#BlogTour High Blue Sky by Victoria Connelly

It’s my turn on the BlogTour High Blue Sky by Victoria Connelly.

About the Author

Victoria Connelly lives in a 500-year old thatched cottage in rural Suffolk with her artist husband, a springer spaniel and a flock of ex-battery hens. She is the million-selling author of two bestselling series, The Austen Addicts and The Book Lovers, as well as many other novels and novellas. Her first published novel, Flights of Angels, was made into a film in Germany. Victoria loves books, films, walking, historic buildings and animals. If she isn’t at her keyboard writing, she can usually be found in her garden either with a trowel in her hand or a hen on her lap. 

Follow @VictoriaDarcy on Twitter, Visit victoriaconnelly.com 

About the book

Summer has arrived and it’s over a year since strangers Abigail and Edward bought Winfield Hall at auction and restored it together. Now, two new tenants are about to join them at their beautiful Georgian home.

Workaholic Harry Freeman has forgotten what it is to relax so when he meets healer, Aura Arden, and learns to meditate with her, he can’t believe how good he feels and he soon finds himself falling for her. But, with her bare feet and crystal beads, Aura’s not a big hit with Harry’s old-fashioned parents, and he finds himself torn between the people he loves most in the world.

It isn’t just Harry and Aura finding love. Summer has woven its spell over Edward and his brother Oscar, and both are making a play for Abi. But Abi isn’t happy at having to choose between these two very different men and, when Oscar’s behavior spirals out of control, she realizes that some decisions can have devastating consequences.

High Blue Sky is the second novel in the heart-warming trilogy from the bestselling author of The Rose Girls and The Book Lovers series.

Review

This is the second book in the House in the Clouds series. Abi and Edward have finished renovating Winfield Hall and are ready to find the perfect candidates to share their spectacular home. Of course their choices are as different as night and day, which is also reflected in the way Abi chooses her love interests.

I love the whole idea of splitting up an old building or estate between two people who have different views about the people who should live there, as long as it isn’t acrimonious. There is nothing worse than having your safe haven disturbed, invaded and destroyed by nightmare neighbours. 

Also the idea of retreating from the rat race and having a peaceful place that allows you to take a breath. In all honesty it is only that way for a small group of the population. The majority either have no choice and have to accept the negatives that come with living in overpopulated areas or enjoy the rat race element of life.

Connelly delves quite deeply into the aspect of peace, taking time to relax and enjoy life, through the character of Aura. I think it’s an important aspect of wellbeing and health in our day and age. It’s a feel good read with some serious sub-plots, but the infusion of joy and good intention is woven throughout the story.

Buy High Blue Sky at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Ruabon: Lost Tales of Solace by Karl Drinkwater

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour Ruabon: Lost Tales of Solace by Karl Drinkwater.

About the Author

Karl Drinkwater writes thrilling SF, suspenseful horror, and contemporary literary fiction. Whichever you pick you’ll find interesting and authentic characters, clever and compelling plots, and believable worlds.

Karl has lived in many places but now calls Scotland his home. He’s an ex-librarian with degrees in English, Classics, and Information Science. He also studied astrophysics for a year at university, surprising himself by winning a prize for “Outstanding Performance”.

When he isn’t writing he loves guitars, exercise, computer and board games, nature, and vegan cake. Not necessarily in that order. Click here to subscribe to his newsletter

Follow @karldrinkwater on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit karldrinkwater.uk  

About the book

Welcome to Tecant. Nothing ever happens here. Until today.

Ruabon Nadarl is just another low-ranking member of the scan crew, slaving away for the UFS which “liberated” his homeworld. To help pass the time during long shifts he builds secret personalities into the robots he controls. Despite his ingenuity, the UFS offers few opportunities for a better life.

