Murder Me

1/5

by

John Meany

Amazon.com

Amazon.UK

I bought this book on the prowess of its powerful blurb. I thought I was buying a thriller/romance, and that Ashley’s horrific kidnapping would linger more than the first few chapters. It didn’t. The essence of the book began and ended almost straight away, and the rest of the book focused on Ashley coping with the aftermath of her rape.

I wasn't sure what genre I was reading, neither did I think the author knew, hence the 'romance novel' in brackets after the title on Amazon. It started out like a thriller, then I had a notion it may be a paranormal when main character, Ashley, started seeing ghosts. But then it went back to 'romance', and I use that word loosely!

We all know rape is a disgusting crime, and wouldn’t want to know all the details in a romance, but I wasn’t sure if Ashley had been raped. The scene changed to the attacker buckling his belt, all well and fine, but ALL the main scenes were cut or glossed over.

This was the romance scene: (main character had just thrown herself at the hero of the story, Troy.) Then it cuts to:

“I want you so bad too.”

“Oooh. Oooohhh. Uuuhhh!!!!!”

Smooch! Smooch!

Excited breathing.

Groping hands.

The bed being ravaged.

Champagne spilled.

The mattress bouncing up and down.

Laughter.

I kid you not!

The author also had the POV of EVERY character, which weakened the foundations of the story. It was very childishly written. There were lots of things that didn’t ring true, especially the amount of prescription drugs Ashley was able to get hold of/take. Just what type of doctor would leave morphine laying around in his bathroom? Sheesh!

I didn't like this at all.

Blurb:
Pregnant artist Ashley Ferguson thinks it is another ordinary night leaving her part-time job at the BVX pharmacy. It is not. 

Two drunk, evil strangers abduct the twenty-three year old, on the way to her car. One of them slugs Ashley in the face, hard, which renders her unconscious, the other snatches her designer handbag. 

The unknown assailants then carry Ashley to the dark field behind the shopping center. When she regains consciousness, Ashley finds herself in a terrifying life or death struggle. 

“My baby!” she pleads. “Please. This will be my first child. If something were to happen-”“Are you deaf?” one of her attackers snaps. “We told you we don’t want to hear about your kid. If you’re looking for sympathy you’re not gonna get it. So hush!” 

Daydreamer

5/5

by

Brea Brown

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

Libby Foster is a bit of a daydreamer, as the title of the book suggests. She prefers to lose herself to her mind than rather deal with real life, because real life hasn't been kind to her so far - or that's the message I got, anyway. She isn't moody or self-pitying though, although she is a little sharp-tongued with her peers, which has some brilliant one-liners!

The love interest of the Libby is an English man called Jude Weatherington, and who Libby begins to fantasise about immediately, because in reality Jude isn't all that... or is he?

It was interesting to unlock Libby's secrets to see why she prefers the daydreams to truth, and why she is so mistrusting of happiness.

I loved that Jude Weatherington was such a `real' Englishman without being royal-family-posh as a lot of American authors seem to portray most English people. The little nuances and slang brought him alive for me, and I absolutely believed in his character.

I shall read more of Brea Brown.

Blurb:
Libby Foster prefers her fantasy life to her real life... until she starts to get the two confused, thanks to the new enigmatic architect at her workplace. While she tries to figure out the difference between fact and fiction of her own making, she discovers there's a whole real world out there waiting for her to live it.

Rejection a novel

3/5

by 

Meagan Bridges

Amazon.com
Amazon.UK

Ooh a chick lit novel! My favourite genre. I received this book as a freebie, which was lucky because for an ebook and an unknown author I thought it was much too expensive at £3.86, and that's a shame because it was very well written and extremely funny in parts, as well as having a genuinely interesting characters and a story with a beginning, middle and end.

The main character, Maggie McKenzie has just been dumped by her boyfriend (hence the title, although the 'a novel' bit struck me as a bit strange) and is obviously distraught, although, in the crazy world of Maggie's it's not overly tearful or fingernail-gnawing sad. It's fun and light, not too memorable, but entertaining and could easily stand alongside Sophie Kinsella without worry. I liked Maggie McKenzie and was keen for her to come up trumps. This book is well worth the read.

Blurb:
Maggie McKenzie battles overwhelming rejection, raccoon attacks and personal space invading coworkers with only random facts and a growing sense of adventure.

The Indian Rose

3/5

by

Emma Daniels

Amazon.com
Amazon.UK

Emma Daniels has a warmth to her writing, which I liked a lot. The opening drew me in and kept me in. I did find a lot of typos in the book, but the story was exciting and real, which kept me reading.

I loved the hero, but the herione I couldn't take to. She seemed to take a dislike to Patrick without reason (OK, so she thought he was responsible for half drowning her and taking her back to the past), but even when he revealed his shocking past she STILL seemed to hate him. I had a feeling that the author wanted to create a tension between the characters, which unfortunately, for me, she failed.

Sometimes, Patrick did come across a little 'camp' and I found him as a rough 'n' ready sea-faring captain of the The Indian Rose a little hard to believe. I wanted him to 'man up'! But all in all Emma Daniels knows her history, and I liked that Patrick was offended when Jessica called him a 'pirate'.

For readers of chick lit or modern romance, I think you'll enjoy The Indian Rose.


