Wednesday, 13 November 2019

One Week 'Til Christmas by Belinda Missen - Book Review

Today, I am delighted to be part of Belinda Missen's blog tour for her new book One Week 'Til Christmas thanks to Rachel's Random Resources Blog Tours .... and you'll find my review below ....



Two people. One chance meeting. Seven days to Christmas.

Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel.
Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only too late that she didn’t manage to catch his name…
When she runs into him again the next morning, she decides it’s fate.
It’s a second chance for Isobel and Tom – but there’s only one week until she’s leaving London for good. Seven days of enjoying all the festive delights the city has to offer: ice-skating at Somerset House, mulled wine on the Southbank, Christmas shopping at Liberty.
There’s magic in the air and mistletoe in the trees – but what will happen when the week is over?
For fans of Josie Silver, Lucy Diamond and Marian Keyes, this is one Christmas romance you don’t want to miss!











One Week 'Til Christmas is one of the sweetest stories I've ever read.  

Isobel is a travel writer, she's going back home in seven days and when Tom bumps into her on a cold, wintry December morning I was instantly hooked by their fun banter and this continued throughout the story.

I loved how they met again the next day, coincidentally, and they decided to spend the next few days just enjoying a Christmas in London.

They have a lot in common, enjoying all that the capital has to offer, they experienced the Christmas Market, Nutcracker on Ice, Christmas shopping, even meeting Father Christmas!  

Isobel narrated the story and I really enjoyed getting to know her and Tom's shared experiences, their expectations and their happy times.

Overall, a fun read that gave me a warm and fuzzy Christmassy feeling inside.

Meet the Author

 Author and sometimes foodie, Belinda is a ridiculous romantic who met her husband after being set up by a friend two states away.
Residing in country Victoria, surrounded by books, cat-fur, and half-eaten cake, Belinda divides her days between writing rom-coms, baking, and indulging her love of comic books.
Social Media Links –

Instagram @belinda_missen

Purchase Links:

Check out all the other bloggers on the tour













Sunday, 3 November 2019

Book Review: Blog Tour: A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry: Cosy Mystery: #Giveaway


A Legacy of Murder: A Kate Hamilton Mystery by Connie Berry

About A Legacy of Murder



A Legacy of Murder: A Kate Hamilton Mystery 
Traditional Mystery 
2nd in Series Crooked Lane Books (October 8, 2019) 
Hardcover ~336 Pages 
ISBN-10: 1643851543 ISBN-13: 978-1643851549 
Digital ASIN: B07NKQDYM3

American antique dealer Kate Hamilton's Christmastime jaunt to a charming English village leads to an investigation of a missing ruby...and a chain of murders.
It's Christmastime and antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is off to visit her daughter, Christine, in the quaint English village of Long Barston. Christine and her boyfriend, Tristan, work at stately-but-crumbling Finchley Hall. Touring the Elizabethan house and grounds, Kate is intrigued by the docent's tales of the Finchley Hoard, and the strange deaths surrounding the renowned treasure trove. But next to a small lake, Kate spies the body of a young woman, killed by a garden spade.
Nearly blind Lady Barbara, who lives at Finchley with her loyal butler, Mugg, persuades Kate to take over the murdered woman's work. Kate finds that a Burmese ruby has vanished from the legendary Blood-Red Ring, replaced by a lesser garnet. Were the theft and the woman's death connected?
Kate learns that Lady Barbara's son fled to Venezuela years before, suspected of murdering another young woman. The murder weapon belonged to an old gardener, who becomes the leading suspect. But is Lady Barbara's son back to kill again? When another body is found, the clues point toward Christine. It's up to Kate to clear her daughter's name in Connie Berry's second Kate Hamilton mystery, a treasure for fans of traditional British mysteries.

If you like your cozy crime set in a quintessential British village with a nearby crumbling stately home full of antiques and family secrets - then this is the perfect story for you!

Antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is a typical nosy amateur sleuth, she can't resist a good mystery and when a young girl's body is found she makes it her business to try and solve it, especially when her daughter is implicated.  I enjoyed their interactions, as their relationship is not perfect, and this helped to make the story realistic to me.

