in a state prison, serving a sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Who was that unfortunate person? Alex Clarke, Samantha Bennington’s husband, the man so buried in circumstantial evidence that he confessed to a crime he didn’t commit, rather than face a trial. He was now trapped with no way out.

It all began as sibling rivalry and jealousy, as so many tales of treachery do. Now, that intense jealousy had ended in her sister’s murder. Once Alex was tucked safely away in prison, Marley was set to inherit millions of dollars tainted with her sister’s blood. But suddenly, two obstacles stood in her way preventing her from quickly obtaining the reward for her well executed plan. One obstacle was her brother, and the other a nosy little old lady. But for Marley, this wasn’t a problem. She had killed twice already and cheated the justice system. What were a few more bodies?

Justice delayed is justice denied. Can Marley be trapped by the very people she tried to deceive? Will karma finally visit her door? Another gripping, tangled tale from the author of Facing A Twisted Judgment.  Read my review Facing a Twisted Judgment.

Today is my stop on the Karma Never Loses An Address blog tour.  Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts –  This is a great follow up to Facing a Twisted Judgment.

This book flows the evil Marley as she continues on her never ending path to gain control of the Bennington estate and the paintings she covets.  However now she has a problem, on paper she has assets but she has no money until probate is finalised and she is declared the legal owner.  In her desperation she is referred to an art dealer that can help her out but at a cost.

Meanwhile the team that helped to convict Alex Clarke aren’t happy that he sits behinds bars while Marley gets away with murder.  They initiate their own plan to prevent her obtain the paintings.

So who will end up triumphant, Marley, the lawyers or may be Alex Clarke?

Purchase Links –

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MLYZC4L

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLYZC4L

The Talisman

Author – Eliza lives in a 17th-century cottage on the edge of a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden. Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a tea shop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heart-warming stories with happy endings.

Social Media Links –

Blog: Eliza J Scott – elizajscott.com

Twitter: Eliza J Scott – @ElizaJScott1

Instagram: Eliza J Scott – @elizajscott

Facebook: Eliza J Scott – @elizajscottauthor

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/ElizaJScott

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/eliza-j-scott

Pages – 325

The Blurb –

Molly’s dream of taking over her childhood home at Withrin Hill Farm with husband Pip and their three children has finally come true. And, as they settle into the stunning Georgian farmhouse, with their plans to diversify into glamping nicely taking shape, the family couldn’t be happier.
But tragedy suddenly strikes, and Molly’s world is turned upside down.
Heartbroken and devastated, she struggles to face each day. True to form, her fiercely loyal best friends, Kitty and Violet, rally round offering love and support, but Molly doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to smile again. Until the day a tall, dark stranger with twinkly eyes arrives…

Follow Molly’s story in book 2 of the Life on the Moors Series set in Lytell Stangdale, a picture-perfect village in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors, where life is anything but quiet.

A heart-warming story of love, friendship and hope.

Today is my stop on The Talisman blog tour.  Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – This was a really enjoyable read, and emphasises that no matter how bad life gets, there is always hope.

Molly is living the life of her dreams, living on a farm with her husband Pip, with their three children.  They have good friends and a good life, until one day all that is taken away.

Molly can’t make sense of her loss, how life can just carry on when her world has ended.  her grief is all encompassing and it is left to her friends and her children to help her through the worst period of her life.

Enter this giveaway –

Giveaway – Win The Letter – Kitty’s Story, chocolate and a clutch bag (Open Internationally)

 

The prize is worth over £40 and consists of a paperback copy of the first book in the Life on the Moors Series, The Letter – Kitty’s Story, 3 bars of Love Cocoa chocolate by James and a Caroline Gardner clutch bag.

 

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Click here to enter

Purchase Links –

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MJ7PPXP

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MJ7PPXP

You Can’t Buy Old Friends

Author – Tom Trott.

Born in Brighton, I went to school in here, worked many jobs here, and have never lived anywhere else. I first started writing at school, where I and a group of friends devised and performed comedy plays for assemblies, much to the amusement of our fellow pupils. The young ones would cheer (and the old ones would groan) as we stepped up onto the stage, the buzz was tangible. It has been with me ever since.

As an adult I have written a short comedy play that was performed at the Theatre Royal Brighton in May 2014 as part of the Brighton Festival; Daye’s Work, a television pilot for the local Brighton channel; and won the Empire Award (thriller category) in the 2015 New York Screenplay Contest. I published my first novel, You Can’t Make Old Friends, in 2016; my second, Choose Your Parents Wisely, in 2017, my third, The Benevolent Dictator, in 2018, and now my fourth, It Never Goes Away, in 2019. When I’m not writing books, I’m writing about writing, books, and film on Medium.

My inspirations as a writer come from a diverse range of storytellers, but I have a particular love for the works of Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Joel & Ethan Coen, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Bryan Fuller, Ira Levin, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, JRR Tolkien, and many many more books and films beside. If you can’t find me, or I’m not answering my phone, I’m probably at the cinema.

Tom Trott

Social Media Links –

www.twitter.com/tjtrott, www.facebook.com/tomtrottbooks, www.tomtrott.com,

Pages – 228

The Blurb –

Blacklisted by the police. Being sued by a client. And broke. Things can’t get any worse for Brighton’s No.1 Private Detective, Joe Grabarz.

That’s when his best friend’s body washes up on the beach.

Could it really have been ten years? What happened? How could his life have ended like this? He needs answers.

But with the city in the grips of organised crime, and struggling to deal with an influx of legal highs, who cares about just another dead drug dealer?

Joe, that’s who. After all, you can’t make old friends.

Today is my stop on the You Can’t Make Old Friends blog tour.  Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to read and review.

My thoughts – I loved this book, what a great read.  A great character and an interesting story that introduces us to him.

The story follows private investigator Joe, as he is called in to help with a body that has been washed up on the beach.  Unfortunately he recognises the mutilated corpse.  He is determined what happened to his one time friend.

His investigations take him into the dark undercurrent of Brighton, where he tries to expose those responsible for his friend’s death.

I also liked that the author included Brighton’s history while describing areas, I found it added a lot to the book.  I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Purchase Links –

A beautiful cover too!

tomtrott.com/ycmof