📖 Pick a shelf Book Review ~ Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse

 

It's my mission to read the books which have been left undisturbed on my book shelf for several years, however, with so many current reads dropping through the door or landing on my e-reader, it's not always possible.

Determined to rectify this I have adopted the pick a shelf, seven books along theory and this time my eye spotted the distinctive cover of Waiting to Begin by Amanda Prowse...

Lake Union
2021

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1984. Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame—and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.

2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss—the hope, the trust, the joy—Bess knows it is time to face her own demons, and try to save her relationship. But she’ll have to throw off the burden of shame if she is to honour that sixteen-year-old girl whose dreams lie frozen in time.

Can Bess face her past, finally come clean to Mario, and claim the love she has longed to fully experience all these years?

📖 My Review..

We meet first meet Bessie when she is on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday when she has the whole world ahead of her and plans for a sparkling future however, the fickle finger of fate shows just how tenuous this ambition can be. When we next meet Bess she is again celebrating a birthday but this time she is is turning fifty-three, married to Mario and her life seems to have been something of a disappointment to her. Over the course of this lovely story we delve into Bessie's past, learn about her mistakes and discover the secret she has kept hidden for such a long time.

I was very quickly emotionally involved in the story and enjoyed the dual timeline. Going back to 1984 when Bessie was a naive and impressionable teenager is done with great insight into what it was like to be filled with a zest for life only to have it knocked away by life's circumstances. Equally the author brings the rather jaded fifty-three year Bess to life, filled with remorse, self doubt and guilt over past secrets. I read the book quickly as it soon becomes one of those lovely immersive stories which really grabs your attention and I wanted to see how this complicated family drama would play out. I wasn't disappointed and closed the book with a great deal of satisfaction of a story well told.

This talented author never fails to disappoint and I have no idea why this lovely story has languished on my book shelf for such a long time as it deserved to have been read long before now. 

About the Author

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose novels, non-fiction titles and  novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today.

Website

Twitter @MrsAmandaProwse #WaitingToBegin

Blog Tour ~ The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy

 

Delighted to open this blog tour today 

Amazon Publishing
#Lake Union

21 September 2021

My thanks to the publishers and FmcM Associates for my copy of the book
and the invitation to the blog tour

Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca, where they await safe passage to America. Life here is as intense as the sun, every sight, smell and sound overwhelming to the senses in a city filled with extraordinary characters. It’s a world away from the trouble back home—and Josie loves it.

Seventy years later, another new arrival in the intoxicating port city, Zoe, is struggling—with her marriage, her baby daughter and her new life as an expat in an unfamiliar place. But when she discovers a small wooden box and a diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter’s bedroom, Zoe enters the inner world of young Josie, who once looked out on the same view of the Atlantic Ocean, but who knew a very different Casablanca.

It’s not long before Zoe begins to see her adopted city through Josie’s eyes. But can a new perspective help her turn tragedy into hope, and find the comfort she needs to heal her broken heart

My thoughts..

This dual time story starts off with a real sense of time and place as all the heat and colourful atmosphere of modern day of Casablanca comes vibrantly to life. Zoe Harris is relatively new to Casablanca and we immediately start to see the city through her, rather uncertain, eyes as she tries to become accustomed to living in this strange new country. Whilst her husband is at work Zoe is left much to her own devices and she cuts something of a lost, and rather lonely, figure and with deepening cracks appearing in her already troubled marriage, she turns for comfort to the pages of an old journal that she found hidden beneath the floorboards of her baby's daughter's bedroom.

In 1941 during the momentous years of the Second World War, twelve-year old Josie Duval and her family have fled France and escaped to Casablanca to escape Nazi persecution. In Casablanca, they find a peace, of sorts, but although their diminishing wealth gives them a life of some comfort it is far from settled especially when Josie discovers that her family are being drawn into clandestine activity which places them all in grave danger.  In her journal, Josie shares her hopes and dreams, her love for books and storytelling, and her fears for her family's safety in a world which seems to be increasingly dangerous.