As this is the second Kate Hamilton Mystery some mentions were made of what happened in the previous book which didn't include spoilers so if I wanted to go back and read that I could do with an open mind.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Legacy of Murder, it had the right amount of dodgy suspects, an appealing storyline at just the right pace, a quirky feel overall, with a good mix of red herrings and clues, and characters that I felt that I could identify with.  Author Connie Berry's obvious love and knowledge of antiques shines throughout.


About Connie Berry



Like her protagonist, Connie Berry was raised in the antiques trade. After teaching theology for twenty-five years, she took up writing mysteries featuring high-end antiques and the legacy of the past. Connie loves history, cute animals, travel with a hint of adventure, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable dog, Millie. 
Author Links: 
Website –www.connieberry.com 
Facebook Author@Facebook.com 
Twitter @conniecberry 
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18733373.Connie_Berry 

Purchase: Amazon Barnes & Noble Indiebound Kobo 
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS 
November 1 - Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT 
November 1 - The Power of Words – REVIEW 
November 1 - Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
November 2 - The Avid Reader – REVIEW 
November 2 - FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT 
November 2 - MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
November 3 – Carole's Book Corner – REVIEW 
November 3 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW 
November 3 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT - 
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers 
November 4 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW 
November 4 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT 
November 4 – Diane Reviews Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
November 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST 
November 5 – Brianne's Book Reviews - REVIEW 
November 5 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST 
November 6 – Reading Is My SuperPower - REVIEW 
November 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST 
November 7 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
November 7 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW 
November 8 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW 
November 8 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
November 8 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – GUEST POST 
November 9 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT 
November 9 – The Bookwyrm's Hoard – REVIEW 
November 10 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW November 10 – Here's How It Happened – GUEST POST 
November 11 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW 
November 11 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW 
November 11 – Christa Reads & Writes – REVIEW 
November 12 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
November 12 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
November 12 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT 

Monday, 21 October 2019

Spotlight & Guest Review ~ The Christmas Eve Secret by Elyse Douglas ~ A Time Travel Novel

Christmas Eve Secret by Elsye Douglas
Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
Publisher: Broadback (September 16, 2019)
Category: Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Romance, Christmas
Tour Dates: October-November, 2019
ISBN: TBD Available in Print and ebook, 440 pages
Christmas Eve Secret

Description 

Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

A mysterious man from the past steals the time travel lantern. 
When Eve and Patrick find it, they destroy it. Eve’s life is shattered. She must return to the past, where secrets await. 
In the third novel of THE CHRISTMAS EVE series, Eve and Patrick Gantly are living a normal life in 2019 New York, preparing to celebrate the Christmas season. Patrick is taking courses in forensic psychology and Eve continues to work as a nurse practitioner. 
To their delight, she is three months pregnant. Despite their happiness, Eve is having premonitions that something dreadful is about to occur. Concerned about the future and the safety of their child, she insists that they destroy the time travel lantern. Patrick is more cautious. 
One afternoon when Patrick is out, a sinister man breaks into the apartment and forces Eve to give him the lantern. 
In many ways, Eve is relieved the lantern is gone. She hopes they can now live a more normal life. 
A day later, Patrick shadows a woman who has been staking out the Gantly’s brownstone apartment, and he confronts her. To his and Eve’s utter shock, they learn that Lucy Rose is from 1924 and that she time-traveled with the man who took the lantern. He returned to 1924, but she chose to stay behind. She offers to sell the lantern back to Eve and Patrick, and they reluctantly agree, hoping to keep it out of unscrupulous hands. 
Convinced that the lantern is a threat to their future happiness, Eve and Patrick decide to destroy it. But the lantern has more power than they could have ever imagined. Once the lantern is destroyed, Eve’s life is completely changed. She must set off on an adventure, in a struggle that will return her to the past, where she will learn the secret of the lantern’s origin and delve into the farthest reaches of her heart.