Then Ruabon detects an intruder on the surface of a vital communications tower. He could just report it and let the deadly UFS commandos take over, while Ruabon returns to obscurity. Or he could break UFS laws and try to capture the intruder himself. For the UFS, only the outcome matters, not the method. If his custom-programmed drones can save the day, he’ll be a hero. And if he fails, he’ll be dead.

Review

This is the fourth book in the Lost Tales of Solace series. The books can all be read as standalone novels and yet they all connect on different levels. The same universe and systems viewed through the lens of individual characters and their experiences.

Interesting how the two parallels of the series, the technical and the human side, sort of come together in the character of Ruabon. He finds it difficult to connect to his colleagues and human counterparts. Instead he finds comfort in his drones, and creates a pseudo barrier of social interaction and connection  between himself and the inanimate objects by injecting them with their own personalities. He is very much the reluctant protagonist of this story. 

This story links into the Big Brotheresque nature of the surveillance noted throughout the series. In fact the planet itself, Tecant, is the link in the network of The Cordon. It’s what makes the planet so important.

The speculative nature of this genre bending and mixing series is intriguing, the creativity and vision is extraordinary. Interestingly the books have a variation when it comes to their centre of gravity, which swings between human element and inanimate object element. This time I took a moment to wonder about the greater picture, which possibly either goes undiscovered in the vast creativity of the plot or only exists in the perception of my own frame of reference.

Are there correlations to be drawn between the our reliance on and the advancement of AI,  the egotistical assumption that we are the only life, the surveillance we allow to dominate and control our lives  – on a more base note the relationships that bind, support and keep us going. Solace – the gift that keeps on giving.

Buy Ruabon: Lost Tales of Solace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎ Organic Apocalypse pub date 1 July 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour A Summer of Second Chances by Carol Thomas

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour A Summer of Second Chances by Carol Thomas.

About the Author

Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children and lively Labrador. She has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years and has a passion for reading, writing and people watching. When she is not in school, chasing after her children, or stopping her dog from eating things he shouldn’t, she can be found loitering in cafes drinking too much tea and working on her next book.  

Follow https://twitter.com/carol_thomas2 on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

About the book

Does first love deserve a second chance? Ava Flynn sometimes feels like the clothes donated to her charity shop have seen more life than her, but ‘maximum dedication for a minimal wage’ is what it takes to keep her mother’s beloved wildlife charity, All Critters Great and Small, running – especially in the village of Dapplebury, where business is certainly not booming.

But when Ava’s first love, Henry Bramlington, returns to the village, suddenly life becomes a little too eventful. Henry escaped Dapplebury many years before, but now he has the power to make or break the village he left behind – All Critters Great and Small included. Can Ava trust the boy who ran away to give both her and her charity a second chance? 

Review

The return of the boy who made Ava’s heart beat just a wee bit faster seems like a token gesture from the heavens at first, until she realises he has business in mind. The kind of decision making that could put her mother’s legacy at risk. Can she really keep attraction and business separated when it comes to Henry or will he use their connection to get what he wants?

Second Chance love stories are a bit of conundrum, because they are usually built on this fantasy of what would have been and has been denied. Having years or decades to pine over the apparently perfect partner one has been denied through fate or circumstance, well it gives the legend a chance to be fleshed out and sold to the people in question and to those around them.

Is the Henry we know now still the Henry who was ripped unceremoniously from Ava’s grasp? I very much doubt it and the same goes for Ava. Is the attraction based solely on nostalgia and imagined missed opportunities? Or do the two of them have a genuine connection that has lasted throughout the years, despite the intervention of others. 

I guess that is very much the core of this story, which is then combined with a colourful cast of characters, a tug-of-war of emotions and quaint surroundings as a backdrop to the tale. It’s the perfect escapism read.

Buy A Summer of Second Chances at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Choc Lit pub date 27 April 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogBlitz Raven Fire by Emma Miles

 It’s my turn on the BlogBlitz Raven Fire by Emma Miles.