This is such a strong story which works perfectly well as a modern day look at a marriage which is going nowhere and where sadness is a barrier to future happiness, whilst at the same time bringing to life the fear, and confusion, of living through a time of great change, when danger lurked in hidden corners, and when deadly enemies were sometimes people who you knew well. I was equally absorbed in both time frames for although  Zoe and Josie are separated by age, time and circumstances reading Josie's journal gave Zoe the confidence to make changes to her own way of life. Josie found so much comfort in adding her private thoughts of what it was like to be in Casablanca during such a dangerous time. 

Meticulously researched, The Storyteller of Casablanca a heartwarming, and absorbing, story by an author who truly knows how brings the past alive. The story combines an authentic sense of time and place and brings to life two fascinating female characters whose individual stories will remain with you long after the last page is turned.

About the Author

Source: Goodreads

Fiona Valpy spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007 before returning to live in Scotland. Her love of both these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into the books she has written. She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women especially during the years of the Second World War, and her meticulous historical research enriches her writing with a wonderful sense of time and place.

Website

Twitter @FionaValpy #TheStorytellerOfCasablanca #BlogTour

@AmazonPub #LakeUnion

@FmCMAssociates

📖 Blog Tour ~ You Let Me Go by Eliza Graham #Giveaway

 

Delighted to host one of today's Blog Tour stops

Lake Union
25 March 2021

My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour

After her beloved grandmother Rozenn’s death, Morane is heartbroken to learn that her sister is the sole inheritor of the family home in Cornwall—while she herself has been written out of the will.With both her business and her relationship with her sister on the rocks, Morane becomes consumed by one question: what made Rozenn turn her back on her?When she finds an old letter linking her grandmother to Brittany under German occupation, Morane escapes on the trail of her family’s past.

In the coastal village where Rozenn lived in 1941, she uncovers a web of shameful secrets that haunted Rozenn to the end of her days. Was it to protect hose she loved that a desperate Rozenn made a heartbreaking decision and changed the course of all their lives forever? Morane goes in search of the truth but the truth can be painful. Can she make her peace with the past and repair her relationship with her sister?

📖 My thoughts...

After her grandmother’s death, Morane Caradec embarks on a journey of discovery to try to understand the secrets which have overshadowed her grandmother’s life. Secrets, it must be said, which, until her grandmother’s death, Morane and her family didn’t know existed. From Cornwall, to Brittany, a wartime story of secrets, and family tragedy, starts to emerge, and as Morane delves deeper into the past, so she must come to terms with her own personal troubles.

Told in two distinct time frames, and in two distinct voices, we get to know Morane’s grandmother, Rozenn Caradec, when in 1941 she was a young woman exiled from her life in Paris. From necessity Rozenn’s family had to relocate to a small coastal village in Brittany, a place filled with a sense of mistrust, and which was just as uncertain as life as Paris. In the present time, Morane is facing her own set of difficult circumstances but in trying to make sense of her grandmother’s life, so new opportunities start to open up for her, and give Morane the chance to put the troubles of her own past into perspective.

The author writes well and allows the tension to build gradually so that when the final pieces of the story come together I genuinely cared about what happened to everyone. I felt an immediate attachment to Morane as she started on her emotional journey into the past, however, it is Rozenn’s story where the true heart and soul of the wartime tragedy lies.

You Let Me Go is an emotional, dual time story, which opens up the secrets of the past with a believable authenticity, and strong sense of history.

About the Author

Eliza Graham's novels have been long-listed for the UK's Richard & Judy Summer Book Club in the UK, and short-listed for World Book Day's 'Hidden Gem' competition. She has also been nominated for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

Her books have been bestsellers both in Europe and the US.

She is fascinated by the world of the 1930s and 1940s: the Second World War and its immediate aftermath and the trickle-down effect on future generations. Consequently she's made trips to visit bunkers in Brittany, decoy harbours in Cornwall, wartime radio studios in Bedfordshire and cemeteries in Szczecin, Poland. And those are the less obscure research trips.

It was probably inevitable that Eliza would pursue a life of writing. She spent biology lessons reading Jean Plaidy novels behind the textbooks, sitting at the back of the classroom. In English and history lessons she sat right at the front, hanging on to every word. At home she read books while getting dressed and cleaning her teeth. During school holidays she visited the public library multiple times a day.

