Blog Tour ~ The Ice Swimmer by Kjell Ola Dahi. #Giveaway #sign copies ~ UK entrants only

When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand’s stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems both a politician and Norway’s security services might be involved in the murder.
With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and Frølich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case and finds that it not only goes to the heart of the Norwegian establishment, but it might be rather to close to her personal life for comfort. Dark, complex and nail-bitingly tense, The Ice Swimmer is the latest and most unforgettable instalment in the critically acclaimed Oslo Detective series, by the godfather of Nordic Noir.

The Ice Swimmer can be purchased from Amazon.

A Series in the Spotlight – signed giveaway. 

Welcome to booksaremycwtches and I’m thrilled to spotlight The Ice Swimmer and the other book in this series.

Many thanks to blog tour organiser Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of the blog tour and for organising this exciting giveaway. My thanks also to Orenda Books and the authors for providing such wonder prizes.

This exciting book is part of the Oslo Detective series by the incredibly talented godfather of Nordic crime Kjell Ola Dahl.

******Competition******

I’m excited to be able to offer to UK entrants the chance to win a signed copy of both The Ice Swimmer and Faithless. 

To win either go to the pinned post on Twitter, like and retweet it, or share this post on Twitter. 

Competition will close  midday  Wednesday

 

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Also published by Orenda Books is Faithless. 

Oslo detectives Gunnarstranda and Frølich are back … and this time, it’s personal… When the body of a woman turns up in a dumpster, scalded and wrapped in plastic, Inspector Frank Frølich is shocked to discover that he knows her … and their recent meetings may hold the clue to her murder. As he ponders the tragic events surrounding her death, Frølich’s colleague Gunnarstranda investigates a disturbingly similar cold case involving the murder of a young girl in northern Norway and Frølich is forced to look into his own past to find the answers – and the killer – before he strikes again. Dark, brooding and utterly chilling, Faithless is a breath-taking and atmospheric page-turner that marks the return of an internationally renowned and award-winning series, from one of the fathers of Nordic Noir.

Faithless can be purchased from Amazon.

About the author.

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.

Blog Tour Review ~ Under The Woods by KA Richards.

When a homeless woman, Cheryl Whiffen, hears voices in her head telling her to do bad things, she can’t help but obey.

But when Cheryl becomes the victim of a serial killer who is collecting angels, this time the voices can’t help her. She is deemed not worthy of being an angel and the killer has to find another way to dispose of her body.

TJ Tulley has connections in the police force – her brother Jacob is a digital forensic analyst and her soon to be sister-in-law is a CSI. She knows many of their colleagues so when someone breaks into her house at the riding stables she owns, it’s not a surprise when the police dispatch CSI Jackson Doherty.

Is there a link between a suspicious fire at the stables and the serial killer?

As TJ and Doherty get closer to the truth they don’t realise the danger they are in. He is a killer – he’s angry at their investigation and he’ll do just about anything to protect his angels…

Review

I would like to thank the author K A Richardson, publisher Bloodhound Books and blog tour organiser Sarah Hardy for the ARC of Under The Woods in return for an honest review.
This book is an exciting thriller with a very dark heart. I enjoyed the way the tension built up as the parallel worlds of TJ and that of the serial killer begin to crumble. It’s what makes the novel different to many of the thrillers I have read recently, because as much attention is placed on the twisted actions and thoughts of the killer, as the victims. The writing is spot on, you’re meant to find the killers actions repulsive and sickening and I did. K A Richardson catches the twisted mind set of a human we all would find it hard to understand. I found myself disturbed and sickened, but it fitted the story, not there to shock, but to help the reader feel the horror both TJ and Doherty are caught up in. Though if you are very squeamish, this may not be the book for you!
The storyline itself is full of neat little twists that emphasise the horrific events as they build to a climax. It gives the characters time to develop and integrates them into the story well. The storyline doesn’t swamp them and the characters are not more important than the story itself. I liked both TJ and Doherty whose burgeoning relationship give the story a lightness and relieved to tension that permeated the rest of the novel. As for the killer, he made my skin crawl, which in this type of thriller is a good thing, your meant to hate him.
Under The Woods is part of a series of books in The Forensic Files, but reads perfectly as a standalone. Don’t be put off if you haven’t read the others, because it won’t affect your enjoyment of Under The Woods. I enjoyed it so much I plan at some point to read the others.
Great if chilling read.

