http://bowensbookpublicity.com/2021/06/25/remember-when-you-loved-me-by-margaret-holbrook-mgth6/

The Rock: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 18)

by LJ Ross 

The Rock is another awesome addition to this excellent series! I have LOVED it! I can’t recommend it highly enough. Honestly, if you haven’t read these books yet you are seriously missing out.

This book is set in a beautiful location. I have been lucky enough to visit once whilst visiting friends in Sunderland and I’m looking forward to being back in that neck of the woods again soon. I have my map ready! 😉

I love catching up with Ryan and the team. I love how their personal stories and relationships have developed throughout the series. I love Ryan’s adoration of Anna and their daughter. I can understand him being concerned about the danger to his family because of his high-profile job and I love that Anna understands this but supports him fully and encourages him to continue doing what he seems to have been born to do.

The case the team are faced with this time is nothing short of horrifying. People trafficking is just horrendous and it’s terrifying to think how common a problem it probably is in the real world. I can’t even begin to imagine what these women must go through at the hands of these ba*tards. There are some sick people in this world!

There is a lot going on throughout this story. It is fast paced, intense, and features some quite inspirational characters. So full of suspense, emotion, and uncertainty. Heart-breaking but also heart-warming at times. It just ticks all the boxes. I was practically glued to my kindle.

Frank made me giggle a lot too, as he always does. He’s a ray of sunshine in their all too often dark world.

Another easy five stars for me!

BUY HERE….

happy reading!

One Must Die: How do you choose which of your sons should die?

by Mark Tilbury  

OH. MY. GOODNESS!

I honestly don’t know how Mark Tilbury does it but yet again he has created an unputdownable, dark, emotional, traumatic but compelling read.

One of my biggest fears, as a parent, has been the possibility of my children being kidnapped. It must be your worst nightmare come true. For Sean to have both of his sons taken by the same man, for reasons unbeknown to him, he is understandably terrified and feels he has no choice but to give in to the kidnapper’s demands in an effort to keep his boys safe. The things he asks him to do are just awful, but I could understand Sean’s need to do whatever he says, despite police advice to the contrary.

My heart went out to Sean and his boys. They share a close relationship, especially since the loss of the boy’s mother, Laura, in tragic circumstances. How much trauma can one family endure?

I love how the boys are as different as chalk and cheese. The bravery they show throughout their ordeal is exceptional, especially the older brother. What they are subjected to is nothing short of horrific and I was praying for them both throughout.

I love the relationship Sean shares with his father-in-law. He is a lovely character.

The kidnapper is one sick ba*tard! The boys aren’t his first victims either. All are linked in some way, but we don’t know how, and I was racing through the pages to find out what sick and twisted excuse he had for putting these people through such a horrendous ordeal. I did not see the twists in this story coming. Mark Tilbury knows how to surprise, shock, and horrify a reader! If you like your crime fiction dark and disturbing, then you will love this book.

This is one of those books that I thought about a lot when I wasn’t able to read it, wondering what might be coming next, and is most definitely one of those books that will stay with me for a long time to come.

All the stars from me, I highly recommend!

**Many thanks to Mark Tilbury for my advance review copy**

Follow, like and share the book love with these awesome book bloggers….

happy reading!

Invisible Victim

by Mel Sherratt  

WOW! Invisible Victim is another awesome read by Mel Sherratt. I have loved everything she has written, and this book has been no exception. It’s quite different to most of her other books in a lot of ways but similar in the way of having real, believable characters and a storyline which will suck you in from page one making it quite unputdownable.

There is a kidnapper on the loose who seems to be targeting random women for no obvious reason. All, but one, have been released after ten days but have no recollection of where they have been, who had been holding them captive or why. When the fifth victim is a Stoke reporter, who had been following the stories of the previous women we start to learn more about the kidnapper and those kidnapped. I was engrossed. I felt every emotion of the poor woman locked away holding on to the hope of going home on day ten. Ten days must feel like years in that situation. Also, the uncertainty of even going home at all. I can’t even imagine. I couldn’t wait to find out why, what was making this person tick and what reasons/excuses they had for putting these women through such an ordeal.

Mel Sherratt knows how to write exceptional characters. Even the ones you’re not supposed to like I still often end up feeling for to a certain degree. This kidnapper’s back story is quite heart-breaking, which does not of course condone their adult behaviour. However, it does go some way to explaining why their mind works the way it does. It does raise the nature v nurture question too, which has always fascinated me.

I devoured this book, I absolutely loved it!

I most certainly recommend to anyone and everyone!

#TeamSherratt

**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

BUY NOW!

HAPPY READING!