About the Author

‘I often get asked when I knew I was a writer; the answer is always. A writer is what I am, it’s in my soul. There have been times in my life when I couldn’t write, and times when my writing has been the only thing that kept me going. I think I always longed for something deeper from life, something more meaningful, and I found it in my imagination and in the music of words.

It was poetry which first caught my attention, and whilst my younger cousins called for ghost stories it was animals I first wrote of. I think I gravitated toward fantasy because of the freedom it gives, I could create my own worlds and decide my own rules. My Wind’s Children trilogy was born from an image that came to me whilst daydreaming, of a young man sitting alone below a bridge. I didn’t know who he was; it turns out neither did he, but we found out together.

I’m now working on my eleventh book and love writing more than ever, it’s an addiction, an obsession, but one I now share with my wonderful writing family. My beta readers, my editor, and you, my readers, having you with me on my journey means the world to me.

I write as much as I can around work, but I also try to squeeze in a ridiculous amount of hobbies! I’m a wildlife photographer and do a little archery. I paint, sculpt with clay, withies and driftwood, preferring to be outdoors if I can. I still have a love for the theatre, having started out in life studying backstage crafts, and a great love for language. I speak a little French, Romanian and Italian, ma non molto bene!

Thanks for reading this. If you read any of my books and love them, please come say hello and tell me, you’d be surprised at how much that means to an author. Take care of yourself. Em x’

Follow @EmmaMilesShadow on Twitter, on Facebook EmmaMilesShadow,

About the book

Is prophecy real; can Arridia and Joss defeat a god?

Evil never sleeps, and neither can the fire spirits who have guarded Kesta and her family so faithfully for more than fourteen years. United in a desire for peace, the four lands beneath the sky have enjoyed relative stability, but under the surface stirs unrest. Greed, ambition, disquiet, rebellion; and the ever-present threat of Geladan’s crazed god discovering she has been fooled.

Quiet Arridia is a Raven Scout, dedicated to the principles and hopes of her parents. When an opportunity presents itself to come home, she grasps it, longing to settle and find the love she has patiently waited for.

 Fun-loving Joss is drawn to the court of Elden with all its colour, noise, and intrigue; but has he taken on more than a young man can survive? Raven Fire is the final part of the breath-taking Fire-Walker saga. If you could, would you dare to change the world?

Review

This is the fourth book in the Fire Walker series and also the final one. I do think it would be a good idea to read the first books in the series to get a better overall view and feel for the characters and story. It can however be read as a standalone novel.

Raven Fire is for the majority split between The Fulmer Islands and Elden. In Elden the children of King Bracticus are struggling with the demands of a father who has certain expectations and thinks those should go before their own wishes and desires. And the Fulmer Islands are gripped by insidious dark witchcraft.

It’s the kind of story and ending that deserves a no hint review, especially for readers who have read the entire series. Miles certainly does it justice by bringing all the threads together – even if those threads have been woven through the entire series.

There are a lot of characters, almost too many to follow any one character well or give them more depth. Given the fact the reader is already immersing themselves into a complex fantasy world it makes it harder to get into said tale and what an ambitious and intricate story it is. I liked the fact it has a family saga vibe, giving it a generational fantasy feel. 

I also think there are opportunities for offshoots of this premise. Enough characters to create a story or series that evolves from this one.

Buy Raven Fire at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#PublicationDayPush Danny Mann Super Fan by Ian Slatter

It’s the Publication Day Push for Danny Mann Super Fan by Ian Slatter.

About the Author

Ian published his debut novel, Eco Worrier, in 2020 – a middle grade adventure story with plenty of twists and turns and lots of laughs. He has also written two non-fiction books for adults – Premier League Legends – the top 10 greatest Premier League players of all time and Incredible Moments in Sport.