Under The Woods can be purchased from Amazon

About the author.

My name is Kerry-Ann Richardson (generally known as Kerry) and I write as KA Richardson. I started writing the North East Police series in 2010 when I was working towards my MA Creative Writing – I used the first 15000 words of With Deadly Intent as my dissertation. I passed my MA in 2011 and kept on writing. This all came about from working as a Crime Scene Investigator – I’d always written but when I was a CSI I went to see a psychic, Anthony, and he wanted to know why I wasn’t writing. He reminded me that it was my passion and said he could see me signing in Waterstones in 5 years. That was 5.5 years before my first ever signing in Waterstones so he wasn’t far wrong! 

I did the normal things writers do when their book is ready to go out into the world – submitted to agents etc. I got a few nice personal responses back – still saying no but being constructive and polite about it. I approached Darren Laws from Caffeine Nights whilst at a crime festival and he asked to see my work. He agreed to publish With Deadly Intent from there, and once that was out I approached Bloodhound Books as wanted to know if there was any other interest in my novels. Bloodhound came back within 24 hours and offered me a 3 book deal!  And I’ve since signed an additional 3 book deal with them which covers the series up to and including book 7! 

KA Richardson can be followed on her website, Twitter and Facebook

 

 

Blog Tour ~ Review ~ The Picture by Roger Bray.

The Picture

A warehouse in Japan used as an emergency shelter in the aftermath of the 2011 Tsunami. A distraught, young Japanese woman in dishevelled clothes sits on a box, holding her infant daughter. Ben, a US rescue volunteer, kneels in front of her offering comfort. They hug, the baby between them. The moment turns into an hour as the woman sobs into his shoulder; mourning the loss of her husband, her home, the life she knew. A picture is taken, capturing the moment. It becomes a symbol; of help freely given and of the hope of the survivors. The faces in the picture cannot be recognised, and that is how Ben likes it. No celebrity, thanks not required.
But others believe that being identified as the person in the picture is their path to fame and fortune. Ben stands, unknowingly, in their way, but nothing a contract killing cannot fix.

Review

Many thanks to the Publisher Undertow, the writer Roger Bray and blog tour organiser Rachel Gilbey for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved Roger Brays Psychosis and I absolutely adored The Picture. His writing style is smooth and the attention he pays to the development of his characters is first class. This doesn’t mean that the sense of pervading tension you expect in a thriller is lost, because it’s not, it builds up as the novel progresses and t is all the better, because it catches you off guard. You’re sat there getting to know Ben, his daughter, Paul, Maggie and the villain of the piece and then you start to feel a bit anxious, a bit nervous, the tension subtly building in your shoulders and chest. You have become fond of the characters and went them to survive, but all of a sudden you’re e not sure, because Roger Bray has fooled you into thinking all is going to be okay. But is it? It is the act of a writer who is confident enough to let the writing snare you into the narrative, without allowing events to overpower the story.
The story itself is perfectly set out. The two storylines run parallel to each other as we get to know the background behind Ben’s connection to the photograph and then on the flip side the ‘others’ who see it as a means to make their fortune. I loved how it flowed together and how you never knew, or I certainly never guessed the final outcome.

I look forward to his next book and would recommend The Picture to anyone looking for a great character driven thriller.

The Picture can be purchased from Amazon.