Eliza lives in an ancient village in the Oxfordshire countryside with her family. Not far from her house there is a large perforated sarsen stone that can apparently summon King Alfred if you blow into it correctly. Eliza has never managed to summon him. Her interests still mainly revolve around reading, but she also enjoys walking in the downland country around her home and travelling around the world to research her novels.

    Giveaway to win 3 x paperback copies of You Let Me Go by Eliza Graham 

(UK and USA only)

Terms and Conditions - UK and USA entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter link 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 dispatch or delivery of the prize.

Rafflecopter Link

Author Facebook

Twitter @eliza_graham

Twitter @raresources

Book Review ~ Home Truths by Tina Seskis

Lake Union Publishing
1 December 2019

My thanks to the author for my ecopy of this book

A strong marriage can cope with the unexpected. But can it survive the unimaginable?

American nanny Eleanor was never meant to meet Alex. But when she walks into his London police station to report a stalker, everything changes for them both. He’s convinced he can protect her from anything and anyone. She hopes her darkest days are behind her.

As they settle into their life together, two hundred miles away another young couple faces an uncertain future. Christie knows Paul is a decent man, but she can’t shake a clairvoyant’s warning: ‘Never trust your husband . . .’ When a work trip tests their bond, will she overcome her fears for the sake of her family?

Ten years later, both couples are still together, for better or worse. But as doubts and resentments begin bubbling steadily to the surface, all four of them start to question the choices they’ve made.

What did I think about it..

When Eleanor walks into a London Police Station she is unaware of just how her life is about to change when she meets the charismatic young police officer who takes her complaint of having a stalker seriously. What then follows is a cleverly plotted psychological thriller which keeps the story moving along at a suspenseful pace.

Intertwining two complex stories is no mean feat and yet, the author does a great job of building a rapport between the reader and the main characters so that an emotional bond is formed with all of them. On the surface we have two very different families who, seemingly, have no relationship whatsoever, and yet as things start to be revealed so the tension in the story gets tighter.

I can't say too much about the main focus of the plot as that would really give the game away and this is a complex story which is definitely best read with no preconceived idea of the direction it is heading.  I so enjoyed the challenge of trying to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle and, most unusually, for me, I didn't see the twist coming, so that when it hit me I enjoyed thinking over the cleverness of the overall plot.

I've now read several of this author's work and each successive story seems to get stronger, with I think, Home Truths being one of my favourites to date.

About the Author

Tina Seskis grew up in Hampshire , and after graduating from the University of Bath spent over twenty years working in marketing and advertising.She is the author of two other novels, One Step Too Far and A Serpentine Affair. Tina lives in London with her husband and son.

Website

Twitter @tinaseskis #HomeTruths

@AmazonPub

Home Truth is is available to buy from Amazon UK

Blog Tour ~ The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to open the Blog Tour

on Publication Day

Lake Union Publishing
1 October

My thanks to the author, publishers, and ed public relations for my copy of this book

and the opportunity to take part in this blog tour

Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them. Two generations later, Claire’s English granddaughter Harriet arrives in Paris, rootless and adrift, desperate to find a connection with her past. Living and working in the same building on the Rue Cardinale, she learns the truth about her grandmother – and herself – and unravels a family history that is darker and more painful than she ever imagined. In wartime, the three seamstresses face impossible choices when their secret activities put them in grave danger. Brought together by loyalty, threatened by betrayal, can they survive history’s darkest era without being torn apart?

What did I think about it..

Just the other day I was looking at an old black and white photograph of my mother which was taken around the time when this novel was set. My mother, an accomplished seamstress, had most probably made the pretty dress she was wearing, so I can understand the emotional pull which Harriet, our modern day protagonist, experiences when she discovers amongst her mother's personal effects an old monotone photograph of Claire, her maternal grandmother, pictured standing with two other young women outside a couturier, in Paris, in May 1941. However, by an extraordinary coincidence, Harriet has just been offered an internship, also in Paris, with Agence Guillemet, a PR agency specialising in the fashion industry, a connection which links her with her grandmother Claire's story in 1940.

What then follows is a glimpse into two very different worlds. Harriet's time in the present day, as she tries to discover more about her grandmother, and of her connection to the other young women who shared her life, is all done with a good sense of historical authenticity. I especially enjoyed reading of their time as seamstresses working for one of the couturiers in a Paris, a city which, under German occupation, was a very different place to the one in which Harriet discovers in the present day, although with the rise of international terrorism, every modern day city has its troubles.