Ian wrote for satirical website newsbiscuit.com for ten years, as well as writing for comedy sketch shows on ITV and BBC Radio. Follow @slatter_ian on Twitter, Visit ianslatter.com

About the book

Danny loves Chadmouth Town Football Club more than anything, but a run of defeats and terrible luck has left them bottom of the table and looking certain to be relegated with time running out.
But then, Danny and his best friend Nelson stumble across a bizarre pre-match ritual that seems to turn their luck around, and his beloved team starts winning again. Is it too little too late though, and can he keep doing everything right before each match, even when he starts finding more and more obstacles in his way and despite the relentless teasing from his classmates? It’s going to come down to the wire.
Does Danny have what it takes to save Chadmouth’s season?

Review

If you have a reluctant younger reader, which often tends to be boys, who likes football then this might just be the kind of story that creates a new reader.

It’s for readers aged 9 to 12, which shows the world of competitive sports and the sometimes obsessive nature of fandom, and the ensuing overreactions, in the micro cosmos of school. The rivalry, the banter and of course when the banter goes beyond joking and veers into insulting. It’s a whole mindset.

Danny’s team, Chadmouth Town, is on a losing streak until Danny and his friend Nelson discover a way to help the win. A pre-match ritual that shifts the fortunes of said football team onto the side of Lady Luck. Can they change the future of Chadmouth Town?

From a child’s perspective I can see this resonating, especially when it comes to the topic of bullying. When you exchange the topic of football team for any kind of difference at all that could make you a target in school, then the undertone of the story has a more serious note in the midst of all the amusing rituals.

I find any kind of reading material that will help children to engage with books and reading in general is always commendable. Taking a popular topic like football will definitely draw readers in.

Buy Danny Mann Super Fan at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Wayward Voyage by Anna M. Holmes

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour Wayward Voyage by Anna M. Holmes.

About the Author

Anna is originally from New Zealand and lives in the U.K. with her Dutch partner.

Way ward Voyage is Anna’s first novel. She has been fascinated by the lives of women pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, for a long time. Some years ago, she visualised this story as a screenplay before exploring and building their world more deeply as a novel. Wayward Voyage made a longlist of 11 for the Virginia Prize in Women’s Fiction 2020.

Blind Eye an eco-thriller, will be published by The Book Guild in September, so this year, 2021, Anna will have two novels coming out. Her screenplay, Blind Eye, is joint winner of the 2020 Green Stories screenplay competition.  

A documentary about pioneers of flamenco in the UK that Anna produced and directed was screened in Marbella International Film Festival and in London. This passion project ensures a slice of cultural history has been captured. It is available on YouTube and via a portal on her website.

She holds a Humanities B.A, a post-graduate diploma in Journalism and an M.A. in Dance Studies. Initially she worked as a radio journalist before a career in arts management working with U.K. Arts Councils and as an independent producer, dance history lecturer and she has run a dance development agency. 

Anna is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and enjoys practising flamenco. Writing, dance, and yoga shape her life.

Follow @AnnaMHolmes_ on Twitter, on Facebook, Visit https://www.annamholmes.com/

About the book

Anne is a headstrong young girl growing up in the frontier colony of Carolina in the early eighteenth century. With the death of her mother, and others she holds dear, Anne discovers that life is uncertain, so best live it to the full. She rejects the confines of conventional society and runs away to sea, finding herself in The Bahamas, which has become a nest for pirates plaguing the West Indies. 

Increasingly dissatisfied with her life, Anne meets a charismatic former pirate, John ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham, and persuades him to take up pirating again, and she won’t be left onshore. The Golden Age of Piracy is a period when frontiers were being explored and boundaries pushed. Wayward Voyage creates a vivid and gritty picture of colonial life in the Americas and at sea.

Review

Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of Anne Bonny, the woman who earned the right to be mentioned in the footnotes of the Golden Age of Piracy. This is her story, part fact and a lot of fiction, imagined through the eyes of the child and later the fierce woman seeking something more than what society has preordained for her.

‘This thing called love could only truly be understood in its absence’ – I think this sentence encompasses the woman and indeed her inner struggles. The inability to believe she is worthy and comprehend her own emotional attachments or even the lack of. It describes the close relationships she has with the men in her life.