About the author 

I have always loved writing; putting words onto a page and bringing characters to life. I can almost feel myself becoming immersed into their lives, living with their fears and triumphs. Thus, my writing process becomes an endless series of questions. What would she or he do, how would they react, is this in keeping with their character? Strange as it sounds, I don’t like leaving characters in cliffhanging situations without giving them an ending, whichever way it develops. My life to date is what compels me to seek a just outcome, the good will overcome and the bad will be punished. More though, I tend to see my characters as everyday people in extraordinary circumstances, but in which we may all find our selves if the planets align wrongly or for whatever reason you might consider. Of course, most novels are autobiographical in some way. You must draw on your own experiences of life and from events you have experienced to get the inspiration. My life has been an endless adventure. Serving in the Navy, fighting in wars, serving as a Police officer and the experiences each one of those have brought have all drawn me to this point, but it was a downside to my police service that was the catalyst for my writing. Medically retired after being seriously injured while protecting a woman in a domestic violence situation I then experienced the other side of life. Depression and rejection. Giving truth to the oft said saying that when one door closes another opens I pulled myself up and enrolled in college gaining bachelor and master degrees, for my own development rather than any professional need. The process of learning, of getting words down onto the page again relit my passion for writing in a way that I hadn’t felt since high school. So here we are, two books published and another on track. Where it will take me I have no idea but I am going to enjoy getting there and if my writing can bring some small pleasure into people’s lives along the way, then I consider that I will have succeeded in life.

Roger Bray can be followed on Twitter, his Website and Facebook.

Cover Reveal ~ Needle Song by Russell Day # FahrenheitPress #Coverreveal

 

Spending the night with a beautiful woman would be a good alibi, if the body in the next room wasn’t her husband.

Doc Slidesmith has a habit of knowing things he shouldn’t. He knows the woman Chris Rudjer meets online is married. He knows the adult fun she’s looking for is likely to be short lived. And when her husband’s killed, he knows Chris Rudjer didn’t do it.

Only trouble is the police disagree and no one wants to waste time investigating an open and shut case.

No one except Doc.

Using lies, blackmail and a loaded pack of Tarot cards, Doc sets about looking for the truth – but the more truth he finds, the less he thinks his friend is going to like it.

 

FREE RUSSELL DAY SHORT STORY IN EXCHANGE FOR A TWEET:

Russell Day came to Fahrenheit Presses attention when they asked for submissions for their NOIRVILLE short story competition. A panel of judges placed Day’s stories in first AND SECOND place! Only one of the stories features in the NOIRVILLE anthology which means we’re giving the second story away for FREE, you lucky people!…….(well, free in exchange for a tweet!).

To receive a copy of Russell Day’s award-winning story, make sure you’re following @damppebbles (so you can receive the DM with the download links) and then tweet the following:

NEEDLE SONG by Russell Day (@rfdaze) published by @fahrenheitpress in eBook on Monday 30th April! #NeedleSongBook | @damppebbles.
http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_fahrenheit.html

No retweets, it has to be a shiny new tweet otherwise it won’t count! Any problems then please contact @damppebbles.

You can can pre-order Needle Song directly from Fahrenheit Press.

About the author

Russell Day was born in 1966 and grew up in Harlesden, NW10 – a geographic region searching for an alibi. From an early age it was clear the only things he cared about were motorcycles, tattoos and writing. At a later stage he added family life to his list of interests and now lives with his wife and two children. He’s still in London, but has moved south of the river for the milder climate.
Although he only writes crime fiction Russ doesn’t consider his work restricted. ‘As long as there have been people there has been crime, as long as there are people there will be crime.’ That attitude leaves a lot of scope for settings and characters. One of the first short stories he had published, The Second Rat and the Automatic Nun, was a double-cross story set in a world where the church had taken over policing. In his first novel, Needle Song, an amateur detective employs logic, psychology and a loaded pack of tarot cards to investigate a death.
Russ often tells people he seldom smiles due to nerve damage, sustained when his jaw was broken. In fact, this is a total fabrication and his family will tell you he’s has always been a miserable bastard.

 

Blog Tour ~ Review~ This Dark Place by Claire Kittridge.

 

Priscilla Ames is the daughter of a Wall Street hedge fund manager that has made millions in the stock market. She’s reckless, impulsive, always wanting to be the center of attention, but one thing has been constant – her friendship with Avery Moss. They are like sisters that share adventures and look out for each other in times of need.