I liked the way that the author weaved together the different stories, however, whilst I enjoyed reading both time frames, I have to admit that the chapters in the 1940s really captured my attention. The further Harriet delves into her family history and the deeper grow the shadows which surround her grandmother's time in wartime Paris. There are dark secrets, and accounts of wartime atrocities, which create not just a sense of outrage, but also a feeling of loss, with some upsetting moments which the author handles sensitively and well.

The Dressmakers's Gift is a commendable dual time story about love and survival against all odds. It shows us, without any shadow of doubt, the power and strength there is to be found in friendship.

About the Author 

An acclaimed Number 1 bestselling author, Fiona Valpy’s books have been translated into a dozen languages worldwide. Fiona spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. Her love for the country, its people and their history has found its way into the books she's written. She draws inspiration from stories of strong women, especially during the years of the Second World War, and her meticulous historical research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place. Fiona now lives in Scotland, but still enjoys regular visits to France in search of the sun.

Twitter @FionaValpy #TheDressmakersGift

@AmazonPub

@ed_pr

Amazon UK

The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy is out TODAY

 Published by Lake Union in paperback original and e-Book.

Blog Tour ~ The Rabbit Girls by Anna Ellory

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's Blog Tour stop

Lake Union Publishing
1 September 2019

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book
and to ed public relationsr for my invitation to his blog tour

Berlin, 1989. As the wall between East and West falls, Miriam Winter cares for her dying father, Henryk. When he cries out for someone named Frieda – and Miriam discovers a hidden Auschwitz tattoo – Henryk’s secret history begins to unravel. Searching for more clues about her father’s past, Miriam finds a stained and faded uniform from the Ravensbrück women’s camp concealed in her parents’ attic. Hidden in its seams are dozens of letters; letters to Henryk from a woman called Frieda. With the help of a mysterious stranger encountered in the local library, the letters secrets are revealed. They expose horrific truths; truths about life in the camp and the fate of young women experimented on by the Nazis: the ‘Rabbit Girls’. Amidst the stories of sacrifice and endurance – and against the backdrop of her own crumbling marriage – Miriam pieces together a love story that has been hidden away in Henryk’s heart for almost fifty years.

What did I think about it...

Miriam Winters is caring for her dying father, Henryk, in the apartment which was once the family home and a place that she hasn't returned to in several years. The reason for her estrangement with her family becomes apparent as the story progresses and give a chilling edginess to what is a very powerful story.

The Rabbit Girls is set in Berlin in 1989 when the wall has just fallen, and east meets west for the first time in many years. This momentous change runs alongside Miriam's story and of her friendship with Eva who has transitioned from the east, and it is her support which helps Miriam come to turns with the tragic events of Henryk's past life. The narrative alternates between Miriam's story in 1989, which is a strong story on its own merits and yet, it is Henryk's story of what happened to him and his lover, Frieda, during the latter years of WW2 which is a powerful reminder of the atrocities of war.

To say more would give far too much away and this is one of those stories which is best read with no idea of where the story is leading, that way you will become as emotionally affected as I was by what took place during the Holocaust, and particularly about the atrocities which were perpetrated against a group of women known as The Rabbit Girls who were held at Ravensbrück women's camp.

The book is rather slow in places which I think is quite deliberate as it allows a certain ambiance to develop and the instability of Miriam as our narrator in 1989 adds an unpredictability to way the events of her individual story unfolds, and yet, as the story of Henryk and Frieda's connection emerges the story becomes all the more powerful and I read through parts of Frieda's story with a huge lump in my throat. I grew to really enjoy Miriam's company, she is a worthy heroine who has been through a particularly hard time and parts of her story were especially difficult to read as was Frieda's descriptions of her very troubled life.

The Rabbit Girls is a strong and decisive story, written with passionate intensity and a strong sense of history and even though Miriam and Frieda's stories are very different, both of these women will stay with me for a very long time. 

