14 Mar 2024

THE {ANTI} WEDDING PARTY.

 


THE {ANTI} WEDDING PARTY BY LUCY KNOTT.

Genre ... Romance

Publication Date ... 14th March 2024
Publisher ... Aria (Head of Zeus)

Standalone Novel

Estimated Page Count ... 320

Order Link: https://amzn.eu/d/3BBbaqQ


It's the biggest day of their best friends' lives... and they might just ruin it.

Andi hates weddings. So when her best friend Alex tells her she’s getting married in Italy, and asks her to be her maid of honour, she knows she’s the wrong woman for the job. But Alex won’t take no for an answer, and so begins a week-long trip to a beautiful villa in Italy, full of potential disasters that it’s Andi’s job to avoid. But what if she’s the one causing them?


​Enter Owen, fellow wedding-hater, Best Man and also the worst person for the job. Tall, sexy and warm, Andi can’t help but feel the ice around her heart begin to melt when he’s around. But as Andi and Owen grow closer, the disasters begin to multiply, try as they might to keep them at bay. Together, can they put their feelings aside and pull off a successful wedding for those they love most?


Narrated by Andi who, OK we get it, perpetually sweating and with a nervous, grumbling tummy really isn't into the whole wedding scene ... and who can blame her after what happened minutes before her own wedding.  


But then this is the wedding of her best friend and I'd have expected some degree of support and yet Andi makes it all about her and her feelings. Feelings which the author spends a lot of time convincing us, the reader, of to the point that, any empathy I might have had gone, I found myself irritated by Andi's 'poor me' attitude.


That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book though. A 'rom-com' for all of those readers who don't do weddings which I guess is kind of refreshing; I liked the other characters; its just a shame that other than the one incident that is very briefly mentioned we get to know little of Owen and what had happened in his past relationships that turned him so cynical about marriage; and, oh my goodness, the Italian setting and all of that talk of Italian food, it was this that truly made the book for me.


Lucy Knott loves nothing more than curling up in a cozy writing spot, with coffee and biscuits on hand, and writing the day away.

She loves love in all its forms and adores writing warm, happy stories full of romance, sibling bonds and best friends who know each other inside and out. You’re also guaranteed to find the most delicious food in her books, with Lucy being a lover of Italian food and anything and everything sweet.


​When not writing Lucy enjoys spending time with her partner and her family, cooking her Nanna and Grandad’s Italian dishes (that you can find in her and her twin sister, Kelly’s cookbook, Fame Da Lupo), baking all kinds of cake and cookies, and getting lost in a good book.


Social Media ... X Instagram TikTok


With thanks to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for organising a paper copy. One of several bloggers participating in the Blog Tour of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.


Share the love by following their blog.


Take a few minutes to check out their newest post and leaving a comment, you’ll instantly put a smile on their face.


Share on FaceBook, X, Pinterest, and other social media sites, it shows that you care about their work and want others to enjoy it too!


The next time you see their post pop up on your feed, hit the like button, leave a comment, or even share it with your followers. It’ll defiantly make their day.




2 Mar 2024

HAZARD NIGHT.



HAZARD NIGHT BY LAURA VAUGHAN.

Genre ... Thriller

Publication Date ... 1st February 2024

Publisher ... Atlantic Books

Standalone Novel

Estimated Page Count ... 320

Author Content Warning ... Suicide (referred to in the past)

Order Link ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hazard-Night-Laura-Vaughan/dp/1838957103/


Cleeve College is not for everyone...


When Eve's husband is appointed housemaster at his old boarding school, Cleeve College, she gives up her life in London to join him. But the isolation and loss of autonomy threaten both her happiness and her marriage.


The arrival of Fen, an enigmatic artist and wife of the new Classics teacher, is a welcome distraction. Fen doesn't play by the rules, and she and Eve enter into a game of escalating dares, disrupting the delicate balance of school life.


Then, the morning after Hazard Night, a tradition that allows the students to run wild and play pranks for one day, a body is found. Someone has been murdered. And it seems everyone has something to hide...




A slow burner {and yet for all of that, oddly enough, it was the first, what, three quarters of the book that I found most engrossing} which held little in the way of surprises. The characters, the characters, meh, readable but hardly what I'd call memorable.


Set within a world of academia. For me personally, with its unexpected seriously dark underbelly {a genre that I'm reliably informed is known as Dark Academia} I thought Hazard Night an enjoyable enough thriller that sadly lacked that bit something that would have made it a remarkable one.