Avery Moss comes from a working-class family in Brooklyn. She met Priscilla as an 8 year-old at an elite NYC private school where Avery was on a one-year scholarship. They became friends on the first day of school when Avery beat up a boy that was teasing Priscilla. When Avery’s scholarship was discontinued, Priscilla’s father, Peter Ames, stepped in and has supported her schooling ever since, including sending the girls to a prestigious acting college in London

NYPD Detective Kelly Moore is a member of the elite Queens Violent Felony Squad. She is smart and strong and direct. Years ago, her older sister disappeared while traveling in England and the case was never solved, haunting all of her investigations. Moore’s greatest strength and her greatest weakness are two sides of the same coin: when she’s on her game, she works from the inside out, acting on hunches and then backing them up with evidence – but under duress, she acts rashly, leaping before she looks.

When Priscilla’s body is found by Avery in a posh London flat and her death is splashed across headlines worldwide, Kelly Moore flies across the Atlantic to join a crack team of British investigators working on the case.

Together with the London Metropolitan Police, Kelly must track down a twisted serial killer who seems to know her every move and her darkest secrets. As the body count rises, and panic spreads, the killer threatens to make Kelly the next victim.

In a heart-racing game of cat and mouse, Kelly must outwit this elusive master of surveillance – who might be the last person she suspects.

Review

I would like to thank the author Claire Kittridge and blog tour organiser Anne Cater for the ARC in return for an honest review.
I have been reading a lot of thrillers lately and they vary in style and substance in many ways. This Dark Place by Claire Kittridge is a good solid procedural drama and the start of a promising new series around the main character Kelly Moore.
It’s full of dark scenes as a twisted killer stalks the students of a drama college. The story line moves along at an exciting pace. You turn the pages because you need to discover who will survive and how many victims the killer will claim.
Character wise I felt it had much to attract readers. Kelly is believable and given she is the main character this gives the book a good central core. You don’t have to like the main character to enjoy a book, but you either have to be partial to them or really hate them for this type of novel to succeed. Kelly makes the book work because you can’t help liking her and wanting her to win the game of cat and mouse she was engaged in with the killer.
The killer is hateful enough that as a reader, you really want him to be caught. He is dark, warped and manipulative. Perfect villain material. The only wish I had, was that I wanted a few more twists and turns. I had pretty much guessed the killer before they were revealed and I do like it to be a surprise until it happens.
This is a tiny criticism and only based on my reading experience. This is still a very enjoyable read and good solid start to a new series of books. I can see Kelly Moore becoming a firm favourite.

This Dark Place can be purchased from Amazon.

Claire Kittridge grew up in Brooklyn, NY watching The X-files, Law and Order, and a worn-out VHS tape of Sweeney Todd that she found in the basement. Long a lover of atmospheric landscape, rolling hills, and rainy days, Claire fell in love with England and its great fictional detectives while traveling around Britain as a teenager.

An avid reader, triathlete, and boxing fan, Claire lives in New York City with her cat, Chairman Meow. She is currently at work on the second Kelly Moore novel.

Claire Kittridge can be followed on Twitter.

Blog Tour ~ Extract ~ The Penance List by S C Cunningham. #Giveaway

This one comes with a warning – a steamy suspense-ridden psychological thriller – think Silence of the Lambs meets 50 Shades and hold on tight! S C Cunningham writes with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humour and pulsating sex scenes. Grab a glass of wine, close the bedroom door and read alone! What happens when opposites attract – when a scorned childhood sweetheart grows into a gorgeous sexual tour de force – when a fun loving career girl, her racy girlfriends and insatiable lovers get caught in his revenge – when sex becomes a weapon, hearts become bait and straight tastes gay – when hi-flying careers, clandestine affairs and wannabe starlets are hunted by celebrity hungry press? Obsession, kidnap, murder… and he’s just getting started!

I would like to thank S C Cunningham for visiting booksaremycwtches today with an extract from her novel The Penance List. 

Many thanks to Rachel Gilbey for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.