About the Author

Anna Ellory is a former nurse from Bath. She recently completed an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, where she was mentored by author Fay Weldon. Anna was inspired to write The Rabbit Girls as a way of shining a light on the cruelties of human experimentation in Ravensbrück and the experiences of women and children in the Holocaust. She was also inspired by the real-life story of Stanislawa Leszczyńska, a Polish midwife who delivered over 3000 babies in Auschwitz.

Twitter @AnnaEllory #TheRabbitGirls

@AmazonPub

@ed_pr

Amazon UK

The Rabbit Girls by Anna Ellory is out now, published by Lake Union, priced £20.00 in hardback and available as an audiobook from Audible.

🎄Blog Tour ~ The Thing About Clare by Imogen Clark

Lake Union
1 December 2018

The four Bliss siblings have a loving but complicated bond, but when their mother, Dorothy, dies seemingly without a will, this relationship is put to the test. As the mourning siblings try to make sense of the situation, one of them is caught with a secret: before she died, Dorothy entrusted her favourite daughter with her will and a letter—and told her to destroy them both.

My thoughts about it..

Clare Bliss has always been a bit out of step with her three siblings. The complex relationship that they have with each other is further complicated when Anna, one of the older sisters, is entrusted with a secret that their mother has kept from them. What then follows is a cleverly constructed story about the complexity of family relationships and of the difficulties which arise when one of the siblings is thought to be more favoured than the others.

This is an interesting family drama which looks at the dynamics between siblings, especially when one is obviously a very different character to the others.The author writes about complicated family relationships in a very readable way, highlighting the question of nature over nurture and questioning whether it's our upbringing or our genetic makeup which makes us into the people we become. 

Moving forwards and backwards in time the story highlights the Bliss family background bringing the four sibling’s stories into the spotlight and revealing fascinating details of their lives, both as a family and separately.

The Thing About Clare is a clever family drama, at the heart of which is a story about a devastating secret, which, when revealed, will have repercussions for the whole of the family. The story kept me interested from start to finish, I especially enjoyed watching how the drama played out within the wider context of the story.

About the Author

Credit : Karen Ross Photography 2017

Imogen Clark trained as a lawyer but left her legal career to care for her fur children. She recently returned to her first love - books- and went back to University , studying part-time while her children were at school , graduating with a BA in English Literature. Imogen lives in Yorkshire with her husband and children, Her debut novel, Postcards from a stranger was published in August 2018 and is a number one Amazon bestseller.

Twitter @ImogenClark #TheThingAboutClare

@ed_pr

Blog Tour ~ The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse

✨Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to be hosting today's stop on The Coordinates of Loss Blog Tour ✨

Lake Union Publishing
25 September 2018

My thanks to the publishers and edpr for my copy of the book and for the invitation to be part of this blog tour

What's it all about...

When Rachel Croft wakes up on her family’s boat in Bermuda, it’s to sunshine and yet another perfect day…until she goes to wake her seven-year-old son, Oscar. Because the worst thing imaginable has happened. He isn’t there.

In the dark and desperate days that follow, Rachel struggles to navigate her grief. And while her husband, James, wants them to face the tragedy together, Rachel feels that the life they once shared is over. Convinced that their happy marriage is now a sham, and unable to remain in the place where she lost her son, she goes home to Bristol alone.

Only when she starts receiving letters from Cee-Cee, her housekeeper in Bermuda, does light begin to return to Rachel’s soul. She and James both want to learn to live again—but is it too late for them to find a way through together?...

Here's what I thought about it...

It is every parent’s worst nightmare to wake from sleep and find a beloved child gone from sight. When Rachel Croft discovers that her seven year old son is missing from his bed, her immediate reaction is to search all the nooks and crannies of the family’s boat, thinking that Oscar is hiding. However, the desperately sad opening chapter of the book reveals that all is not well. What then follows is visceral and all-consuming look at the absolute desperation which comes from tragedy, and shows, with real insight, into just how coping with such a desperately sad situation can either make or break a fragile spirit.