I really enjoyed the read, but perhaps more so because Holmes manages to create this 3D perception of her main character, which becomes even more intricate when you draw upon historical fact and fictional sources. Who was this woman of great notoriety, who will be forever be synonymous with the greatly romanticised era of piracy, rebellion and political change.

A woman who demanded a seat at the table and different role for her gender. She refused to be confined and described by sexual objectification and power taken from her through the same avenue. Making a name and taking a stance by becoming one of the boys is an interesting parallel to the world of business and the way modern women inhabit the male centric and patriarchal careers and societies.

Under any other circumstances and perhaps in a situation where the law had better opportunity to curb her actions Anne would have been perceived and treated as a woman with mental health issues. In yet another perhaps as criminally intelligent and a sociopath. It’s interesting how our legacies are framed by the person narrating and writing history.

It speaks volumes that her name, her history and her myth is embedded in books, television and even popular video games. I loved the way the author gave a voice, a story and an ending to Anne. It might not be the one everyone would tell, but it is one that is filled with a sense of compassion, the conflict, the pain and that immense inner determination and drive. It’s a really good read.

Buy Wayward Voyage at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Book Guild Publishing Ltd pub date 28 April 2021. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones. WHSmith. Foyles. Blackwell’s. Brownsbfs. Book Depository.

#BlogTour the Legacy by Alison Knight

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Legacy: A Blessing and a Curse by Alison Knight.

About the Author

Alison has been a legal executive, a registered child-minder, a professional fund-raiser and a teacher. She has travelled the world – from spending a year as an exchange student in the US in the 1970s and trekking the Great Wall of China to celebrate her fortieth year and lots of other interesting places in between.

In her mid-forties Alison went to university part-time and gained a first-class degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and an MA in the same subject from Oxford Brookes University, both while still working full-time. Her first book was published a year after she completed her master’s degree.

The Legacy is a drama set in 1960s London. Like her previous book, Mine, it explores themes of class, ambition and sexual politics, showing how ordinary people can make choices that lead them into extraordinary situations.

Alison teaches creative and life-writing, runs workshops and retreats with Imagine Creative Writing Workshops (www.imaginecreativewriting.co.uk) as well as working as a freelance editor. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. – She lives in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor.

Follow @Alison_Knight59 on Twitter,  on Facebook, on Goodreads, Visit alisonroseknight.com, 

About the book

An unexpected inheritance. A web of deceit. A desperate escape. London, 1969.

James has his dreams of an easy life shattered when his aunt disinherits him, leaving her fortune to her god-daughter, Charlotte. He turns to his friend, Percy, to help him reclaim his inheritance – and to pay off his creditors. But when their plans backfire, James becomes the pawn of Percy and his criminal associates.

Charlotte is stunned when she is told of her windfall. After an attempt at cheating her out of her inheritance fails, James tries to intimidate her. But she is stronger than he thinks, having secrets of her own to guard, and sends him away with a bloody nose and no choice but to retreat for now.

Resigned, James and his spoilt, pampered girlfriend, Fliss, Percy’s sister, travel across France on a mission that promises to free James from the criminals for good. But James isn’t convinced he can trust Fliss, so he makes his own plans to start a new life.

Will James be able to get away, or will his past catch up with him? Will Charlotte’s secrets turn the legacy into a curse?

Review

James and Charlotte, nephew and god-daughter of Jane, who is coming towards the end of her life. She decides to change her last will and testament, which changes everything for James and Charlotte. James was expecting to inherit all her money, actually he needs to inherit it all or he is going to be in a world of trouble. Charlotte isn’t expecting anything and that explains the world of difference between them.

Greed, pettiness and privilege sets the tone for this story, especially on one side. James is willing to do anything to get what is rightfully his. Charlotte is willing to help James, but his manipulative and frankly dangerous connections and attitude make her more determined to find a peaceful solution. The question is can that really happen?