************************

The Penance List
by S C Cunningham

Three fun loving friends meet regularly for lunch at the glamorous Cellini’s Restaurant in Chelsea. They have no idea that they’re being watched by a killer with a penance list.

Click, click… hidden in a cafe across the street, he pulled on the focus, fitting all three into shot.
Tara and Helen had met as juniors at a convent boarding school for young ladies, upsetting a multitude of nuns in their wake. Josie had been adopted by the feisty twosome years later at college. Her cheeky up-front London cockney savvy and their self-effacing Sloaney wit made an entertaining mix. They’d stuck together through thick and thin, enduring life’s roller coaster; a good team.
Their bond was about to be tested. Evil was entering centre stage of their cosy, comfortable lives. It had been sitting on the periphery for years, plotting, planning, patiently waiting. It was watching them now; they only had to look up through the restaurant window to see it, hiding behind the large black lens that focused directly on them.
Click, click… the shot pulled in tight, slender fingers wrapped the stem of her glass.
The girl’s witty banter moved at a gallop, sprinting through sentences that didn’t need completing, interspersed with giggles, tears and hugs. They ‘got’ each other with intuitive precision.
Tara did sometimes wonder how they could talk such utter rubbish for hours on end; she put it down to a necessary form of free DIY therapy from those who actually loved, cared and understood you. Knew how to make you laugh and what made you tick. She believed in avoiding shrinks whenever possible, buy a friend lunch; it was cheaper and didn’t keep the drug trade in business, too many unnecessary pills out there.
“I hate BJ’s… I hate the taste, the feel, the pressure. I am SO useless at them, they make me gag, which is SO not such a good look,” complained Helen, pulling a very unattractive gagging face.
The girls giggled; Josie put her fork down, giving up trying to eat.
“No, seriously,” continued Helen. “I try really hard, but I can’t swallow to save my life, and my hand jobs are a nightmare. I get into a nice rhythm, everything’s going fine, then it starts, the insecurity creeps in. Am I doing it right? Am I holding too tight, too hard? Am I yanking too fast? He’s not saying anything, not helping, except the odd sharp intake of breath or animal-like groan. Was that a ‘pained’ intake of breath or a ‘pleasurable’ intake of breath? A ‘yeah, good’ groan or an ‘ouch! fuck that hurt’ groan? How the hell do you know? You have to be a mind reader. My hand gets tired, my knees ache, my jaw starts to lock, my teeth get in the way, I remember that he pees out of it and …”
She takes a slug of wine, soldiering on with her regular moan about her disastrous sex life.
“… whoosh!…I lose it, hand-to-mouth coordination gets all out of sync and I go into a blind panic, knowing that he knows, that I know, that I’ve lost it. It’s like reverse parking; start analysing it and I mess up, every time…”
The girls look at her quizzically, trying to keep up with her line of thinking…reverse parking?
“And, to make it worse, he’s looking impatiently down at me, like, ‘come on, babe, get a move on,’ probably waiting for the footy to start, spotting my roots need doing, and trying not to laugh at the farting noises my mouth is making…urrgh!! It’s all SO unattractive.”
She sighs, serious faced, topping up wine glasses, the girls trying not to laugh.
“How do you know if you’re doing it right?” she pleaded.
“Hey relax gal, you don’t ‘ave to do it, it’s not mandatory. Some guys don’t like blow jobs, having a set of gnashers around their privates fills them with terror, and some guys don’t like to go down on us for the same reasons; we pee out of it, and the little ‘panic button’ is hell to figure out,” Josie tried to calm her, but she wasn’t listening.
“And why the hell is it called a ‘blow job’? Granted, it’s a bloody job, but there is no bloody blowing involved, unless I’m doing it wrong,” she stopped in her tracks and looked quizzically up at the girls.
“Do you blow in the hole?” they both shook their heads, trying not to laugh.
“I don’t want to force a bloody air bubble down his tubes, he’ll go blue… try explaining that to an ambulance crew. No one teaches you these things, its real trial and error stuff.”
“Well maybe that’s what the older man is for, hun… to teach a girl the sexual basics,” piped up Tara.
“That’s even worse, they take Viagra and never bloody stop… they have a hard on for days, your bits are sore as hell… and they never bloody come, where’s the fun in that? To top it all they end up having a heart attack,” Helen gulped more wine, shaking her head.
Josie giggled. “We’re a bit old for older men don’t ya think? Ours would come with a wheelchair and bus pass. It would be more useful to learn a few resuscitation techniques… a good bit of slap’n tickle and a cheeky bit of CPR, very sexy.”
Click, click… the frame catches their three heads rock back with laughter, a cauldron of witches.