Guest Review by Sal

“It's very dangerous. You have no idea what it's like, not only to time travel
but to wake up in some strange place and realize you're on a completely
different time, where no one knows you and you have no friends or family.
You are completely on your own.”

How many of us have wished that we could travel back in time? Quick show
of hands? * Raises hand eagerly *
I've always loved time travel stories. The idea of a modern person (especially
a woman) having to adjust to a different age, relearn social manners, eat
weird foods and wear pretty dresses has always appealed to me.  That's why
I picked this series up and it does not disappoint.

Elyse Douglas delves into the realistic moral and emotional connotations of
time travel in a way that I've never seen before. Patrick and Eve aren't just
tourists in another time, they don't just pop in, fix something and pop back
out again. There are real consequences to their actions. Realistic emotional
upheaval. And, oh, does this book in particular bring about some devastating
ramifications for their travels.

'The Christmas Eve Secret' is the third book in the Christmas Eve series by
Douglas and definitely the most harrowing yet. Once I started it, I knew I
wasn't going to be able to put it down, and I was right.
I can't say how everything works out in the end, you'll have to read the book
yourself to find that one out, but I can say that by the end I felt like I'd been
put through an emotional gauntlet.

I love Patrick and Eve together so much and I just want everything to work
out for them all the time, is that too much to ask? Well, yes, because then
there would be no plot. Five big stars for this one!

Praise Christmas Eve Letter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

“If you are a fan of authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Marybeth Whalen, or H.G. Wells or Jack Finney, you need to add this book to your shelves. This is a romantic suspense novel with many dangerous and tense moments. As always, when one travels in time, the concern of consequences and potential changes to history and the future weigh heavily on both the traveler’s and readers’ minds. Those worries added to the atmosphere but were also handled skillfully. I smiled at a certain twist of color. It is a perfect bookclub read.”-Laura’s Interests
 “The Christmas Eve Letter is a beautiful, poignant story. It is well written and will have you turning the pages eagerly. All of the characters are well thought out, and believably written, together with the well-constructed scenery, that has you feeling as if you yourself have just stepped into the past. The story is unique and moving. It will hold you long after you turn the last page. A perfect Christmas tale of love and hope.”-Whispering Stories
“The Christmas Eve Letter is a wonderful time travel book and one of my favorite books of the year.”--The Book Return Blog

Praise Christmas Eve Daughter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

“This book is the perfect vehicle for a movie, and I can only hope that there will be more in the series. This novel is truly as close to perfection as the reader could imagine! 5 Stars!”--My Devotional Thoughts Blog and Reviews
“I enjoyed the new characters, an update on characters from the first book, and the possibility for more books. If you enjoy time travel-themed novels you will love these books!”--StoreyBook Reviews
“I am most impressed that this book did so well as a stand-alone novel. Kudos to the author! If you are looking for a good Christmas book with time travel, give this a go!”--Carole's Bookshelves


About Elyse Douglas

Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse grew up near the sea, roaming the beaches, reading and writing stories and poetry, receiving a master’s degree in English Literature. She has enjoyed careers as an English teacher, an actress and a speech-language pathologist. Douglas has worked as a graphic designer, a corporate manager and an equities trader. He attended the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and played the piano professionally for many years.
Website: www.elysedouglas.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/douglaselyse
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elyse.authorsdouglas

Pre-Order Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Amazon

Giveaway Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of one print or ebook copy of the book. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends November 29, 2019, midnight pacific time.
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Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Sept 30 Kickoff
Ruth My Devotional Thoughts Oct 1 Review & Guest Post
Maria FLY HIGH! Oct 2 Guest Review & Excerpt
Lu Ann Rockin' Book Reviews Oct 3 Review & Excerpt
Katy Amazon Oct 7 Review
Leslie StoreyBook Reviews Oct 9 Review
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Dawn Bound 4 Escape Oct 28, Guest Review
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Wendy Wall-to-wall books Nov 26 Review
Amy Locks, Hooks and Books Nov 27 Review & Excerpt
John Around the Corner Amazon Nov 27 Review


  Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas

Monday, 7 October 2019

Book Review & Giveaway - Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert


Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (An Exotic Pet-Sitter Mystery) by Heather Day Gilbert

About Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

 
Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series 
Lyrical Press (October 1, 2019) 
Number of Pages ~195

Digital ASIN: B07M75GGX4
Exotic pet-sitter Belinda Blake is nervous about her new job at the White Pine Wolf Preserve, but it turns out that the care and feeding of wild carnivores may be the least dangerous part of the gig . . .
Pet-sitter Belinda Blake is no stranger to dealing with wild animals, but she’s wary when the owner of the Greenwich, Connecticut, preserve asks her to help out with her “fluffy darlings.” Her caution seems justified on her very first day, when she discovers a tour guide—dead, bloodied, and surrounded by wolves in the enclosure.
Was it death by predator or something more sinister? The body count rises, but something’s not adding up. As she gets to know the rescued wolves and wolf-dog hybrids better, Belinda realizes that her human colleagues are not above suspicion. With help from her own “pack”—her pregnant sister, Red the chauffeur/bodyguard, and hunky farmer Jonas—Belinda is hot on the killer’s tail, but if she doesn’t find him soon, he’ll do more than muzzle her to keep the truth from escaping.

If you enjoy your cozy crime featuring animals, and especially, wolves, then you are going to love this!

Not everyone would take on a job looking after wild wolves, but when Dahlia, the owner of the White Pine Wolf Preserve calls and asks her for help, then Belinda just can't afford to turn down this unusual pet-sitting job.

When one of the workers is found dead in the wolves enclosures it looks like they've killed him but Belinda is not so sure and she's determined to find out what happened and why?

I enjoyed this mystery, it had a unique setting in a Wolf Preserve, the author has obviously researched wolf packs and wolf behaviour and has skilfully managed to make them feel real and endearing.  I liked Belinda, she's a clever and caring protagonist who is quite an adept video game reviewer!

Belinda brings all her skills of reading people and especially her nosiness to try and discover who is trying to frame the wolves ...... with no shortage of suspects, some who have secrets, for her to check out.


About Heather Day Gilbert


 


Heather Day Gilbert, an ECPA Christy award finalist and Grace award winner, writes contemporary mysteries and Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. Like Belinda Blake, Heather plays video games, although so far she hasn't done any exotic pet-sitting or hunted any murderers. 

Author Links Website: http://heatherdaygilbert.com 
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Q6w6X 
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/heatherdaygilbert Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherdaygilbert/ Twitter: @heatherdgilbert 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/heatherdgilbert/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7232683.Heather_Day_Gilbert 
Purchase Links Kindle Nook Kobo AppleBooks Google Play

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS 
October 1 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT - 
Sapphyria's Books 
October 1 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
October 1 – The Power of Words – REVIEW 
October 2 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW 
October 2 – Here's How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT 
October 2 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
October 3 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT 
October 3 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW 
October 3 – Maureen's Musings – REVIEW 
October 3 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
October 4 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST 
October 4 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 
October 5 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT 
October 5 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW 
October 6 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW 
October 6 – Diary of a Book Fiend - REVIEW 
October 7 – Carole's Book Corner – REVIEW 
October 7 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
October 8 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW 
October 8 – StoreyBook Reviews - REVIEW 
October 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, GUEST POST      

Friday, 27 September 2019

Book Review - Dying to Tell by Keri Beevis - Blog Blitz

Today, I am delighted to be part of Keri Beevis's blog tour for her new book Dying to Tell thanks to publishers Bloodhound Books ...


As the only survivor of a horrific car crash, Lila Amberson believes she is on the road to recovery after she is released from the hospital. Her memories of the accident are blurred though and a series of unsettling incidents leave her fearing for her safety. Does she have survivor's guilt or is something more sinister at play?
Jack Foley is reeling from the shock of losing his sister in the crash and when he first meets Lila, he lashes out, blaming her for Stephanie's death. But when Lila gives him a locket that she believes belonged to his sister, it presents more questions than answers.
As Lila and Jack work together to find out what really happened on the night of the accident, they are unaware that someone is watching them closely. Someone who has much to lose if the truth comes out, and someone who is prepared to do everything necessary to ensure all loose ends are taken care of.