It’s a short read, a novella length story, which was quite interesting because the story was novel length worthy. It’s more of a fast-paced shortened and heightened version of the story. Given a bit a fleshing out, more depth and definitely more of a bridge between the last chapter and the rest this could have been full length – what it is, is a good read. It just seems as if the author was keeping herself in check.

It’s a pleasant story, a cosy story with a more serious undertone at times, quick but definitely worth a read.

Buy The Legacy at Amazon Uk . Publisher : darkstroke books pub date 4 May 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Old Cases New Colours by Madalyn Morgan

It’s my turn on the BlogTour Old Cases New Colours by Madalyn Morgan.

About the Author

I was brought up in a pub in a small market town called Lutterworth. For as long as I can remember, my dream was to be an actress and a writer. The pub was a great place for an aspiring actress and writer to live with so many characters to study and accents to learn. I was offered Crossroads the first time around. However, my mother wanted me to have a ‘proper’ job that I could fall back on if I needed to, so I did a hairdressing apprenticeship. Eight years later, aged twenty-four, I gave up a successful salon and wig-hire business in the theatre for a place at East 15 Drama College and a career as an actress, working in Repertory theatre, the West End, film and television.

In 1995, with fewer parts for older actresses, I gave up acting. I taught myself to touch-type, completed a two-year correspondence course with The Writer’s Bureau and began writing articles and presenting radio.

 In 2010, after living in London for thirty-six years, I moved back to Lutterworth. I swapped two window boxes and a mortgage for a garden and the freedom to write. Since then, I have written nine novels. The first four, The Dudley Sisters’ Saga, tell the stories of four sisters in World War 2. My current novel, Old Cases, New Colours, is a thriller/detective story set in 1960. I am writing Christmas book – Christmas Applause – and a Memoir; a collection of short stories, articles, poems, photographs and character breakdowns from my days as an actress.

Follow @ActScribblerDJ on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Pinterest, Visit madalynmorgan.com

About the book

Sick of working in a world of spies and bureaucracy, Ena Green, nee Dudley, leaves the Home Office and starts her own investigating agency.

Working for herself she can choose which investigations to take and, more importantly, which to turn down. While working on two investigations, Ena is called as a prosecution witness in the Old Bailey trial of a cold-blooded killer who she exposed as a spy the year before.

Review

This is the ninth book in the Dudley Green series and can be read as a standalone novel, but I am sure readers will want to go back to the beginning of the series if they enjoy this one.

Formidable Ena is putting her mark in a world predominantly inhabited by men and in that era the world of paid sleuthing is still cloaked in shades of Sam Spade. No case is too small or too big as previous adventures prove without a doubt, and it is fair to say that Ena and her trusty sidekick Artie don’t shy away from the more lethal side of investigative work.

Seeing as this book is quite far into the series there is always an expectation of some kind of recap to introduce the characters or if the previous events have any impact on the book you’re reading. In this case it would be the suicides and how Ena feels about each of the deaths for instance.

Aside from that I thought the recap at the beginning was a bit much – far too much information crammed into a short space. A prologue or introduction would work better and keeping some of it separate from the plot at hand.

It’s a quaint cosy historical crime series with a bit of a Tuppence and Tommy flair, and a family affair to boot.

Buy Old Cases New Colours at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Nothing man by R.J. Gould

It’s my turn on the BlogTour Nothing Man by R. J. Gould.

About the Author

Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould and is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA). His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers’ Scheme. Having been published by Headline Access and Lume Books, he now self-publishes. 

He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, loosely though not prescriptively within the Romance genre, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic journeys of his protagonists in search of love. Nothing Man is his sixth novel, following A Street Café Named Desire, The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies and The bench by Cromer beach.

Ahead of writing full time, Richard led a national educational charity. He has been published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people. He lives in Cambridge, England.

