Review: ‘Balloonomania Belles’, By Sharon Wright

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Published By: Pen & Sword

Publication Date: 26th February 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781526708342

Format: Hardback

Price: £19.99

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Balloonomania Belles reveals the astonishing stories of the fabulous female pioneers of balloon flight. More than a century before the first aeroplane women were heading for the heavens in crazy, inspired contraptions that could bring death or glory and all too often, both. Award-winning journalist Sharon Wright reveals their hair-raising adventures in a book that brings the stories of the feisty female ballooning heroines together for the first time.

Women were in the vanguard of the “Balloonomania” craze that took hold in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and swept across Europe then the world. Their exploits were a vital element of our first voyages into the sky. When women’s options were often severely limited by law and convention they managed to join the exhilarating quest for spectacle, adventure and danger among the clouds.

Many of the brightest stars of this extraordinary era of human flight were women. From the perilous ascent in 1784 by feisty French teenager Elisabeth Thible, female aeronauts have never looked back… or down. Who were these brave women who took to the air when it was such an incredibly dangerous and scandalous thing to do? Sharon Wright brings together in one book the show-stopping stories of the very first flying women.

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Review: ‘Tommy Twigtree and The Carrot Crunchers’, by Michael Firman

Tommy Twigtree and the Carrot CrunchersPublished By: Clink Street Publishing

Publication Date: 14th August 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781912262953

Format: Children’s illustrated book

Price: £7.99

Age range: 4 -7

 

 

Blurb

Tommy Twigtree and his friends enjoy peace and harmony in their garden.
That is until Robbie Rabbit and his Bandits decide that carrots are on the menu!

Tommy Twigtree And The Carrot Crunchers is the first book for children by Michael Firman.

Illustrations are by Nick Roberts.

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Review: ‘Love the stationary in your classroom’, by Rebecca Palliser

Published By: Clink Street Publishing

Publication Date: 14th August 2018

Format: Picture book

I.S.B.N.:  9781912262847

Price: £7.99

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

This delightful little book encourages children to learn about – and have fun with – the stationary they encounter in the classroom. Author Rebecca Palliser wants to help all children to find their feet in the primary school classroom.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40707518-love-the-stationary-in-your-classroom

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Stationery-Classroom-Rebecca-Palliser/dp/1912262843

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Review: ‘In Bloom’, by C.J. Skuse

Published By: HQ

Publication Date: 9th August 2018

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 9780008216726

Price: £7.99

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Darkly comic crime sequel to Sweetpea, following girl-next-door serial killer Rhiannon as she’s now caught between the urge to kill and her unborn baby stopping her.

If only they knew the real truth. It should be my face on those front pages. My headlines. I did those things, not him. I just want to stand on that doorstep and scream it: IT WAS ME. ME. ME. ME. ME!

Rhiannon Lewis has successfully fooled the world and framed her cheating fiancé Craig for the depraved and bloody killing spree she committed. She should be ecstatic that she’s free.

Except for one small problem. She’s pregnant with her ex lover’s child. The ex-lover she only recently chopped up and buried in her in-laws garden. And as much as Rhiannon wants to continue making her way through her kill lists, a small voice inside is trying to make her stop.

But can a killer’s urges ever really be curbed?

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Review: ‘Implant’, by #Ray Clark, #UrbanePublications, #LoveBooksGroupTours

Thanks to Kelly at Love Books Group for organising this blog tour. I’ve reviewed this book honestly in return for a review copy of the novel.

Implant - Ray Clark

Published By: Urbane Publications

Publication Date: 9th August

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 9781911583981

Price: £8.99

Blurb

Bramfield, near Leeds, a sleepy little market town nestled on the borders of West and North Yorkshire. Detectives Stewart Gardener and Sean Reilly discover the naked corpse of Alex Wilson, nailed to the wall of a cellar in his uncle’s hardware store. His lips are sewn together and his body bears only one mark, a fresh scar near his abdomen.

Within forty-eight hours, their investigation results in dead ends, more victims, no suspects and very little in the way of solid evidence. Gardener and Reilly have a problem and a question on their hands: are the residents of Bramfield prepared for one of history’s most sadistic killers, The Tooth Fairy?

Implant is the perfect read for fans of Peter May, Mark Billingham and Peter James.

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2HzlTAL
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2jceVY2
Foyles: http://bit.ly/2JDHFnQ
Waterstones: http://bit.ly/2FpKPJ6

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Review: ‘The Cheesemaker’s House’, by Jane Cable

The Cheesemaker's House front cover

Published By: Matador

Publication Date: 1st August 2013

I.S.B.N.: 9781783061242

Format: Paperback

Price: £7.99

Blurb

Just think, Alice, right now Owen could be putting a hex on you!