Happy Publication Day, Tilly Tennant!

ICYMI, check out my review below, originally published on the 8th June….

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2021/06/08/the-hotel-at-honeymoon-station-by-tilly-tennant-tillytenwriter-bookouture-bookreview/

Happy reading!

We have the green light for a July 6×6! Covid restrictions will apply so we shall be updating you all on the whys and wherefores close to the date, but meanwhile keep the 20th July free. So looking forward to seeing you all then! Writers: if you can have you submissions in by 30th June […]

20th July is the new 6×6!

Happy Publication Day to Malcolm Havard! Three Brothers (The Three Brothers Trilogy Book 1) by Malcolm Havard  Set between 1910 and 1919, Three Brothers is a story of family rivalry and jealousy complicated by a love triangle where world events pit the protagonists against each other.Growing up in Argentina, cousins Felix and Ted’s world is disrupted […]

Happy Publication Day, Malcolm Havard! @MalHavardWriter

Caroline James (Twitter author image) Caroline James Amazon Author Page: author.to/CJAuthor Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy & Me: A feel-good romantic comedy you need to read by Caroline James (Author)  Alli Smith (Illustrator) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A genuinely warm feel-good story⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I LOVED this book⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Funny, sad, a perfect page-turner⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Couldn’t put it down! Jo’s romance with the gypsy began with his […]

Caroline James @CarolineJames12 — Bowen’s Book Publicity

The Hotel at Honeymoon Station

by Tilly Tennant  

I adore Tilly Tennant and The Hotel at Honeymoon Station is another gorgeous read! Not that I am at all surprised as I knew I’d love it!

When we meet Emma, she is preparing to say a temporary goodbye to her baby sister as she embarks on the career opportunity of her dreams. Emma wishes she loved her job as much. She’s not overly happy in her relationship either. Is it time for a fresh start?

When an old school friend, Tia, offers her the opportunity of a partnership refurbishing an old railway station, in Dorset, into a hotel she is in two minds. It is a massive risk and an extremely expensive one. They decide to go for it though and I thoroughly enjoyed following their brave adventure. I LOVE Dorset! I so wish I lived closer so we could visit more often. I could totally understand the lure of moving to a lovely little village there. I’m not sure I’d be as brave as they are though.

The refurbishment isn’t without it’s ups and downs, and that goes for Emma’s and Tia’s friendship too. I loved the dynamic between the two of them, especially when handsome local builders are thrown into the mix. I was totally rooting for them both to have their happy ending. I could understand Emma’s apprehension, but I did want to give her a good shake at times! 😉

Tilly Tennant knows exactly how to draw you in to a story from the very first page and keep you transfixed throughout the whole book. There are so many amazing characters in this story. Even the unlikeable ones are likeable in their own way, especially one. I LOVED how this story ends. Feel good fiction at it’s very best. I highly recommend to all!

**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

Out on the 18th June! Pre-order now….

happy reading! 🙂

The Vanished Landscape: A 1930s Childhood in the Potteries

by Paul Johnson  

The Vanished Landscape was passed on to me from a friend quite some time ago now. It has been on my bookshelf for far too long, but I’m so glad I finally got the chance to read it. It is such a wonderful read about the old Potteries in a time I can only imagine. This is Paul’s story of growing up in the 1930’s when The Potteries truly lived up to its name. I was born in Stoke-on-Trent and raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme (where I live again now), so every place Paul talks about I know exactly where he means, although I can’t quite imagine how it must have looked back then. The Potteries are quite different these days.

I loved that Paul is the youngest sibling, born when his parents were that bit older. They talked to him all the time, about everything. They seemed to have unwavering patience with all their children and come across as a lovely family. The way Paul interprets some of the things they tell him as a 4/5-year-old is quite endearing and I smiled a lot throughout this book. His mother was a fascinating character!

I had to smile also when those from Newcastle-under-Lyme are referred to as “snobby” and not from the “proper potteries”. I’m sure people did think like that then as some still do now! I know many people from Newcastle-under-Lyme who are quite offended if someone suggests they live in Stoke. Lol! They are right though. Newcastle-under-Lyme is not Stoke-on-Trent. We have our own council. It’s just easier to say you’re from Stoke to people who often don’t realise Newcastle-under-Lyme exists.

Anyway, as well as being a heartfelt account of a happy childhood this book is steeped in local history. I learned a lot along the way and thoroughly enjoyed every page.

If you live in, or are local to, the Potteries I think you will love this memoir. If you don’t live anywhere near here but you’re interested in history at all then I think you will love it just the same.

I highly recommend.

Many thanks to my friend, Clare Baker, for passing it on to me.

happy reading 🙂