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This is an original and unusual take on the crime thriller genre, as it focuses on a missing teenager and revolves around a blended family with adopted children.

This is the third instalment in a series and the first I’ve read from Joseph Lewis. However, he goes into adequate depth about the character’s backstories so that you are able to develop some connection with them and understand their issues.

As well as a missing sixteen year old boy, who is a friend of the family, the writer also deals with the issue within the family of the brothers’ sexuality. It was interesting to read a book of this type that dealt with both issues simultaneously.

Overall, this is a fast paced and complex thriller!

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As a parent and a teacher, I was drawn to this book. The tag line makes it sound intriguing, fun and dramatic.

This book certainly did not disappoint! It tells the story of two schools who are connected through the relationships created between the parents and teachers. It is against the rules for parents and teachers to frolick or embark on a romance, but these cheeky characters struggle to resist each other!

The book is told from four perspectives – Jenna, Astrid, Callum and Natalia. My favourite character was probably Jenna, just because she seemed quiet, down to earth and I connected with her on that level.

This was definitely a fun, easy read but also one that deals with topical issues – the #MeToo campaign and briefly, the Covid19 lockdown.

This is a saucy and fast paced read, that is laugh out loud at times and deals with very serious, real issues at others. Sara handles the balance between the two really well, to create a fantastic, addictive read!

I’d highly recommend this book to fans of light hearted, saucy romantic fiction!

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I was drawn to the book by the cover which hinted at a mysterious, deceitful character and this definitely sums up the character of Harry in this book!

A dream slowly and surely turns into a nightmare for friends Susanne, Evie and Dale as gorgeous, charming Harry turns out not to be as perfect as he first seems… except being the perfect liar, of course.

This wasn’t as fast paced as my usual read but I was definitely intrigued and a little bit creeped out by the character of Harry and wanted to keep reading to find out the truth about him.

Overall, a twisty and compelling read with a clever and original storyline.

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Wow! I have been blown away by this book and the author’s creations within the book.

This book is a traditional love story, but it’s also much more than that. As you might expect, it deals with love, loss and heartbreak all while asking the questions: Will they or won’t they? Can true love last the distance? Should we marry, or stay married out of a sense of duty or obligation?

There were also some really original aspects to the story. The story spanned 15 years but definitely not in a “will this story ever get to the point” kind of a way, but more of a “oooh, look how beautifully and organically the writer has developed the characters and the complexities of their relationships” kind of way.

I developed sympathy towards many of the main characters, as they were likeable, believable and raw.

I am struggling to express in words how much I enjoyed this book, which I devoured in less than a day. Jo Lovett is clearly a star of romantic fiction writing and this book is perfect for fans of Mary Jayne Baker, Portia Macintosh and Holly Martin. It is undoubtedly in my top 3 romance reads of 2020!

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Thanks so much to my lovely friend and bookish bestie, @littlemissbooklover87, for the tag in this bookish challenge!

This is undoubtedly Freddie from the Emma Tallon gangland series. I recently read Ruthless Girl and I absolutely adore this series and especially the character of Freddie. He is clever, cunning, brutal, violent…but he also shows another, more human side where he is loving, loyal and caring. There was one particular part when Freddie is talking to his mum, and this exchange even managed to make me quite emotional.

This is definitely Normal People by Sally Rooney. I still feel angry at how disappointed I was with this book, after seeing all the amazing reviews and thinking this was right up my street. I really felt like I had read a completely different book to everyone else 🤣

I was drawn to Hidden Beach by Karen Swan, and House at Magpie Cove by Kennedy Kerr for both their covers. There’s a bit of a beach theme here!  Karen Swan’s book is a beautifully written mystery tale, and Kennedy Kerr tells a beautiful love story! They both come highly recommended.

This book had to get a mention somewhere so I will say Clarrie and Simon from A Question of Us by Mary Jayne Baker. Their friendship and love story is totally beautiful!

I also loved ‘the couple’ in Sean Heary’s Circle-A Killings. I found the relationship between Cathy and Rossi really intriguing and endearing. Their dialogue was full of sarcasm and humour!

I recently read The First Time We Met by Jo Lovett, and my review is coming soon. I’d definitely love to take Sam to dinner – he is witty, charming and easy on the eye!

I’m going to choose Jenny Lopez from the I Heart series – she is a great friend, a bubbly and fun girl, and at times, a lot less annoying and frustrating than the main character, Angela. I love this series!

I’m not a big fan of self help books but Joanna Fortune’s 15 minute parenting series is an incredible, practical guide to navigating parenting through the ages! When my 2nd child was born, my eldest was hitting the so called “terrible twos”, and I was struggling with this as well as how to find the time to connect with my eldest when I seemed to be constantly feeding my youngest! This book really helped to reassure and guide me – I’d recommend it to all parents!

The character that immediately sprung to mind is Malcolm from Longhand by Andy Hamilton. He is both a bumbling Scotsman and a mythical hero. Confused? Please read this book – it’s amazing!

Two came to mind here. First of all, Amanda Prowse’s My Husband’s Wife. This book begins with lots of description of the characters and their history and I found it a bit slow. However, it caused me to become emotionally invested and I was completely hooked by the end.