There’s a real sense of heartbreak throughout the whole of the story and the author has done a commendable job at creating, in vivid detail, a sense of bewilderment and the utter loneliness of trying and, in Rachel’s case, failing to rationalise such a devastating loss. I found the book immeasurably sad, and testament to the author’s sensitive handling of such a difficult topic, quite gripping, although, I have to say that there were times when I needed to take a break, as Rachel’s grief was filled with such raw emotion. I enjoyed the parts of the narrative which were centred on the family’s elderly housekeeper, Cee-Cee who, with beautiful and quite lyrical prose, explores her own feelings of loss. Cee-Cee’s strength of character and her uncanny ability to get through to Rachel when no-one else can comes across in a poignant narrative which is quite unique to Cee-Cee. 

The Coordinates of Loss is a real study into relationships, not just between a mother and her child but also between husband and wife and, I think it also shows the poignant reality of how the wider circle of friends and family cope, not just with their grief and sense of loss, but also in trying to bolster fragile moods and unpredictable behaviour.

I think for some readers this might be quite a difficult story as it focuses heavily on the after effects of grief but all credit to the author for tackling such a poignant subject and doing so in such a sensitive and profoundly moving way.

On my reading table

About the Author

Amanda Prowse is one of the UK's most prolific and loved story tellers with global sales of 6 million copies and legions of loyal fans. Based near Bristol, Amanda is the author of 25 novels and novellas, with books sold in 22 countries and translated into 12 languages -  no mean feat when you consider her first novel was only published in 2012.

Website

Twitter @MrsAmandaProwse #TheCoordinatesof Loss

@ed_pr

Blog Tour ~ The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker

☆
Happy Publication  Day
☆

Jaffareadstoo is excited to be part of the blog tour for The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker
is published in paperback and eBook on 28thAugust
by Lake Union Publishing

My thanks to the publishers and ed public relations for my invitation to the blog tour and for my copy of the book

A gripping and suspense filled domestic noir about a mother, her missing daughter and the dark secrets that engulf them.

What's it all about..

Ever since her husband’s death collided with the birth of her daughter, postpartum depression has taken hold of Veronica Shelton. She can’t sleep, can’t work, and can’t bear to touch her beautiful baby girl. Her emotional state is whispering lies in Veronica’s ear: You’re a bad mother. Your baby would be better off without you. But not everything can be reasoned away by Veronica’s despair. Can it?

After all, the break-in at her house happened. The disturbing sketches she found in her studio are real. So is the fear for her daughter’s safety—especially when Veronica comes home to a cold, silent nursery and a missing baby.

As she turns from victim into primary suspect, Veronica realizes that only she can find her daughter. Authorities aren’t helping. They’re only watching. Veronica’s concerned mother has suddenly vanished from her life. And a new friend seems to be keeping secrets from her too. Now, reality is waiting for Veronica in a dark place—because someone’s mind games have only just begun...

My thoughts about it..

The Waiting Room is one of those clever suspense stories which compels from the first chapter with an introduction which is both stark and dramatic. Our introduction to Veronica stems from a vivid beginning in which she loses both her husband and young baby and as she sinks lower and lower into postpartum depression so her story starts to gain momentum.

I was quite fascinated by Veronica, mostly she exasperated me but when her story is finally revealed I realised just how cleverly the author manipulated my emotional response to Veronica's character. Trying to decipher just what’s going on in Veronica’s troubled mind makes the story all the more fascinating, that she is deeply troubled by the effects of her life is obvious from the first however, just how deeply she is affected only comes to light as the story progresses. This clever convoluted psychological suspense story certainly keeps you guessing and makes sure that you are concentrating especially when the plot veers off in a completely different direction towards a conclusion, which it must be said, I didn’t see coming.

The Waiting Room is an exciting story written by an author who knows how to build up the necessary tension without ever losing sight of the overall integrity of the story. I read the book quickly as I needed to know just how Veronica was ever going to find resolution for her troubled past, but, of course, whether she does, or not, is for you to discover for yourself.

About the Author

Author Emily Bleeker is a Mormon from the Chicago suburbs. She’s a former teacher who was inspired to start writing after surviving a rare form of cancer.

Website

Twitter @emily_bleeker #thewaitingroom

@ed_pr

Blog Tour ~ Girls' Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host the blog tour stop for Girls' Night Out 

Lake Union
24 July 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my invitation to be part of this blog tour and for my copy of the book

What's it about..