Follow @RJGould_author on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit rjgould.info

About the book

One man in need of an overhaul. Two women determined to drag him there. – Neville Watkin’s life is so rubbish surely things can’t get any worse.  Yes they can, because his wife leaves him, he loses his job, has a car crash and ends up in hospital.

Feisty Laura, the other party in the car crash, befriends him and sets out to turn his life upside down. For reasons he struggles to understand, Caroline, her equally feisty mother, seems to like him. Rather a lot. 

All in all things are looking up, but is Neville courageous enough to seize these new opportunities?

Review

If you take a step away from the story then you will probably realise the irony of the title in relation to the entirety of the plot. Whether that is intentional or not is another matter. The whole point is that Neville lives a life without any purpose – a seemingly empty existence – a nothing man. Everything seems to evolve around this, hence the story appearing full of inconsequential details and scenes.

A chance encounter opens up a whole new door and interpretation of what life could actually be for Neville. I guess you could say it’s a story of self-discovery and perhaps even a new way of looking at men and what everyone sees as a mid-life crisis. Instead it’s an uplifting story about not giving up when a door is closed, because there is always another door waiting to open up.

The author gives the read a light-hearted and uncomplicated feel. Even the more serious moments are experienced with a devil-may-care and blasé attitude, which again I felt is what the author may want readers to take away from this read – never give up, because you never know what is waiting for you right around the corner.

Buy Nothing Man at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Hat Girl From Silver Street by Lindsey Hutchinson

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Hat Girl from Silver Street by Lindsey Hutchinson.

About the Author

Lindsey Hutchinson is a bestselling saga author whose novels include The Workhouse Children. She was born and raised in Wednesbury, and was always destined to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the multi-million selling Meg Hutchinson. Sign up to her newsletter here

 Follow @LHutchAuthor on Twitter, on Goodreads, Buy The Hat Girl from Silver Street

About the book

Life is tough for Ella Bancroft. After her father, Thomas, is wheelchair-bound by an accident at the tube works, the responsibility for keeping a roof over their head falls to Ella. Ella’s mother died when she was ten, and her sister Sally lives with her no-good, work-shy husband Eddy, so is no help at all.  If she and her father are to keep the bailiffs from the door, then Ella must earn a living.

But Ella is resourceful as well as creative, and soon discovers she has a gift for millinery. Setting up shop in the front room of their two-up, two-down home in Silver Street, Walsall, Ella and Thomas work hard to establish a thriving business. Before long, the fashionable ladies of the Black Country are lining up to wear one of Ella’s beautiful creations, and finally Ella dares to hope for a life with love, friendship and family.

Meeting the man she longs to marry should be a turning point for Ella, but life’s twists and turns can be cruel. As the winter grows colder, events seem to conspire to test Ella’s spirit. And by the time spring is approaching, will the hat girl of Silver Street triumph, or will Ella have to admit defeat as all her dreams are tested.

Review

Ella works for a pittance, barely enough to feed herself and her father. Her boss thinks nothing of punishing her financially for every tiny mistake she makes, which is probably why she is making so many lately.

Her father is at the core of her future plans, when she discovers she has a knack for millinery. Her discovery is the beginning of a fierce rivalry and a new path that leads her to someone who seems to offer the kind of future she has always wanted, but life is cruel and never very fair.

Kudos for the unexpected ending, which on one hand strays away from the norm of the genre and also leaves the door open for a continuation. The author gives the reader the determination and perseverance of survival and also the barriers between certain groups in society. The poor and the wealthy and never the twain shall meet, then again sometimes they do and now and again love gets in the way.

It’s a story full of hope and strength, as life and society seems determined to undermine and swallow up the less fortunate and smile upon the more fortunate – a systemic lack of equality where strength and the ability to not give up at the first hurdle is synonymous with survival.

Buy The Hat Girl from Silver Street at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Boldwood Books; pub date 4 Mar. 2021. Buy at Amazon com. Hive. Waterstones.