The Penance List can be purchased from Amazon

Giveaway – Win 1 x Signed Copy of The Penance List (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 I reserve 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 I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Giveaway link. 

About the author. 

British Crime Investigator & Crime Writer, Siobhan C Cunningham creates stegamy psychological thrillers and kick-ass paranormal romance with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humour, and pulsating sex scenes. Having worked in the very industries she writes about, her novels offer a fresh level of sincerity and authority, rare in fiction. An ex-model, British born of Irish roots, she married a rock musician and has worked in the exciting worlds of music, film, sports celebrity management and as a Crime Investigator for the British Police (Wanted & Absconder Unit, Major Crime Team, Intelligence Analyst, Investigations Hub). Abducted as a child, she survived; and every night for months afterward, she prayed to God, asking for a deal. This personal journey sparked the fuse behind the intriguing and riveting fictional world she portrays in The Fallen Angel Series. Twenty years later she crossed paths with a violent serial attacker who haunted the streets of London, the seed for The David Trilogy was sown, book one is The Penance List, and has been adapted to film screenplay.
She is the proud mother to contemporary Artist Scarlett Raven and is owned by three dogs.

You can follow the author on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

Blog Tour ~ Review ~ The Golden Bunny of The Lake District by Sibel Beadle and illustrated by Fernado Arias.

Miranda’s fifth daughter, Kai, desperately wants a pet. Wherever she goes she collects stray animals from bugs to snakes, however, none of these satisfy her dreams of having an animal she can really look after and call her own. Thankfully, a solution unexpectedly appears when their friend Richard reveals that his grandson —a golden rabbit who lives in the Lake District— has the gift of making children’s wishes come true. And so, armed with some spells and a lot of camping equipment Miranda, along with her daughters Kai and Viva, embark on an adventure. The only question is will they manage to find the giant waterfall where Richard’s cheeky grandson lives and return with a cuddly pet for Kai?

Review

This is charming tale is part of a series of books about Miranda and her seven very special daughter’s.
I must admit, I am a little in love with this wonderful series of books because they capture the world from the child’s point of view.

This the third, is as  exquisite as the first two in the series and captures the essence of what a children’s book should be, magical, innocent and heart warming.
I loved how in this book we got to focus on another of the daughter’s. This time it’s Kai and her wish for a pet.
My favourite part of this book was was the way it says to young reader’s that dreams can come true, if you just believe.  Yet maintains a simplicity to the story, which is a hallmark of the series and that makes it accessible to young readers. Here as in the first in the series the writer celebrates the fact that adventures and travel are grand things and that books can open up the world to children.

Special mention must to the illustrator Fernando Arias whose illustrations are bold and colourful.

It’s a beautifully written story and I am certain it will inspire young readers to want to visit the setting of the book, it certainly made me want to. I smiled throughout and loved the way the writer gave it a big hearted feel.
I would recommend this book to parents to read to their young children and also to older independent readers.

This delightful book can be purchased from Amazon

About the author.

Living in Billericay, Essex with her two daughters Sibel Beadle previously worked as a senior banker for the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development in Central London before becoming a full time children’s author. Previous titles in her Witchy Travel Tales series include; The Seven Sisters andSleepless in Stonehenge (Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd 2017). The third, The Golden Bunny of the Lake District is published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd March 2018.

Sibel Beadle can be followed on her Witchy Travel Tales and Twitter.

 

Blog Tour ~ Review ~ Sleepless in Stonehenge Sibel Beadle and illustrated by Fernado Arias.