Blurb:

The Ship that traveled through time

Having recently lost her beloved father to cancer, the last thing Jessica Hart needs is to come across a confused and injured stranger on the beach near her home. Not only does Patrick O’Hara believe its 1778, he’s also under the impression Jessica is a boy.

Patrick talks Jessica into taking out her family’s yacht, and she soon realizes she’s made a big mistake when a storm sweeps them both overboard and into the path of The Indian Rose. 

Rescued by his own crew, Patrick knows they have returned to the past, but Jessica is convinced The Indian Rose is just an authentic reconstruction complete with crazy sailors willing to go along with their insane captain’s desire to live in the past. 

So begin Jessica Hart’s adventures into the past. Not only is she now trapped in 1778, but she is also falling for the enigmatic and handsome Patrick O'Hara, whose lonely seafaring life has kept him from experiencing any kind of emotion for a woman, until now.

The Hoodie and the Humpback

2/5

by
Faye Meredith

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com

This was the most strangest book I think I've ever read! The prologue opened like a children's book, but the main story was most definitely adult.

The main character Tanya was a troubled teen who drank, smoked, swore and stole without a care in the world. Society owed her (or so she thought) and I didn't like her. She was the dregs that society wanted to forget--but then something profound happened to make her question her existence and I began to like her.

This book is very gritty, and sometimes disturbing. I thought the dialogue was a little stilted at times and there were minor typos, which stuck out a bit too much for me to be able to ignore.

Blurb:

People cross the road when they see Tanya coming. A fact she's immensely proud of; being feared is essential for survival on her London estate. But when her friend Lena gets picked to join a gang and she doesn't, Tanya's life changes. She wanders home in the early hours, nursing the world's worst hangover and sees the bizarre sight of a whale swimming up the Thames. Apart from dangerous dogs on studded leads, Tanya's never seen a wild animal before. She gets obssessed with the whale and blags her way onto the muddy bank where it's stuck. Before long she's volunteering to drench it in buckets of water. Meanwhile, Lena's new lifestyle puts her in terrible danger and Tanya has to decide whether to save the whale or her friend.

Ecelectic: Ten Very Different Tales

3/5

By
Jonathan Hill

Amazon.com
Amazon.UK

Like it says on the tin (or book cover) ten very different tales. Some of them were a twist in the tale, others were just fragments of a character’s life.

I didn’t read every story because not every story could hold my attention. I found the lengthy paragraphs unwelcoming on the eye, but one tale really had me giggling: The Ornithologist. It wasn’t a horror tale, but one of observance. Its dry humour appealed to me, and made me understand that Jonathan Hill is clearly an author who has a strong sense of how the human psyche works.

I could imagine him writing a chilling thriller in the near future!

Blurb

ECLECTIC: Ten Very Different Tales

From humour to horror, drama to pathos, this book of short stories will move and surprise you.

Starting with a relationship spanning an entire lifetime in just several pages and ending with a boy's struggles both at home and school, via stories including a woman's disastrous brush with modern art, a teenager's deadly obsession with video games, a man's ghostly encounter and even a humorous poem, this five-star book of eclectic tales has something for everyone.

Enjoy the variety!

The Curse of Fin Milton

3/5

by

Vivian Mayne

Amazon.UK

Amazon.com


The concept of the book is excellent: have you ever wondered what's happening inside your head when you fall in love? Why you can’t eat or sleep? Or why you can’t stop thinking of this one person? 


Then suddenly after loving this person for weeks, months, years, the person, overnight, acts as if you don't exist. He/she can't see you. Doesn't even have any memory of you. 


Then you find out you're a victim of a magical spell. A hex that rears its head every few years making that person, who you love desperately, forget everything about you only to re-remembers you years later. She/he is determined never to forget you this time - can't even believe she/he can forget you. But she/he does... and it begins all over again.

This is the theory for The Curse of Fin Milton: fantasy, magic and romance, and one that I was very excited to begin to read. But the multi points of view and many characters made it difficult to follow at times, hence me awarding it only three out of five. As this book is going to be the first of a series I wonder if readers would benefit from having a family tree at the beginning? I know the author does have a FB page dedicated to the story, but not every reader has a Facebook account.


Anyway, the premise of The Curse of Fin Milton is two families at war with the other, and the feud goes back years. Main character, Fin Milton, is in love with a woman who can only remember him every so often. He's determined to break the spell, and has to delve deep into his family's history. 

It's a packed book, and probably not for light-reading. The fantasy element means you have to keep an open mind, but I like how Vivian Mayne makes it all seem believable - even 'astral planing'. I'd not heard of that term before reading this book. It's a state of consciousness where a person's consciousness can travel anywhere in the world while his/her physical body is safely asleep. (I looked it up and apparently it CAN happen. I will remain sceptical though).


The characters in The Curse of Fin Milton are all fleshed out, and present as real people, and the scenery (especially Cornwall) is vivid, so I congratulate Vivian Mayne on that.

Blurb
Set in modern day London and Cornwall, England, this enchanting ghost story follows the quest of a young man who carries a curse that condemns him to a life without the woman he cares for most in the world. His quest to lift the curse threatens the lives of all those he cares for.

The couple first meet as children, but were predestined to suffer a supernatural romance as a consequence of a curse cast in days gone by. Aided by a beautiful and dangerous ally who herself has mystic gifts he has to ward off paranormal forces as he seeks to unshackle the restraints of the curse. The two lovers are constantly at the mercy of a ruthless family whose interests would be threatened if the the curse were lifted.