When Alice Hart’s husband runs off with his secretary, she runs off with his dog to lick her wounds in a North Yorkshire village. Battling with loneliness but trying to make the best of her new start, she soon meets her neighbours, including the drop-dead gorgeous builder Richard Wainwright and the kindly yet reticent cafe´ owner, Owen Maltby.

As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village charmer, what exactly does that mean?

The Cheesemaker’s House is a gripping read, inspired by a framed will found in the dining room of the author’s dream Yorkshire house. The previous owners explained that the house had been built at the request of the village cheesemaker in 1726 – and that the cheesemaker was a woman. And so the historical aspect of the story was born.

Jane Cable’s novel won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show People’s Novelist competition, reaching the last four out of over a thousand entries. The Cheesemaker’s House can be enjoyed by anyone who has become bored of today’s predictable boy-meets-girl romance novels.

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Review: ‘Duck Egg Blues’, by Martin Ungless

Duck Egg Blues CoverPublished By: Independently Published

Publication Date: 25th May 2017

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 978-1521495919

Price: £8.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

This perfect slice of ‘cozy crime’ is narrated in the voice of a pre-war English butler and concerns a rich and powerful businesswoman whose daughter goes missing from their country house estate. That the story- teller is a robot belonging to an impoverished detective brings a fresh and original take on ‘cozy’, and as for ‘crime’… well, it does begin to escalate, what with MI6, criminal gangs, corrupt police, and that’s not to mention international cybercrime!

​As the plot strands weave together, we discover that behind one mystery lurks a greater threat. No one is safe, not even PArdew…

​This is without doubt the robot-butler-detective thriller you have been waiting for!

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Review: ‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’, by Gina Kirkham #LoveBooksGroupTours

 

Whisky Tango Foxtrot - Gina KirkhamPublication Day: 19th July 2018

Publisher: Urbane Publications

ISBN: 9781911583813

Price: £8.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

The laughter continues to flow in Gina Kirkham’s brilliant sequel to the wonderful Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong.

Our hapless heroine Constable Mavis Upton is preparing to step down the aisle with her fiancé Joe, but has to deal with her temperamental teen daughter, as well as investigate a serial flasher on a push bike. Throw a diva drag queen into the mix and readers can expect the usual hilarious Mavis mishaps that made the first book such a hit.

Revel in Gina Kirkham’s humorous, poignant and moving stories of an everyday girl who one day followed a dream.

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Review: ‘Faerie Stones’, by Ceri Norman

Moon Books sent me this book in return for an honest review. They’re probably going to wish they hadn’t.

 

Faerie StonesPublished by: Moon Books

Publication Date: 30th Marc 2018

Format: Paperback

I.S.B.N.: 9781785357190

Price: £13.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb

Faerie Stones explores the Faerielore and Folklore associated with different stones and various crystal formations, from the ancient Neolithic arrows known as Elfshot to magical Faerie dusted geodes known as Fairy Cavern Quartz. It deals with the metaphysical aspects of the stones, their traditional uses and healing qualities, and discusses which types of Faerie and which Deities/Faerie Monarchs are associated with each stone. It also offers practical tips and two meditations for working with Faeries and stones for spiritual development. Aimed at all those who love Faeries and Crystals, it is ideal for the beginner or the more experienced practitioner.

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Review: ‘Wrecker’, by Noel O’Reilly

Published by: HQ

Publication Date: 12th July 2018

Format: Hardback

Price: £12.99

IS.B.N.: 9780008274511

Blurb

‘With echoes of Du Maurier, this compelling Cornish drama weaves a tangled web of fallen faiths, of sins, seductions and deceits.’ Essie Fox

A powerful debut exploring the dark side of Cornwall – the wrecking and the drowned sailors – where poverty drove villagers to dark deeds…

Shipwrecks are part of life in the remote village of Porthmorvoren, Cornwall. And as the sea washes the bodies of the drowned onto the beach, it also brings treasures: barrels of liquor, exotic fruit, the chance to lift a fine pair of boots from a corpse, maybe even a jewel or two.

When, after a fierce storm, Mary Blight rescues a man half-dead from the sea, she ignores the whispers of her neighbours and carries him home to nurse better. Gideon Stone is a Methodist minister from Newlyn, a married man. Touched by Mary’s sacrifice and horrified by the superstitions and pagan beliefs the villagers cling to, Gideon sets out to bring light and salvation to Porthmorvoren by building a chapel on the hill.

But the village has many secrets and not everyone wants to be saved. As Mary and Gideon find themselves increasingly drawn together, jealousy, rumour and suspicion is rife. Gideon has demons of his own to face, and soon Mary’s enemies are plotting against her

Gripping, beautifully written and utterly beguiling, Noel O’Reilly’s debut WRECKER is a story of love, injustice, superstition and salvation, set against Cornwall’s dark past

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