The series “Witchy Travel Tales” tells the story of a witch and her seven daughters.

This book is the second in the series. One of the witch’s daughters, Viva, is scared at night and struggles to fall asleep every night. Her mother, the witch, takes Viva on a trip to Stonehenge, to activate an ancient spell hat helps the little girl, fall asleep going forward.
Review

Many thanks to the author Sibel Beadle, Grosvenor House publishing and blog tour organiser Rachel Gilbey for the ARC of Witchy Travel Tales, Sleepless In Stonehenge in return for an honest review.

This is a charming tale of a witch called Miranda, her seven daughters and their quest to help one of those daughters viva find a way to beat her nighmares.
I must admit, I am a little in love with this wonderful series of books. This the second is exquisite and captures the essence of what a children’s book should be, magical, innocent and heart warming.
I loved how in this book we got to focus on one of the daughter’s. The author is showing her young reader’s that nightmares can be banished.
My favourite part of the book was was the way it says to young reader’s that there are ways to deal with nightmares.  Yet maintains a simplicity to the story and that makes it accessible to young readers.Here as in the first in the series the writer celebrates the fact that adventures and travel are grand things and that books can open up the world to children.

Special mention must to the illustrator Fernando Arias whose illustrations are bold and colourful.
It is a beautifully written story and I am certain it will inspire young readers to want to visit the setting of the book, it certainly made me want to. I smiled throughout and loved the way the writer gave it a big hearted feel.
I would recommend this book to parents to read to their young children and also to older independent readers.

Sleepless In Stonehenge can be purchased from Amazon

About the author.

Living in Billericay, Essex with her two daughters Sibel Beadle previously worked as a senior banker for the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development in Central London before becoming a full time children’s author. Previous titles in her Witchy Travel Tales series include; The Seven Sisters andSleepless in Stonehenge (Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd 2017). The third, The Golden Bunny of the Lake District is published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd March 2018.

Sigel Beatle can be followed on Twitter

She can also be followed at Witchy Travel Tales

Blog Tour ~ Review ~ The Seven Sisters by Sibel Beatle and illustrated by Fernado Beadle.

The series “Witchy Travel Tales” tells the story of a witch called Miranda who has seven beautiful daughters. Miranda and her daughters cross seven seas in search of a better home. One stormy night they land on the Seven Sisters Cliffs, south of England.

This book is the first in a series of books that tells the travel tales of the witch and her seven daughters, who explore the beautiful land they have arrived in and visit ancient sites throughout England and the World in search of magic.

Review

Many thanks to the author Sibel Beadle, Grosvenor House publishing and blog tour organiser Rachel Gilbey for the ARC of Witchy Travel Tales, The Seven Sisters in return for an honest review.
This is a charming tale of a witch called Miranda, her seven daughters and their quest for a forever home.
I must admit, I am a little in love with this wonderful children’s book. It’s exquisite and captures the essence of what a children’s book should be, magical, innocent and heart warming.
I loved all the characters in this book, all of whom have very different personalities. The author is showing her young readers that it’s okay to be different, to celebrate who you are and be valued and loved.
My favourite part of the book was this very fact, the way it celebrates diversity and it does so with spoonfuls of emotional insight. Yet maintains a simplicity to the story that makes it accessible to young readers. I also loved how the writer celebrates the fact that adventures and travel are grand things and that books can open up the world to children. Special mention must to the illustrator Fernando Arias whose illustrations are bold and colourful.
It is a beautifully written story and I am certain it will inspire young readers to want to visit the setting of the book, it certainly made me want to. I smiled throughout and loved the way the writer gave it a big hearted feel.
I would recommend this book to patients to read to their young children and also to older independent readers.

The Seven Sisters can be purchased from Amazon.

About the author.

Living in Billericay, Essex with her two daughters Sibel Beadle previously worked as a senior banker for the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development in Central London before becoming a full time children’s author. Previous titles in her Witchy Travel Tales series include; The Seven Sisters andSleepless in Stonehenge (Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd 2017). The third, The Golden Bunny of the Lake District is published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd March 2018.