For estranged friends Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren, it’s time to heal the old wounds between them. Where better to repair those severed ties than on a girls’ getaway to the beautiful paradise of Tulum, Mexico? But even after they’re reunited, no one is being completely honest about the past or the secrets they’re hiding. When Ashley disappears on their girls’ night out, Natalie and Lauren have to try to piece together their hazy memories to figure out what could have happened to her, while also reconciling their feelings of guilt over their last moments together.

Was Ashley with the man she’d met only days before? Did she pack up and leave? Was she kidnapped? Or worse—could Natalie or Lauren have snapped under the weight of her own lies?

As the clock ticks, hour by hour, Natalie and Lauren’s search rushes headlong into growing suspicion and dread. Maybe their secrets run deeper and more dangerous than one of them is willing—or too afraid—to admit.

My thoughts about it..

Three friends who have been estranged decide to have some time away together in order to build bridges and repair their friendship. The beautiful resort of Tulum in Mexico is the setting for this girlie get-together but then one of the women, Ashley, goes missing after a girls' night out, leaving Natalie and Lauren to try and discover what has happened to their friend.

What then follows is the story of broken friendships, about friends who no longer know what the other's are thinking and it's about the race against time to find out why Ashley has disappeared. I enjoyed spending time in Mexico with this story, both the place and the characters are brought to life in an interesting way, whilst at the same time, keeping the excitement of the story alive in the imagination. The mystery at the  heart of the story is well thought out, with enough twists to keep you guessing.

I rather like the idea of two authors writing in conjunction, and this duo, who have been co-writing  for several books, blend together quite seamlessly, so that there never seems to be any jarring overlap when each individual author takes over the narrative.

Girls Night Out is a clever thought out and multi-layered contemporary mystery which works well as a summer read.

Girls’ Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke is published in paperback and eBook on 24th July by Lake Union Publishing

About the Authors

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for over 25 years and survived high school and college together. They've co-authored four novels, including the bestseller THE GOOD WIDOW. Liz lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and five rescue dogs. Their next suspense novel, Girls' Night Out, is out July 24th, 2018.

Website

Twitter @LizandLisa #GirlsNightOutBook

@AmazonPub

Hist Fic Saturday.....The Ocean Liner by Marius Gabriel

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ... 1939

Lake Union Press
20 March 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

The story opens in Le Havre, in 1939, and as war starts to infiltrate into Europe, the luxury liner, the SS Manhattan, takes on passengers who are bound for New York, and a safer way of life. All of them have stories to tell and secrets to keep, some of which are revealed even before the ship heads out into the Atlantic. 

The story focuses on several of the passengers, some are famous, like the composer, Igor Stravinsky  who is fleeing Europe for reasons of his own, and also Rose Kennedy, the stern matriarch of the American Kennedy clan heads home to the United States, taking her younger children, whilst leaving her husband, Joseph, and many secrets, behind in London. Cousins Masha and Rachel Morgenstern are also bound for New York, they are almost penniless except for a hidden stash of gemstones, which they have smuggled out of Germany when they were forced to flee for their lives.

However, even aboard ship safety cannot be guaranteed as deep in the shadowy depths of the ocean a German U-boat stealthily stalks the Manhattan.

This clever mix of using people known to history, there's even a young Elizabeth Taylor on board with her parents, and putting them alongside fictional characters works well, and helps to place the story in a specific time frame. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, particularly Rose Kennedy whose formidable personality intimidated everyone she came into contact with on board ship.

The story evolves quite slowly and is perhaps more character focused than dramatic, however, the inclusion of the events on board the German U-boat are rather more daring and the deadly nature of their intent adds some darkness to the story.

The Ocean Liner is a fascinating snap shot of a particular moment in history and the author has done  a commendable job of bringing this time alive in the imagination.

About the Author

Marius Gabriel served his author apprenticeship as a student at Newcastle University, where, to finance his postgraduate research, he wrote thirty-three steamy romances under the pseudonym Madeleine Kerr. Gabriel is the author of several historical novels, including the bestsellers The Designer, The Seventh Moon, The Original Sin, and the Redcliffe Sisters series: Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye and Take Me To Your Heart Again. Born in South Africa, he has lived and worked in many countries including Italy and Spain, and now divides his time between London and Cairo.

You can read a guest post by the author by clicking here

Twitter @Scribbler4Bread #TheOceanLiner