Still, not without things to recommend it. I did enjoy the differing perspectives. Not something that every author can pull off but, narrated from the point of view of two of the characters, the author did so here with a certain degree of confidence.

     



Laura Vaughan grew up in rural Wales. She got her first book deal aged twenty-two and spent several years working in publishing, followed by a behind-the-scenes role at English National Ballet. She lives in South London with her husband and two children. Hazard Night is her third novel for adults.

Social Media ... X {Formerly Twitter}: Laura Vaughan X {Formerly Twitter}: Corvus Books


With thanks to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for organising a paper copy. One of several bloggers participating in the Blog Tour of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.


Share the love by following their blog.

Take a few minutes to check out their newest post and leaving a comment, you’ll instantly put a smile on their face.


Share on FaceBook, Pinterest, and other social media sites, it shows that you care about their work and want others to enjoy it too!


The next time you see their post pop up on your feed, hit the like button, leave a comment, or even share it with your followers. It’ll defiantly make their day.


1 Mar 2024

{SHIRES MYSTERIES 4} DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS.

 Due to a catalogue of events beyond my control, it is with profound apologies to Blog Tour organiser, Rachel @ Rachel's Random Resources and author, Anna Legat that I am only now sharing my thoughts on this, the fourth book in the Shires Mysteries series. FGT 



DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS BY ANNA LEGAT.

Genre ... Crime Fiction/Cozy Mystery

Publication Date ... 8th February 2024

Publisher ... Headspace Books

Standalone Second Book in The Shires Mysteries series

Estimated number Of Pages ... 267


 
Maggie and Sam take a break from the murder and mayhem of Bishops Well and embark on a relaxing mid-winter cruise across the northern seas. The brochure promises smooth sailing, good food and dazzling entertainment. Sam is hoping to sprinkle the mix with romance. 

But nothing goes to plan.

Maggie runs into an old lover, the mesmerising Benedict Rawbotham, who goes out of his way to sweep her off her feet. Sam is left seething with jealousy.

A mayday signal sent by a fishing boat forces the cruise liner off course. But there is something fishy about the rescued crew and Maggie insists that two young women have died on that boat. Alas, no one believes her.

Soon one of the alleged fishermen is also dead and so is one of the cruise passengers. Cordelia Conti Lang, nicknamed the Bitcoin Queen, with links to London’s criminal underworld, is found in her cabin, stabbed to death.

In pursuit of the killer, Maggie hurtles from one disaster to another and Sam begins to fear for her life. Has he taken her on a cruise to hell?


Not the first time I have come across Maggie and Sam who I first met in book two in the Shires Mysteries series, At Death's Door. I have to say it was a pleasure re-acquainting myself with these two characters as they take a break from the village of Bishops Well and embark on a mid-winter cruise. Will it prove to be a relaxing one though? Well, it is until the bodies start piling up. 

Okay so there was the fact that I struggled placing the book as, whilst set in the modern era, it has an oddly old fashioned feel to it AND that when it came down to it, whilst sweet, personally I wasn't sure about the blossoming romance between Maggie and Sam. However ...

With a whodunit that held my interest right up until the end {something of a rarity I have to say as I often find myself either having worked it out early on or, more likely, have found myself bored to the point that come the big revelation I don't actually care who has done it ... or why} I thought this a fun, engaging read.

Anna Legat is a Wiltshire-based author, best known for her DI Gillian Marsh murder mystery series. Murder isn't the only thing on her mind. She dabbles in a wide variety of genres, ranging from dark humorous comedy, through magic realism to dystopian.

A globe-trotter and Jack-of-all-trades, Anna has been an attorney, legal adviser, a silver-service waitress, a school teacher and a librarian. She has lived in far-flung places all over the world where she delighted in people-watching and collecting precious life experiences for her stories. Anna writes, reads, lives and breathes books and can no longer tell the difference between fact and fiction.

Social Media ... Website Twitter {aka X} FaceBook Instagram 


With thanks to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for organising a paper copy. One of several bloggers participating in the Blog Tour of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.


Share the love by following their blog.

Take a few minutes to check out their newest post and leaving a comment, you’ll instantly put a smile on their face.


Share on FaceBook, Pinterest, and other social media sites, it shows that you care about their work and want others to enjoy it too!


The next time you see their post pop up on your feed, hit the like button, leave a comment, or even share it with your followers. It’ll defiantly make their day.