You can follow Sibel Beadle on her Witchy Travel Tales and Twitter.

Blog Tour ~ Review ~ Godsend by J.A.Marley.

It has been eighteen months since Danny Felix pulled off the robbery of his life.  His plan brought London to a standstill, but at a heavy price.

Now, living a quiet life running a charter fishing business in the Florida Keys, Danny is trying to come to terms with the death and destruction he had unwittingly unleashed. However, the low profile is beginning to wear thin and he soon starts to crave the adrenalin rush of his former criminal ways.

Little does he know that three very different women are about to enter his life and turn it upside-down. Soon Danny finds himself right back in the action.

But why has he been chosen? And does he have the appetite to pull off another job where the stakes are so lethally high?

Review

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books, J A Marley and blog tour organiser Sarah Hardy for the ARC of Godsend in return for an honest review.

I feel like simply saying I loved this book.

There you go that’s my review. I loved it. I really thought it was fabulous. It is everything a thriller should be. You should read it.

I should definitely write more though. Because this book deserves it.

It’s fun.

It’s exciting.

It’s action packed.

There is a hero, sort of an ‘anti hero’ in fact, who you shouldn’t really root for, but I can’t help it. I know he is a criminal, but from Standstill, the first in the series, I could sense his vulnerability and just liked him. Danny is one of my all time favourite characters. I was chuffed that J A Marley didn’t just leave him as the action packed criminal mastermind, but has given him more emotional depth in his second outing. His heart is hurting in Godsend and it makes him all the more appealing as a character.

The story romps along like a high speed train. With has a villain I just loved to hate. No heart, no vulnerability, just pure evilness. You need that in a thriller. Someone you just want to meet a nasty ending, who makes you angry, makes your skill crawl. He is there in Godsend and I hate him as much as I love Danny Felix.

Godsend works well as a standalone, but I would personally start with Standstill and you get two servings of a fabulous character and you take a roller coaster ride with him.

I still maintain that he would be perfect film material, just not Tom Cruise okay! Don’t ever cast Tom Cruise as Danny Felix!

Godsend can be purchased from Amazon

About the author 

John A. Marley’s writing career started with a poem about two brothers who both liked sausages…their names were Butch and Dutch and his Primary School teacher Mr. Murray liked it so much it made the main noticeboard at the entrance to Holy Child Primary School in West Belfast.  A little older but none the wiser, he ended up as a film journalist in his native Northern Ireland, contributing to local newspapers, BBC Radio Ulster and latterly writing as the main film critic for the glossy magazine, Northern Woman.

John’s love of good stories came from the Irish predilection for telling a good yarn and the fact that there was nothing quite like sneaking away his Dad’s battered paperbacks to read even though he knew they were meant for adults and not kids. And so pulp fiction such as The Edge Westerns by George G. Gilman, the adventure novels of Alistair MacLean and the thrillers of Jack Higgins all served to whet his appetite for a good story told at pace.

These days, his reading tastes still focus on thrills, spills and good plot and he can’t walk by a James Lee Burke or an Elmore Leonard without pausing to read a few pages…even if it is in a busy bookshop.

John A. Marley is also a TV producer with a proven track record in creating and producing distinctive, original entertainment and factual programming and formats for both a UK and international audience. His eclectic portfolio of high-profile shows include Britain’s Ultimate Pilots: Inside the RAF, Britain’s Flying Past, Staraoke, Best of Friends, Skatoony, Noel’s House Party, Through the Keyhole, SMTV:Live/CD:UK, How Euro Are You? and live coverage of “The Oscars” with Barry Norman.

John runs his own production company Archie Productions which he launched in 2008. Prior to setting up his own indie, John enjoyed a wide and varied career in television will creative roles at Talent Television, Planet 24, Carlton Television and Walt Disney UK. John’s broadcast media career started in his native Northern Ireland as a radio host.

Godsend is the follow up to John’s debut novel, Standstill in which we first met master thief Danny Felix.

J A Marley can be followed on his website and Twitter.