In Dying to Tell the story centres around Lila Amberson, who survives a car crash with very little memory of what happened. Occasionally the odd flashback has her perplexed and scared and she feels she is being watched.
Jack, one of the victim's brothers, helps Lila to discover more about the crash, and in so doing assists him in his grief at losing his sister.  But many people have secrets that they do not want discovering and Jack and Lila have opened a door that doesn't want opening.
The story holds strong throughout with an imaginative plot, that leads us down different paths, there are no shortage of unlikeable suspects, with strong characters and vivid surroundings, at a steady pace.
Jack and Lila have their differences, which makes for interesting interactions between them, I enjoyed their constant toing and froing!  
As the clues were dropped, I was glued to the pages, my mind going this way and that, with the tension gradually building up slowly.
Dying to Tell is an edge of the seat psychological thriller and I will look out for more novels by Keri Beevis.


Keri Beevis wrote her first novel at age twenty, but it was a further twenty years before she was published after entering the Rethink Press New Novels Competition 2012. Her entry, Dead Letter Day, was a winner, earning her a publishing contract, and the book proved to be a minor hit, leading to a sequel, Dead Write. However it was Keri's third novel, standalone mystery thriller The Darkness Beneaththat gained her the most success, along with many new fans, both in the UK and the USA.

 Born in the village of Old Catton, less than a mile from where Anna Sewell was living when she wrote Black Beauty, Keri had a passion for reading and writing from a young age, though her tastes veered more to the macabre. 

 Today she still lives in Norwich, along with her two naughty kitties, Ellie and Lola, and a plentiful supply of red wine (her writing fuel), where she writes a comedic lifestyle column for a local magazine. She loves Hitchcock movies, exploring creepy places, and gets extremely competitive in local pub quizzes. She is also a self-confessed klutz.

 Keri’s previous books have all been US based and she is looking forward to the release of her first UK based novel, which is set in her beautiful home county of Norfolk.

Check out other bloggers on the tour for exclusive content










Sunday, 22 September 2019

THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY BY FAITH MARTIN - Book Review



Genre:  Cozy Mystery
Published:  11 December 2018

The Birthday Mystery was first published as Birthdays Can Be Murder under Faith Martin's pen name Joyce Cato

Discover a new series of whodunits by million-selling author Faith Martin. These classic-style mysteries will have you scratching your head to work out who the murderer is. Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective.

Jenny Starling is catering the twenty-first birthday party of a pair of posh twins, Alicia and Justin. But when she arrives at their parent’s country house, she is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder? 
Then just after midnight everyone gathers for a champagne toast. But one of the guests falls down dead. 
The police are baffled and there is a whole party full of suspects. 
But when it comes to someone adding the extra ingredient of poison to her own precious recipes, Jenny isn't going to take it lying down. She has a reputation to protect. Jenny Starling won't stop until the murderer is found.


The Birthday Mystery is the first in a new series of cozy mysteries and features caterer Jenny Starling who travels around cooking for whoever employs her.

Arriving in her old red van, she is tasked with carrying out the catering for a wealthy family, who already have a murder in the grounds of their stately home, which is full of tension and strife.

When another murder is committed and her food is implicated, Jenny is determined to clear her name.

Jenny is likeable, she has a quick mind, a kind heart, and is perceptive.

This is an enjoyable, complex, but not complicated, mystery with several suspects, a good assortment of characters, some likeable, some disagreeable.

Although I enjoyed this story, my only gripe would be the many references to Jenny's size which got slightly tiresome after what felt like the hundredth time, such as this quote

Like many before him, Keith was beginning to suspect that this strange, large but sexy and deeply enigmatic woman saw a whole lot more than you wanted her to .......

Yes, Jenny is a buxom lady in her late 20's but do we really need reminding of this in every chapter!

However, I am always on the look out for more good new cozy mystery series and in Faith Martin's new series I think I've found another one to add to my favourites!

My thanks to publishers Joffe Books and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel





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