Secondly, The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. I thought the beginning was silly, and far fetched. I really wondered how this could develop into an organic, believable love story, but it did!

Thanks for reading my book tag challenge! I’d love to read about your choices♥️

I was drawn to this book by the title. “Six Feet Under” obviously has connotations of death, burial, possibly murder and suggested that this would a suspenseful crime thriller or mystery…

I have never read a book by this author before but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The structure is a common one for a mystery – it begins with a shocking event (in this case a nasty attack) then traces backwards to establish how the character got there, and then forwards to show what happened as a result. Sometimes this can make the story overly long or complicated and you end up learning details like what the character had for breakfast 5 days before, which are just really not relevant and slow the pace down, but in this case Colin Garrow maintained the pace of the story and stuck to the essential points, so in fact it was very well executed.

The characters were realistic and lively, brought to life effectively through a well maintained use of regional dialect and direct, sometimes witty, dialogue.

The plot twist was unexpected and this was a clever take on a traditional crime fiction story, bringing in elements of historical fiction and espionage too.

I have really enjoyed this quick, suspenseful read and would recommend it to crime fiction fans looking for something a bit different than the usual whodunit.

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Thanks for allowing me to speak at this addiction meeting. My name is Ceri and I am addicted to Netgalley 🤣

I have lots of well meaning bookish friends who know who my favourite authors are and are always happy to tell me when their books are available on netgalley. This includes authors such as Jodi Picoult, Lucy Diamond, Nick Spalding, Louise Jensen, K L Slater…I really could go on.

I cannot resist requesting, and luckily due to the badges I’ve achieved and feedback I’ve sent in the past, I almost always get approved for my faves.

However, with my blog tour and readalong commitments as well, my netgalley list has got a little out of control in recent months. I know this would have the BookTwitter up in arms that I am greedy and selfish, but I really do or did intend to read the books around publication date when I requested them!

Therefore, I decided to join in with Netgalley November in order to get my feedback percentage up and my ratio down. I started on 33% and have gone up to 34%, due to being approved for 2 more books! Oops!

However, I am proud to say that just 8 days into November I have managed to join in with quite a few of the sprints & read/finish/review 5 books from my Netgalley list. Are you joining in? Do you use Netgalley? I’d love to hear from you!

I was pulled into this one by the cover, which is SO beautiful and striking. Plus the title, which sounded intriguing and mysterious. What happened at this house? Why is it so central to the story?

Kennedy Kerr quickly and effectively brings to life Magpie Cove and the house that is so central to the story. It is a gorgeous and friendly seaside location,  but the house, which has left to Mara (gorgeous name for a character) houses some dark secrets. Can Mara, with the help of this close knit community, overcome these dark secrets and make a new start at Magpie Cove?

I thoroughly enjoyed this one and finished it very quickly. Mara is a sympathetic and likeable character, who in true fabulous mum style, is motivated by what is best for her children. I totally connected with her and felt sorry when she was questioning her own actions and choices.

This story really takes you on a journey with Mara and I was with her every step of the way. The ending was perfect and this is a totally heart-warming and overall quite an uplifting read!

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I was introduced to this author when I won her “Wedding Bells at Villa Limoncello” book as part of a competition on Twitter, and I completely fell in love with her stories and writing style.

This is my first dip into this series, and although I’m sure it’s best read as part of the series, Daisy provides enough context and content for it to be thoroughly enjoyed as a standalone book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has lots of themes and ideas that I love – weddings, Christmas, competitions, and a mystery!

Lexi is determined to create the perfect wedding extravaganza for Phoebe and Sam, with her gorgeous sounding side-kick Theo. However, there is a mysterious incident that threatens to ruin their big day. Can Lexie and Theo save the day?

Once again, Daisy has created likeable, relatable, fun characters. Her descriptive writing is evocative and atmospheric, allowing the reader to really pick up on the Christmas vibe within the book.

A totally cosy, page turning Christmas read by an absolute queen of romantic fiction.

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I was completely pulled into this one by the cover. It raised a lot of questions and made me completely intrigued and keen to pick it up and find out what happened to the girl who never came home.

Zoe was on a school trip when she went missing. She was staying in a cabin with her two best friends, Shayna and Becca, and another girl called Leanne as there was no other space for her in another cabin. They say no-one heard her leave the small cabin in the dead of night, but can they really be telling the truth?

Zoe is found dead around 24 hours later. The police do not know what happened to Zoe. They have to consider a number of options – murder, manslaughter, suicide or accidental death. In order for the police to find out, a number of secrets and lies will have to be uncovered…

I was totally gripped by this one. The characters are complex and it was interesting to hear from a few different perspectives, otherwise I think the narrative could have become overloaded because there were quite a few characters to get your head around.

Nothing is quite what it seems with this one and it quickly becomes clear that there are quite a few suspects as Zoe isn’t as well liked or popular as we first thought.

Nicole carefully and slowly reveals key plot points that put lots of suspects into the mix without fully giving anything away. The plot is carefully and cleverly engineered allowing the reader to be pulled in and make their own conclusions, before revealing what really happened to Zoe in a series of crazy twists!

A great domestic suspense fiction novel from another brilliant Bookouture author!

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